American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman Essay Example

The United States was founded off of the concept of the American Dream; how everyone has the freedom for prosperity, success, and social mobility through hard work and effort. However, the idealistic view that anyone can become anything they want is flawed, and has been dissected countless times through different lenses. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, tells the story of the Younger Family, an African American family living in Chicago shortly after WWII, and their conflicts over insurance money after the death of their grandfather. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is the story of the Loman Family, headed by salesman Willy Loman, and their life in the corporate, capitalist society in New York during the 1940s. Both families struggle with their personal and cultural identities and their interpretation of the American Dream, which reflects both their status in society, such as their wealth, popularity, and race, and their personal philosophies and motivations.

Walter Younger’s view of success is based on his current circumstances and what he sees every day. As a chauffeur, he sees the opulent lifestyle of his employer, and longs for the same successes. He says that “...sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking ‘bout things… sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars… sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me-” (Hansberry 74), which shows how he sees success as making money, saying “Because it is life, Mama!” (Hansberry 74), in response to being asked why he focuses on money so much. His interpretation of the American Dream is based on his desire to reach the status of which he is forced to witness daily, but isn’t able to replicate. This results in his putting his trust into the wrong dealings in an attempt to achieve the wealth that he thinks he deserves. Lena Younger, known as Mama in the play, on the other hand sees the American Dream as improving her family’s lifestyle, shown when she talks to Ruth about what she wants to do with the insurance money, stating that she’d “Been thinking that we maybe could meet the notes on a little old two-story somewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime…” (Hansberry, 44). This is due to how she was raised in a generation where she had to worry about her survival, day to day, telling Walter that “In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too… Now here come you and Beneatha- talking ‘bout things we ain’t never even thought about hardly, me and your daddy. You ain’t satisfied or proud of nothing we done. I mean that you had a home; that we kept you out of trouble till you was grown; that you don’t have to ride to work on the back of nobody’s streetcar… but how different we done become” (Hansberry, 74). Due to how she had been brought up and how she had to survive without much, her concept of the American Dream was much more grounded in reality. She views relatively small changes as amazing developments and doesn't desire much more than she already has. This is contrasted by how Walter, and in turn Willy, have extravagant views of the American Dream.

Willy’s views of the American Dream are based on his personal philosophy and his past experiences, that “It’s who you know and the smile on your face! It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!” (Miller, 86).  His philosophy is that with enough raw charisma and connections, he can achieve what he sees as the American Dream of being well liked and popular everywhere. He also met a man, Dave Singleman, who had achieved Willy’s American Dream by becoming an extremely popular salesman, which Willy then convinced himself that could become. He says, “And old Dave, he’d go up to his room… and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people… when he died, hundreds of salesman and buyers were at his funeral” (Miller, 81). He’s so caught up in his delusions that he thinks that he has achieved the American Dream, being loved by everyone, while in actuality he is an unknown, run-of-the-mill salesman, and due to this delusion, the family suffers. In particular, Biff, Willy’s firstborn son, is affected heavily by Willy’s beliefs, and his view of the American Dream shifts in accordance to the changes in how he views his father and his father’s ideals. While Biff was still young, he wholeheartedly followed Willy’s dream. However, after failing to graduate from high school and catching Willy cheating on his wife, Biff’s world gets turned upside down and he is forced to reevaluate his beliefs. His vision of the American Dream shifts as well, becoming one of personal fulfillment as he sees the corruptive corporate society that his father is washed up in and wants nothing to do with, seeking personal fulfillment in the west by farming and taking low-paying jobs and doing what he enjoys. He talks about his dream, saying that “...maybe we could buy a ranch. Raise cattle, use our muscles. Men built like we are should be working out in the open” (Miller, 23). Biff isn’t interested in seeking profits and deals and earning money, he just wants to be happy with what he’s doing, and his view of the American Dream reflects that.