Willie Loman Still in Pursuit of "The Dream"

 

America has long been known as a land of opportunity. Out of that thinking comes the "American Dream," the idea that anyone can ultimately achieve success, even if he or she began with nothing. In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," we follow Willy Loman as he lives a life of desperate pursuit of the dream of "success." In this classic drama, the playwright suggests to the audience both what is truthful and what is illusory about the American Dream and, hence, in the lives of millions of Americans. 

Unusual in its presentation of a common man as a tragic figure, the play received the Pulitzer Prize as well as the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award when it was produced in 1949. Although he denied any direct intention to make a political statement about the capitalist way of life in the U.S., Miller was responsible for bringing the American Dream onto the stage for evaluation. The timelessness of Miller's award-winning masterpiece is noted as the play, once again, experienced a highly acclaimed ten-week run at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London's West End in the summer of 2015.