He blames his father his personal failure because he, "blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That's whose fault it is!" (1108). Willy's failure extends beyond the workplace and spills over into his family life. This should come as no surprise since the two are closely connected when we think of the American Dream. Willy does not want to change and this proves to be detrimental to his job, his life, and his family. At the age of 63, Willy decides not to think about change or failure. It is easier to find excuses. For example, he tells Linda, "The trouble was that three of the stores were half-closed for inventory in Boston. Otherwise, I woulda broke records" (Miller 1046). He admits "people don't seem to take to me" (1047) and he is often overlooked and "not noticed" (1047) at work. He does not ever consider changing jobs and we wonder about his practicality. It seems as though he has invested so many years into his sales job that he refuses to back out. So, he does not back out and stays in the same rut for years. He lies to himself to make things seem better but the truth is never far behind. John Gassner claims that the play bridges the "gap between a social situation and human drama" (Gassner 339). The social circumstance is the appeal of the American Dream and the human drama is Willy's failure. We see how Willy failed and we see how he pushed his twisted way of thinking onto his sons but we realize he is not an evil man. He is a failure and while this may sound harsh, we learn from Willy just how easy it is to fall into this trap. Willy believes in the ease of the American Dream, believing the country is "full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England . . . I have friends" (Miller 1044)....
This lie is far too easy for Willy to believe than the truth is to accept. Willy is too old to change.
The enormous number of questions did not only succeed in bringing people to physical exhaustion, but they also confused people to the level where they could no longer think logically and risked being deported, even though they were not attempting to deceit the American system. Most contemporary people express their liberal opinions regarding immigrants in the U.S.T.C. Boyle's Tortilla Curtain goes at proving how while some have apparently changed their
Moreover this lends him inimitability, it lends him importance, and it gives him honor. Like each one among us ranging from the first note to the last note in the entire octave of music on the keyboard of God is important since every man is created in the image of God. (A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.) The Declaration of Independence'
While the family does move anyway, they are changed. Walter learns that he cannot trust everyone and every fly-by-night idea is probably just a fraud. Curing the sick was the most important thing to Beneatha before Walter lost the money. After the incident, she does not seem to care as much and she tells him, curing the sick is "not close enough to what ails mankind" (Hansberry 2254). Losing
If the American dream is real to someone, it is real; land and products can be bought and sold as a consequence. Obviously, for the dream of a better life to be sold to anyone it needs to be established that their current existence is less than attractive. This is why water is diverted away from a city in desperate need of water: the citizens need to be convinced that
Paine is broken and reveals the entire scheme. Similarly, Dumbo suggests that a belief in one's self can accomplish anything, even in the face of the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Dumbo is the story of an elephant with enormous ears. Dumbo is a freak and the mockery of the circus. His mother is taken away after she tries to protect him. The circus is a cruel and judgmental environment that
Cinderella Perrault's "Cinderella" and the American Dream The Cinderella story has existed since the age of antiquity and has been told in many different cultures in as many different fashions. Yet, in America, one version stands out above the rest. Charles Perrault's version, popularized by Disney in 1950, became the standard, sentimental (Disneyfied) "some day my Prince will come" spawning fairy tale that became the classic progenitor of other animated features like
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now