In the 1940’s, the only thing that people wanted to achieve was the American dream, they had an idea that if you work hard and honestly, you could achieve great success and become rich. They had the idea in their minds that materialistic things is success and happiness. “Death of a Salesman” is a tragedy about New York families and their differences. Arthur Miller is criticizing the American Dream and its competitive and materialistic nature. Willy Loman is an average guy who tries to hide his failures behind delusions and he strives to be successful. The play was inspired by a short story of Arthur Miller which he lost interest in but then later got fascinated by again. This was the story of his own uncle who was a salesman. After World War 2, Americans went through an existentialist period and people questioned everything. They were uneasy because the rumor of communism lurked around the country. A lot of the Americans cold not conform and held on to the idea of a perfect life and success, the American Dream. People strived to work hard to earn the materialistic things that went with the idea of the American Dream. Not only did people have this false hope, but America promoted it. The writers and artists took advantage of this uneasy feeling they were having and wrote about the problems in people’s lives and the issues they have. They created works criticizing the people and their idea that the American Dream is fully accessible. They felt disturbed that Americans could base their lives around cars, houses and other material possessions. Another aspect that amped Arthur Miller to write this piece of literature is the fact that it is based on his personal experience, his uncle Manny Newman imagined a competition between Arthur Miller and his own son. Newman did not accept failure and also made sure that there was a presence in his house for all his fellow community member to see. He thus transformed a short story into a suc