The answer to your question may come from two sources.
First, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman was written during a
time, namely the early 1940's, in which the ideal of getting rich quick and the idea of
the American Dream were acquiring strength. As we know, these are the very ideals that
Willy Loman embraces: Willy's idea of the American Dream is based on quick success, easy
money, and a ready-set reputation once we become "well-liked." Miller infuses the meme
of the time with his main character to illustrate the ideals of the
time.
The second source of your answer is in the play
itself. Your question is correct in stating that Dave Singleman is not the only
successful man Willy knows. However, he is still the one who leaves the bigger mark upon
Willy because Willy placed a lot of importance on popularity. Surely, he clearly has
seen the success of his brother, of Charley and Bernard, and maybe even the success of
fellow salesmen. Yet, Willy finds Dave Singleman to be above standard when he learns how
Singleman's funeral was big, noteworthy, and that a huge amount of salesmen attend the
funeral to pay their last respects. To Willy this was the ultimate illustration of
success.
Moreover, Willy's idea of true happiness is to
have plenty of friends, plenty of money, plenty of fame, and plenty of power. Dave
Singleman represents all of those things. Willy's brother may have become rich, but he
is not famous. Charley and Bernard succeeded only to the point of a content middle-class
life: That is not enough for Willy. He wants it all. Unfortunately, like Biff
says:
He
followed the wrong dream
It
is obvious that Willy is so beside himself with the myth he has created out of Dave
Singleman's life that his dream is not really to be the best Willy Loman he can be, but
to be the closest thing to Dave Singleman. He is following another man's path, and
living another man's dream. That is why, in the end, he fails at
everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment