American Dream and Idealism in Death of a Salesman 英语专业毕业论文.docx

American Dream and Idealism in Death of a Salesman Chapter1 Introduction Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949, was comparable to O’Neill at his best. Death of a Salesman was that wonder of wonders, a masterpiece that came easily. The play tells through flashbacks intercut into present-day action, of the false aims, degradation, and final decline of a salesman who believes he is “vital in New England” but who, in reality, is a failure—as salesman, as father, and as husband. The drama tells how its protagonist, Willy Loman, a middle-class salesman whose youth is but a memory, decides to end his life in order to get the insurance money for his family. He is loved by his wife, Linda, and he has two sons, Biff and Happy, whom he has tried to raise to become men of influence and power. The whole life of Willy Loman is filled with idealism. This paper is about to analyze that idealism is the root of his tragedy. Idealism leads to his ultimate psychological downfall. His life principles, snobbish sense of pride and ego all step from his idealism. Idealism is an addiction that makes Willy Loman’s entire life a tragedy in which he can never harmonize his dreams with reality. His idealism, in fact, is the tragedy of his whole family. In other words, it is the idealism that forces him to commit suicide because of his failure in the real world. This paper is made up of five parts. Part one is the introduction, which gives a brief comment on the thesis. In part two, some basic notions involved in idealism are presented. Part three mainly investigates the idealism that is shown in the main characters and their tragedies caused by the idealism and Part four aims to explore the relationship between idealism and American Dream. Finally, the conclusion is made in Part five. Chapter 2 Basic Notions Involved in Idealism Idealism is the main reason of Willy Loman’s tragedy as well as the basic concept of the paper. So in order to have a bett