Abstract

Death of a Salesman is a masterpiece written by American dramatist Arthur Miller. It tells the tragedy of a common American salesman —— Willy Loman, who spends all his life pursuing his dreams but finally fails. This thesis divides his dreams into three parts: he can be a good father and a qualified husband; he can be a successful salesman; he can be a man surpassing his neighbors. This thesis tries to analyze the reasons of disillusion of Willy Loman’s dreams from the personal and social aspects. Willy fails because he bases his dreams on inadequate self-evaluation as well as unrealistic expectations and he believes that personal attractiveness can bring him success. Besides Willy is greatly influenced by American Dream which encourages him to dream high and to pursue wealth and fame. His tragedy warns readers to have suitable dreams and adjust themselves to reality in the process of realising their dreams.

Keywords: Death of a Salesman; dream; disillusion; self-evaluation; American Dream

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. The Reasons of Disillusion of Willy Loman’s Family Dream-3

3.1 Willy’s unfortunate childhood-3

3.2 Willy’s wrong education methods-4

3.3 Willy’s improper love affair-5

4. The Reasons of Disillusion of Willy Loman’s Career Dream-6

4.1 Unilateral understanding of selling-6

4.2 Inadequate self-knowledge-7

4.3 Blind perseverance-8

4.4 Impractical American Dream-8

5. The Reasons of Disillusion of Willy Loman’s Dream to Surpass His Neighbors-9

5.1 Excessive self-assertion-9

5.2 Betrayal of original Puritan ethic-10

6. Conclusion-11

Works Cited-12