Illusion versus reality in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller"Death of a Salesman", by Arthur Miller, is a play that tells the story of a traveling salesman, Willy Loman, who encounters frustration and failure as he reflects and experiences his life. Willy's pursuit of the American dream leads to his failure because all his life he chases the illusion of the American dream and not its reality. His perfection-mindedness, his obsession with success, his constant reminiscence of the past and prediction of the future all contribute to his defeat in the end. The reality of the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success, however, requires working hard and dedicating yourself to both your professional life and family life. However, the Dream's illusion is that achieving material prosperity defines success. Not recognizing the importance of hard work in achieving the American Dream is another aspect of the delusion. Ignoring the present, Willy is unable to face reality. He has a tendency to live in the past and think about the future. He always thinks that if he had done something differently, this could have happened, or things would get better as time goes by. His habit of distorting the past never allows Willy to realize what is happening in that moment and in the present. At one point, when Willy wanders down memory lane, he "says" to Biff and Happy, "America is full of nice cities and good, honest people. And they know me, boys, the best people there will be open". sesame for all of us, because one thing guys: I have friends, I can park my car on any street and the cops protect it like theirs" (31). Willy does this distortion of pa...... middle of paper . .....ind.Willy Loman portrays a "common man", living a life that is purely an illusion. Although Willy has good intentions, his tragic flaw is that he only focuses on the appearance of the American dream and never about reality, about work ethics or how to achieve it. Willy causes his downfall, his defeat, because he tries to pursue this "superficial" idea. Miller includes this theme of the American dream in his social criticism in an attempt to portray deviation in society's values.For example, materialism and technological advances cause the American dream to change as times change.Seller is a position that has a declining importance at that time on what society has established. However, as society changes, the values ​​one has may not, causing conflict between society and the individual.