Every man dreams of achieving the American dream. The dream that one day he will become successful and rich. The dream that he will make a name for himself in the world. But how do you attain such a dream? What must a man do in order to achieve this dream? In Arthur Millers modern play Death of A Salesman, Willy Lomans misguided view of the American dream was what caused his failure in life because he stressed the importance of popularity and personal attractiveness over hard work and perseverance. Having no male role models to guide him, Willy grew up believing that the key to success was to be “well-liked.
He believed that being “well-liked” gave you special privileges. He believed that being “well-liked” opened all kinds of doors and opportunities that will eventually lead to ones success. Willy believed it so much that he always stressed to his sons how important it is to be well liked and to have a lot of friends. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, therell be open sesame for all of us, cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own. (p. 31)
Willys stories were mostly lies and tall tales, but his belief that a man can get by just on the merit of being “well-liked” was so strong that he himself believed the lies that he told. Willy also stressed the importance of contacts. Of course if you were “well-liked” you would have a lot of friends and therefore have a lot of contacts. Willy believed that what you do is not as important as who you know. He believed that the contacts he had would help him get closer to reaching his goal and achieving the American dream. Because its not what you do, Ben. Its who you know and the smile on your face!
Its contacts, Ben, contacts! The whole wealth of Alaska passes over the lunch table at the Commodore Hotel, and thats the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked! (p. 86) It is true that you need contacts to be successful in life. But thats not all you need! Willy doesnt see that even though you are “well-liked” and have lots of contacts, you wont be successful unless you work hard for it. He doesnt see the necessity for hard work. All he sees is the surface of successful people who seem “well-liked”.
But Willy never asked how they got to be “well-liked” or successful. He never realized that maybe this person was smart which was why he was “well-liked”. He never realized that maybe this person was “well-liked” only after he became successful. All Willy could see was that Biff was going to be a successful man because Biff was fairly attractive and he was liked by a lot of people. Bernard can get the best marks in school, yunderstand, but when he gets out in the business world, yunderstand, you are going to be five times ahead of him.
Thats why I thank Almighty God youre both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. (p. 33) Willy often scoffed at Bernard when Biff and Bernard was still in high school. He always said that Biff would be better than Bernard because Biff was “well-liked”. Ironically, Biff never amounted to anything and Bernard turned out to be a successful lawyer. Willy asked Bernard what the secret to success was and why Biff never caught on.
Bernard simply replied that Biff never applied himself for anything. (p. 92) The sad thing is, Willy never caught on either. He still felt that if a man was impressive and “well-liked” than he would be on top of the world! He would achieve greatness and become successful. He marveled at the fact that people like Charley and Bernard, two people who were “liked but not well-liked,” (p. 33) were so successful. He couldnt see that Charley and Bernard were probably successful because they worked hard for their success.
Willy never understood that just because you were and impressive and “well-liked” doesnt mean you would be successful. He never understood that maybe the successful men are only “well-liked” after they become successful. Why must everybody like you? Who liked J. P. Morgan? Was he impressive? IN a Turkish bath hed look like a butcher. But with his pockets on he was very well liked. (p. 97) The key to success is not just being “well-liked”, being impressive, or even being attractive. Its not who you know but what you do.
And even though having contacts does help you become successful, its all the hard work and energy you put into what you do that pays off in the end. Willy was a failure because he never realized this. He never realized that the hard work, diligence, and perseverance were the secrets to success. He never realized that even though you had contacts, you still had to work hard and apply yourself in order to become successful. He never realized that when a man achieves success through hard work, the things he deemed important like being “well-liked” and being impressive follows.