The Promise and Failure of the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Plays

Abstract

This paper is aimed at discussing the notion of American Dream reflected on the plays of the American author Arthur Miller. By analyzing and making a close reading of Miller's plays Death of a Salesman, The Man Who Had All the Luck, A Memory of Two Mondays, The American Clock and The Last Yankee, as well as taking a close look at the history and meaning of the concept, its integration into American literature as well as the author's relation to it in his works, the thesis aims to identify the overlapping points in the portrayal of the American Dream in these works. Moreover, the paper addresses the way the promise and the failure of the concept of American Dream is used to reflect on the American society in general by elaborating on the stories of the individuals.