Fences & Death of a Salesman-American Dream
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 12/06/2010 11:29 PM
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Abstract
The two plays Fences and Death of a Salesman have one common theme, that being achieving the American dream. These tales tell of two men with obscure views of achieving the American dream. Their mistakes along the way caused them to not only lose sight of their ideal of the American dream, but also sabotaged their families and lives. Both plays also have affairs contained in them, this being just one of the many mistakes the main characters Troy Maxson and Willy Loman made. Troy lived in a time period of great racial segregation, causing him to become against whites. His family life eventually fell to pieces after constant fighting with his son and wife, as well as an affair and his negative attitude. Willy believed his key to success was being well-liked. He drove to be successful like his brother Ben, and also pushed his children to strive for success. He eventually drove his family apart, and becomes so depressed and manic that he takes his own life. The American dream ideal can make people crazy if their goals are not achieved.
The American Dream
In the plays Fences and The Death of a Salesman the idea of living the American dream is very prevalent. Throughout these plays, the main characters and their significant others show how they pushed to achieve their idea of the “American Dream”. Within both plays the idea is that when one obtains wealth, respect and happiness, they are considered successful human beings who have achieved all that is possible. Two protagonists, Willy Loman from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Troy Maxson from August Wilson's Fences strive to become successful through comparable motives and ideals. One distinction between Death of a Salesman and Fences is the issue of race. Willy Loman is part of a white family who is struggling to survive, whereas Troy Maxson comes from an African-American background, is also having trouble supporting his family. Both protagonists are blinded by their illusions of...
The two plays Fences and Death of a Salesman have one common theme, that being achieving the American dream. These tales tell of two men with obscure views of achieving the American dream. Their mistakes along the way caused them to not only lose sight of their ideal of the American dream, but also sabotaged their families and lives. Both plays also have affairs contained in them, this being just one of the many mistakes the main characters Troy Maxson and Willy Loman made. Troy lived in a time period of great racial segregation, causing him to become against whites. His family life eventually fell to pieces after constant fighting with his son and wife, as well as an affair and his negative attitude. Willy believed his key to success was being well-liked. He drove to be successful like his brother Ben, and also pushed his children to strive for success. He eventually drove his family apart, and becomes so depressed and manic that he takes his own life. The American dream ideal can make people crazy if their goals are not achieved.
The American Dream
In the plays Fences and The Death of a Salesman the idea of living the American dream is very prevalent. Throughout these plays, the main characters and their significant others show how they pushed to achieve their idea of the “American Dream”. Within both plays the idea is that when one obtains wealth, respect and happiness, they are considered successful human beings who have achieved all that is possible. Two protagonists, Willy Loman from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Troy Maxson from August Wilson's Fences strive to become successful through comparable motives and ideals. One distinction between Death of a Salesman and Fences is the issue of race. Willy Loman is part of a white family who is struggling to survive, whereas Troy Maxson comes from an African-American background, is also having trouble supporting his family. Both protagonists are blinded by their illusions of...