The American Reality

Introduction

The American Poetry & Literacy Project is a national, non-profit organization created by the late Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky and a young author named Andrew Carroll. Brodsky, who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and later served as the U.S. Poet Laureate, championed the idea that poetry should be made accessible to all Americans (Miller: 14).

Since it was created in 1993, the APL Project has distributed more than 1,000,000 free, brand new poetry books in schools, hotels, subway and train stations, hospitals, jury waiting rooms, supermarkets, truck stops, day-care centers, airports, zoos, and other public venues nationwide. The purpose of these giveaways is to put poetry directly into the hands of people from all walks of life in hopes that they will read, enjoy, and share these free books.

Discussion Analysis

Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman's demise in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller results from a combination of his distorted view of the American Dream, which he holds onto stubbornly because of his ego, and from his son coming home (Miller: 15). Willy has a distorted idea of the American Dream, believing that being liked and popular will make one successful. Willy Loman's ego has made him hold onto his American Dream, and he refuses to give up on it. The return home of his eldest son, Biff, sets up the circumstance for Willy's demise. Upon seeing his son, Willy's ego refuses to accept that his once popular son has not achieved anything in his life after he left high school. Willy's distorted American Dream leads him to commit suicide. Through Willy, Arthur Miller suggests that capitalistic America has passed a distorted idea of the American Dream to everyday Americans. Willy Loman is flawed because of his ego, which makes him obsessed with his perverted American Dream, and when combined with the return of his son, causes his demise (Miller: 17).

Willy Loman strives towards a twisted American Dream, in which being liked will make one successful. Willy believes that, "the man who creates personal interest is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want." Willy equates success with being wealthy and having a great deal of money and thinks that being liked will let one have such success. Willy has a materialistic view of the American Dream, and he refuses to give up on the idea even when presented with proof that he is wrong.

Willy's character flaw, his ego, makes him stubbornly pursue his idea that popularity directly influences success. Charley offers Willy a job out of pity because Willy has lost his job and now has no source of income to pay his bills. When Willy becomes angered, his ego fights off his feeling of failure (Miller & Gerald: 78).

Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman accuses American capitalism of selling a lie, a distorted picture of the American Dream, to everyday Americans like Willy. Willy has been introduced into a distorted view of American capitalism and ...