Lesson Content : Thursday 3rd November - The American Dream

It is important that you have an understanding of what 'The American Dream' is in order to fully understand the frustratioons of Willy Loman in DOAS.

Inn the lesson I talked you through the ideas behind this concept and the main points I made are as follows:

·         The idea of the American Dream is that, through a combination of hard work, courage and determination, prosperity can be achieved.  These values came to America with the early settlers and were passed on to later generations.

·         In the later half of the 19^th Century, there was a distinct possibility of coming across a fortune through relatively little effort, as long as you were able to invest in land.  Many early prospectors bought cheap land west of the Rockies in the hope of finding deposits of gold.  The American Dream was a driving force in the Gold Rush of the mid to late 1800s, as well as encouraging the immigration that followed.

·         The Irish Potato Famine and other problems in Europe encouraged mass immigration to America.  People fled the problems at home in order to prosper from the freedom and financial security that they had heard existed in America.

·         As the 20^th Century drew closer, the Dream became that of industry and capitalism, with men such as John D Rockerfeller beginning life in humble conditions, but going on to control vast corporations and the fortunes that resulted.

·         Successes such as these suggested that talent, intelligence and a willingness to work hard were all that was needed to achieve the dream.

·         America has always been perceived as a place where the streets are paved with gold; consequently, there are more legal immigrants to the US per annum than any other country in the world.  They were (and are) drawn to work in the major cities such as New York, Chicago and Detroit.

·         During the 1920s and 1930s, the Depression was a cause of major hardship and seemed to be a reverse of the Dream which people had held dear for so long.

·         The end of WWII drew young American families to live in comfort and stability in the suburbs, living the life of a ‘perfect family’.  However, the rise of the hippy values of the 1960s rejected this ideal – but did not kill it off entirely.

·         Some say that that the American Dream is misleading.  It is impossible for everyone to gain prosperity simply through hard work and determination.  The consequence of this is that those who do not achieve success believe that it is entirely their fault.

·         In addition, the poor are penalised as their poverty is seen as proof of their laziness.

·         The American Dream does not take account of the fact that the family and wealth that one is born into, as well as traits such as natural intelligence, have a bearing on potential success in life.

·         The word ‘Dream’ is important – what does it suggest?

We came to the conclusion that a dream is just that, a 'dream'. Reality is something very different. When we read through the play bear this in mind. What is The American Reality for Willy Loman?

·         In Death of a Salesman, Miller shows that the American Dream is superficial and meaningless.



INDEPENDENT LEARNING

What else can you find out about The American Dream?

It is worth doing some wider reading around this subject to broaden your knowledge.

There was an interesting article in the magazine Vanity Fair titled Rethinking The American Dream. This is a good place to start. You can read the article by clicking on the link below:

Rethinking The American Dream