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Who Is Willy Living The American Dream

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Who Is Willy Living The American Dream
Jayla Nolen
Ms. Locano
AP Lit (Option B)
6 November 2014

Willy lives this fantasy life in which he feels is the “American Dream,” but yet he doesn’t know that there really isn’t a definite example of the “American Dream.” Willy lives his life a lie and is too stubborn to realize the truth that all families are not perfect and happy all the time. Miller uses Willy as an example of people trying to please others and caring what society thinks, and worried about being the more popular one. Miller is trying to prove that not every family is perfect and completely functional. Miller is using the Loman household to exemplify how families have the wrong idea of a household that is living the “American Dream” The outside view of what Willy thinks …show more content…
Biff said "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!(Pg.96)” Everybody in the household wanted something but Willy and his American dream fantasy prevented everyone from obtaining what they really wanted. Linda felt bad that Willy was trying to commit suicide because she couldn’t let him know that she knew. That was even more embarrassing for her. She tried to get Biff and Happy to realize that during that point in time Willy needed his kids more than ever and Biff couldn’t just come home to visit her and not worry about his father because regardless if Biff believes it or not Willy cares about him, Linda wanted Biff to come home to see Willy as well because she loves him and she wants Biff to feel the same way, “...You can’t just come to see me because I love him. He’s the dearest man in the world to me…(Pg. 39)” Happy on the other hand just wants to be accepted by his father and is slowly but surely turning in to him more and more throughout the story. Happy always had been a “philandering bum” but he wanted to be accepted and liked throughout society especially by his father he wanted the attention Biff got from Willy. He thrives on sexual gratification, but even more than that, Happy savors the knowledge that he has "ruined" women engaged to men he works for
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