After the war, the American Dream, an ethos which offered the chance of wealth even to those who start with nothing, began to be misinterpreted. The great misconception was a person's inability to achieve the ideals of the American Dream must mean there are flaws in their personality. ... Both playwrights delve towards "the marrow" of truth and slowly reveal how facing the truth is necessary, however painful. ... The playwrights both deal with the "decline of the west" through Truth and Illusion. ...

• Word Count: 2422
• Approx Pages: 10

Playwright Arthur Miller believes that the common man can be a center of dramatic interest, and he demonstrated this belief in Death of a Salesman, a tragedy about a very common common-man: a salesman from Brooklyn. ... His paramount obsession with the American dream, which he has not achieved, causes him to seek solace in past memories while living in the present. ... He dreams the American legend: the brother who walked into the jungle and came out of it rich. ... Miller has captured the tragedy of the American common man in Death of a Salesman. ...

• Word Count: 1343
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School