In DEATH OF A SALESMAN the main character, Willie, is striving for the American dream, which is to have a nice house, a lot of money, a loving family, and to be well liked. Some critics say that the play is a portrait of the American dream gone sour.
             One of the parts of the American dream that Willie did not have was a nice house and a lot of money. Throughout the story Willie is constantly trying to pay off bills for his house, car, and other appliances that need to be fixed. Every single time he pays to get something fixed it always breaks again. Also, he doesn't have a nice home. Technically, he doesn't even own a house. He spent twenty years paying off loans for his home.
             Willie also lacks a loving family, and even though he tells everybody that he is, he is not well liked. His sons have absolutely no respect for him. They started losing their respect for him when Biff caught him in the middle of an affair. Now every time they see their father and see that he is losing his mind they look down upon him. In one scene they left him all by himself in a restaurant that they took him to. Also, Willie wasn't as popular as he thought he was. He thought that when he died that people from all over the country would go to his funeral. However, when the day of his funeral came there weren't people from all over the states. The only people who were there were his wife and two sons.
             Throughout the play Willie strived to achieve the American dream, but no matter how close he thought that he was to reaching that goal he never came close. He was a man that was losing his mind and living in his own little world that he ruled.
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