Abstract

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. This thesis will give a brief discussion of the influence of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman. In the first part, it introduces the writer Arthur Miller and his work Death of a Salesman. Then it talks about the tragic life of Willy and the distortion relationship between Willy and his family. The conclusion analyses the false value of Willy on wealth, as well as the social factors of Willy’s death. The paper is written to show the reason why under the negative effect of the American Dreams, many people chose to suicide. 

Key words: American Dream; Death of the Salesman; social factors; value

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Arthur Miller-1

1.2 Introduction to Death of a Salesman-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. The Background of Willy’s Broken Dream-3

3.1 The American Dream-3

3.2 The Great Depression-5

4. The Causes of the Shattering of Willy’s Dream-5

4.1 Willy’s own tragic life-5

4.2 Distorted relationship between Willy and his family-7

4.3 Willy’s own false consciousness and value-8

5. Conclusion-8

Works Cited-10