themes

**The American Dream**
**"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement"** -James Truslow Adams //Epic of America//

"Biff: Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you! Willy: I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!"

Willy heavily believes in the promise of the American Dream; that anyone can be sucessful in life as long as he works hard. Classicaly, the American Dream consists of having the opportunity to work and obtain material wealth only by working hard. However, Willy's version of the American Dream becomes corrupted due to his abandonment at an early age by his father and brother. Because of the lack of affection towards him, Willy believes that one only must be well liked to be sucessful. He uses his minimal sucess as evidence for this theory; because people do not like him, he is not sucessful. Willy's belief that riches and prosperity can be attained by just being well liked is another corruption of the American Dream. The antithesis of the American Dream is hard work and determination, something that Willy and Biff lack. Willy's teaching of this ideal to Biff and Biff's rejection of Willy's beliefs causes a large amount of conflict between the two of them, eventually leading to Willy's death.

**Betrayal**
"Willy: Cause i get so lonely- especially when business is bad and there's nobody to talk to..."

The Woman: My sisters'll be scandalized..."

Betrayal is another theme that is essential to the play. Many characters feel betrayed by the actions of another, and it is an element the audience can easily relate to. Betrayal is an essential archetype for human literature, being used in works such as the myth of Prometheus bringing fire, Judas kissing Jesus on the cheek, Paris taking Helen of Sparta to Troy, and Peter denying Jesus 3 times. Betrayal is still used in works of today, in novels such as //Harry Potter// or //Lord of the Rings//. First, Willy was betrayed by his brother leaving to Africa and Alaska to search for his father, who also abandoned him at an early age. Also, Biff feels betrayed by Willy's corrupted teaching of the American Dream and the promises that Willy made. Meanwhile, Willy feels betrayed by Biff's abandonment of sucess by not pursuing a football scholarship, and his failure to get well-paying job. Finally, Willy feels betrayed by Happy and Biff calling out and mocking his ideals in the resteraunt, and by their abandoning of him in the bathroom. This helps infulence Willy to kill himself, since Willy feels betrayed by the false promises of sucessful sons.

**Pride**
"Linda: Just mending my stockings. They're so expensive-

Willy: I won't have you mending stockings in my house! Now throw them out!"

Pride is an essential theme to the play, but can only be viewed when considering the stubornness and will of the conflicting characters. Willy is much to proud to admit to himself that he is a failure and that his son will not go anywhere in life. Instead, Willy continues to believe that his career is a sucess and Biff can still become sucessful in life. Essentially, Willy is much to proud to admit to himself that he is a failure. Meanwhile, his sons Biff and Happy have realized their shortcomings, yet still aspire to work together as "The Loman Brothers" in avenues such as competing against each other in different sports (such as water polo), or going into the sporting goods business with one another. Biff and Happy are not evil or maliscious, they only want their father to see past his pride and admit to himself that his sons are normal; not spectacular or extraordinary.

**Respect and Reputation**
"Willy: Bernard is not well liked, is he?

Biff: He's liked, but he's not well liked.

Willy: That's just what I mean. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y'understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y'understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead."

Respect and Reputation are essential to Willy's corrupted view of the American Dream. First, Willy believes that one must only be well liked (therefore having a good reputation) and must have the respect of his peers to succeed in America. He tells Biff when he is in high school that it is better to be well liked then smart, therefore Biff will have a more successful life than his neighbor Bernard, who is much smarter than Biff. This knowledge helped Biff fail his math class, and abandon his path towards greateness (as seen by his father). However, Biff soon realizes that he cannot succeed in life by only being well liked, something that Willy will not accept. Also, Willy claims to be a well-liked salesmen with friends all over New England. In reality, he is not a well-liked man, the only person outside of his family that liked him was his mistress. His encounter with Biff and his mistress leads to Biff losing his respect for Willy, and more conflict between characters over ideals. Finally, at Willy's funeral, only the family showed up. Ironically, Willy, who was the supposed well-liked salesman, was forgotten.