This section contains 886 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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The American Dream and Defeat: How Willy's Demise Is a Reflection of Captialism's Problems.
Summary: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller describes how, not only does Willy represent the American dream, but in doing so he internalizes the dream's problems, and he is a reflection of the problems capitalism brings about.
In Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman readers are introduced to Willy, an ambitious salesman who just can't seem to get a break despite his drive. Willy's life is marked by failure, and an almost stubborn attachment to the idea of striking it big. Willy's life is ended by his own hands, the result of a broken dream that lead to a broken spirit. In many senses Willy represents the idea of the "everyman", the average working class man trying to get ahead, this is reflected in his attachment to the achievement of more wealth, and his idealized vision of how to get there the "American dream." However, Willy can be seen to represent more that just the average man, and it can be argued that Willy's hamartia is the hamartia of capitalism itself. It can be seen that Willy represents the everyman by looking at and examining...
This section contains 886 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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