Arthur Miller examines the darker side of the American Dream in his play Death of a Salesman through the protagonist, Willy. During the early stages of Willy's life, the American dream was that of being a rugged individual that Herbert Hoover presented to America in his closing speech; however, as Willy ages, the American Dream shifts to a more commercial view of the nuclear family. Willy is obsessed with both ideals, but his inability to achieve either foreordained dream, ultimately causes his downfall.
It seems as though Willy, belonging in the older generation, should have attempted the first of the Dreams; however, he feels the need to modernize and follow the commercial dream of the next generation. His frequent complaining of the recently urbanized Brooklyn, and his fantasies about the trees that used to grow in his backyard are symbolic of the original dream. He even instills the idea in his sons that it is more important to be athletic and "manly" like their uncle Ben, than be book smart. Willy idealizes his rugged brother Ben, but when given the opportunity to achieve his brother’s success out in the wilderness, Willy takes the modern route and becomes a salesman.
This is a scary path for someone like Willy, who would almost rather dream than succeed. In the jungle, he would have succeeded out of necessity; however, the urban world allows his to become passive in his actions for success. He is an ordinary man, who cannot keep up with the success-driven society, but who also cannot accept this fact. By having Willy be a regular middle-class man, Miller redefines the notion of a tragic hero in his play.
I think that his tragic flaw is that he cannot accept his ordinariness, and spends his life trying to achieve an unachievable goal, and when failing to achieve this goal, he passes on the burden to his sons, who in turn spend the majority of their tragic lives much like their father's. If Willy did not measure his happiness based on his level of success, or based on the way in which other people viewed him, then he could have lead a pleasant life; however, he saw himself as a failure in the eyes of those around him, and this obscured his own self-image and self-worth. According to Willy, success was being "well liked," living in the perfect nuclear family. Unfortunately, Willy was not dealt that hand, and could not win bluffing. (415)
