Failure of American Dream by Miller - Essay Example

Failure of American Dream by Miller The United s of America witnessed many notable political, economical and social changes towards the late 1940s and the early 1950s and one can notice that these changes brought about radical changes in the lives of the middle class population of the nation too. Many researchers have identified post war period as an age of transition, especially the transition to capitalist system and to new social structures. Duiker and Spielvogel, drawing a vivid picture of the post war Unites States in their book, The Essential World History, observe that “the most significant factor after 1945 was the emergence of the United States as the world’s richest and most powerful nation. American prosperity reached in the new heights in the two decades after World War II…” (1). It is this prosperity that made many Latin Americans to regard the United States as a model for their own development. The authors also identify that it was a period when the country was grappled with a series of economic and social problems like racial divisions and staggering budget deficits. Similarly, the multitude of the immigrants after the World War also caused for the creation of more ethnically diverse population. Furthermore, the Cold War and post-Cold War realities also played crucial roles in shaping the Western outlook towards the American dream of prosperity and development. Any discussion on the concept of American dream and its failure in the nation necessitates a thorough understanding of the capitalist system that prevailed in the nation. Post World War II economic expansion has often been regarded as the ‘Golden age of Capitalism.’ Schor and Marglin, in this respect, observe that there was 2.5 percent growth of output per hour in the United States from the turn of the century to the 1970s (46). This was instrumental for the U.S to obtain the technological leadership role, in contrast to the experience of the other major industrial countries. Changes in macroeconomic structures that culminated in “rapid and parallel growth of productivity and capital stock per worker; and parallel growth of real wages and productivity” (Schor & Marglin 46-48) also accelerated the US transition to capitalism. It is this sudden flourishing of the capitalist system that assisted many low class and middle class people to climb the economic ladder and become upper class men. Transition to new structures also had a greater effect on the American middle class who could, never expect to the levels they were yearning for. Economic growth during the post war period offered them future prospective and wealth. It is quite notable that many middle class men have failed to accomplish their American dream in their pursuit to amass wealth and prosperity so easily and rapidly. The middle class men perceived to build up a new life corresponding to the development of the nation. As it is rightly put by Hochschild “…three quarters of the Americans, compared with only one-third of Britons, West Germans, and Hungarians (and fewer Dutch), agree that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Twice as many Americans as Canadians or Japanese think that future generations of their nationality will live better than the present generation” (Hochschild 26). One can infer that it is this confidence and optimism that lead the Americans to pursue the concept of American dream. The concept of American dream was strengthened during the post war period in America. Hildegard Schnell in his book, The American Dream exposes that it was James Truslow Adams, American writer and Historian who coined the term ‘American Dream’ in a study called The Epic of America. Truslow explains the basic fascination and promise of living in an America that offers “opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement” (Schnell 3). As the Americans follow the republican views of classless society, Truslow considers American dream as a notion of the classless society “for the single human being for any and every class” (Schnell 3). It is the opportunity of the lower people to obtain something regardless to class, and the only criteria for attaining this is one’s ability. Truslow envisages that the very notion of American dream would prompt people to close their eyes to selfishness, physical comfort, and cheap amusement. Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work (Warshauer). Thus, it can be understood that the concept of American dream is nothing but the dream of an ordinary American to be the part of the capitalist society at any cost. Writers such as Arthur Miller have severely criticized the concept of American dream and has emphasized on the folly of seeking after the American dream as it may discourage one from accomplishing the real values of life. Miller’s protagonists cherish their American dream; however, they fail to accomplish their American dream and end up in further miseries. No doubt, Miller has attempted to present the changing spheres of social structures through his plays. It is evident with the character of Eddie Carbone, the central character of the play The View from the Bridge. In Death of A Salesman, Miller again proves the fallibility of the American dream that promises wealth and economic freedom for Willy Loman who had to commit suicide for the future of his family. Thus, one can notice that Miller’s plays deal with the theme of American dream and the dramatist’s attempt is to bring to light the adverse effects of pursuing such a false notion. Many regard Arthur Miller as one of the greatest American playwrights of all time. He moved to New York during the time of the Second World War, and wrote a number of plays criticizing the notion of American Dream. As a witness to the changing spheres of the American society and the concept of American Dream during the post war period, Miller could clearly outline how it adversely affected the American Middle class. Miller’s popular plays like Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge and The Crucible offer best testimony for Miller’s criticism to American Dream. Miller has learned from his experience that the concept of American dream promises only probabilities rather than realities, especially that of success. The characterization of Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death of the Salesman makes it clear. The play unveils the disillusionment of the protagonist Willy Loman who tried to get hold of the American dream and failed terribly. It is after terribly failing in his attempt to help support his family that Loman decides to put an end to his life thinking that his death may save his family from its tormented state. However, Loman’s actions also display the desperation of the American middleclass who taste failure in gaining American dream. Willy Loman yearns for success in his life and for him “success means earning a lot of money and being highly esteemed in the business world and by others” (Schweke 14). This exposes the complimentary relation between the factor of wealth and the factor of prestige and reputation. One can find the glimpses of Miller’s personal experience or familiarity in presenting the theme and background of the play A View from the Bridge. The play depicts a longshoreman [Eddie] living in an Italian community in Red Hook. The community is governed by codes and for the community one’s masculinity is an essential component of life (C. W. E. Bigsby 178). Eddie, the protagonist of the play, plots his life against this masculinity. Here one can see that the feature of American Dream— for the single human being for any and every class, conceding. Eddie, the conventionally religious and contended man, allows illegal immigrants; two cousins of his wife, to stay with him when realizing the American Dream himself. He is well aware of their intentions and takes pride in allowing them to stay in his house. Reading through the play, one can come across many parallels of the play in Death of the Salesman where Willy Loman is a victim of desire. According to C. W. E. Bigsby (179), “[Eddie Carbone] is a victim of desire which simultaneously exalts him precisely because it is implacable, because it is pursued with total reckless, because it takes him outside the moral universe where he stands, Lear –like abandoned.” The character of Eddie reveals that he, like Willy Loman, is repressed in the name of an ordered social life. The Crucible exposes the struggles of the central character, John Proctor, a poor farmer. The Crucible is set against the backdrop of the mad witch hunts of the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century. Harold Bloom in his book, Arthur Millers The crucible makes a clear assessment of the play and its central character, Proctor. For Bloom, the play is very powerful and he rightly quotes Miller: “the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history” (Bloom 46). Proctor was made a scapegoat of the existing social customs where he was left with two options- either to tell the truth or to tell a lie and live. One can, undoubtedly, compare this with the struggle of Willy Loman in Death of the Salesman, who preferred death rather than to continue his miserable life. To conclude, one can infer that Miller tries to prove the failure of commitments in his play The Crucible to show the fake side of freedom of opinion and speech in which he depicts the torture of the suspected communist and his pressure to confess their crimes. To conclude, it can be stated that Miller’s plays depict the failure of the American dream and his protagonists are torn between their aspirations to pursue success and their inability to accomplish their dreams. While the American dream offers optimism to the middle class men to pursue higher goals, Miller’s plays emphasize the fact that the very notion of American dream is a mere illusion rather than a reality. The dramatist has succeed in his attempts bring out the harsh realities of capitalism that craved the vitality of the American middle class in the post war era. The sudden growth in economic field prompted the lower as well as the middle class to hoard wealth and fame, which evidently led them to the pit of extreme suffering and even to death as in the case of Miller’s characters. Miller’s characters clearly expose the fact that they could not adjust with the transition to capitalism and new social structures. They fail in their attempts to get hold of the changed social set up and are tumbling over the hard realities of life. The failures of Willy Loman, Eddie and Proctor proclaim this fact, especially when observing their tragic end. Thus, it can be concluded that capitalism in America was powerless enough to fulfill the long cherished American dream of many a Middle class American and the present study calls for in-depth research into the issue whereby the researcher can bring out how well Miller’s plays depict the failure of the very notion of the ‘American dream’. Works cited Bloom, Harold. Arthur Millers The crucible. Ed.2 Infobase Publishing, 2008. Print. Duiker J.William, Spielvogel J. Jackson. The Essential World History. 3rd ed. Illustrated: Cengage Learning, 2006. Print. Hochschild L. Jennifer. Facing up to the American dream: race, class, and the soul of the nation. Illustrated: Princeton University Press, 1996. Print. Marglin A. Stephen and Schor, B. Juliet. The Golden Age of Capitalism: Reinterpreting the Postwar Experience. Illustrated: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print. Schnell, Hildegard. The American Dream. GRIN Verlag, 2010. Print. Schweke, Jessica. The Reception of the American Dream in Tennessee Williams Play A Streetcar Named Desire and Arthur Millers Play Death of a Salesman. GRIN Verlag, 2007. Print. Warshauer M. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Liverpool Community College, Liverpool, 2003. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. Read More