American Dream Flashcards
(12 cards)
→Willy’s obsession with financial success underscores his belief in a materialistic version of the CONSUMERIST AMERICAN DREAM, he equates worth and accomplishment with monetary achievement.
→the RHETORICAL QUESTION shows Willy’s defensiveness and his inability to understand that his constant pressure on Biff is alienating rather than motivating him.
→This reflects FLAWED IDEALS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM where relationships are subordinated to the pursuit of success.
“I simply asked him if he was making any money. Is that a criticism?”
-Willy’s disappointment with Biff stems from his belief that financial success is the only valid measure of a man’s worth
-the specific figure, ‘thirty dollars a week,’ emphasises how far Biff has fallen short of Willy’s expectations and the societal norms of success
-this phrase also conveys Willy’s frustration with his own failure to instil ambition and material success in his son, highlighting how Willy projects his unfulfilled dreams onto Biff
‘Has yet to make thirty dollars a week’
-the REPETITION of “farm” and “farmhand” reduces Biff’s aspirations to insignificance in Willy’s eyes, showing his inability to appreciate individuality and personal happiness outside the traditional confines of the CONSUMERIST AMERICAN DREAM
“How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand?”
Comparison of Willy and Biff’s Views on the American Dream
Willy embodies the materialistic and appearance-driven aspects of the American Dream, valuing wealth, status, and surface charm over personal fulfilment.
Biff, on the other hand, represents a growing rejection of this dream. His search for a simpler, more meaningful life contrasts with Willy’s obsession with societal validation.
-CONTRASTING perceptions highlight the central TRAGEDY of the play → Willy’s blind faith in the American Dream has left him unfulfilled, and his inability to let go of these ideals prevents him from understanding or accepting Biff’s path
-Willy admires Dave Singleman as a SYMBOL of comfortable luxury and effortless success
‘green velvet slippers’
-Willy yearns for a place in society where his efforts are recognised and appreciated - something he is TRAGICALLY yet to experience
‘be remembered and loved and helped by so many people’
-Willy TRAGICALLY admires his legacy - yet to achieve the legacy and respect of Dave and most likely never will do
-Willy is the opposite and is easily discarded and lost in the CONSUMERIST AMERICAN DREAM
‘when he died hundreds of salesmen and buyers attended his funeral’
-EXPRESSIONIST CHARACTERNYM implies that perhaps there is an underlying sense of loneliness and isolation, in the same way Howard, another successful salesman is portrayed as cold and indifferent
‘Dave Singleman’
-DEFINITE ARTICLE in the TITULAR LINE establishes a morbid legacy associated with being a salesman, almost like they can only achieve respect and reward in death → sacrificing life for MATERIALISM
‘He died the death of a salesman’
-evokes PATHOS as Willy fails to realise all his sons desire is love from them, but Willy is so tirelessly fixate on the AMERICAN DREAM he fundamentally doesn’t understand his sons
‘Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something bad happens’
-Biff expresses the central takeaway from the play, highlights Willy’s HUBRIS as his HAMARTIA
-CAPITALIST SOCIETY has served as the ANTAGONIST, Miller uses Willy’s death as a warning against blindly pursuing the AMERICAN DREAM → biff’s recognition of this is breaking the cycle
‘He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong’
-NATURAL IMAGERY illustrates Willy’s sheer desperation to achieve the AMERICAN DREAM
‘because the woods are burning boys, you understand? theres a big blaze going on all around’
