Wrong Dreams. Right Dreams.

“He had all the wrong dreams.  All, all, wrong...He never knew who he was” (Miller 111).  These are Biff’s words at his father’s funeral.  What is a dream?  Is it a something that our imagination makes without our consent?  Or is it something that we create ourselves?  We can scientifically study the dreams that come in our slumber, but what about the dreams that are born while we are awake?  One definition of dream is “a strongly desired goal or purpose.”  A dream is something that we wish to accomplish.  One must first discover and create for himself something that he wishes to accomplish.  As Biff so painfully states, his father did not know who he was; Biff later sharply says that he knows who he is.  A dream comes first from finding something that is personally fulfilling.  Willy Loman’s dreams led to dead ends because they were adopted from the heart of another man and founded in the opinions of outside sources.  I contest to say that a dream is something one must work for.  The dreams we discover are not our fate, but our choice.  It is a choice to work for and accomplish the dreams our heart hold for our lives.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one early use of the word dream derived in Old English is a verb meaning “To make a musical or joyful noise; to make melody.”  To dream is to take action; it is a verb.  To dream is to make an audible sound that others can hear.  To dream is to bring joy to the heart.  Three-time track and field Olympian Gail Devers once said, “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”  Willy Loman did not know what it meant to dream, to find something fulfilling and work towards it with determination.  Amidst the dreary and dismal background of Death of a Salesman, there is perhaps a gleam of light coming in at the close: Biff’s realization that self-revelation leads to the right kind of dreams.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.