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Josely Martinez
Ms. von Holst
English 3
25 November 2014
Death of a Salesman comparison to The Great Gatsby
Death of a Salesman received many acknowledgements that talked about the American
Dream. The story of Willy Loman who tries desperately to live the life that he dreams of living
as well as his two sons. Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby tries to repeat the past in order to live
that life he so desperately hopes for. Even though both Arthur Miller and F. Scott Fitzgerald both
describe the concept of the American Dream and the aspect of hope to show meaning, they differ
in how they demonstrate different social classes.
To begin with, Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby are similar in that they
describe the concept of the American Dream. In the text of Death of a Salesman, it states that,
Once in my life I would like to own something outright before its broken! Im always in a race
with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and its on its last legs.- They time those
things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, theyre used up. (Miller, 73) This
explains Arthur Millers interpretation of the American Dream as objects being fixed and Willys
ability to have enough money to pay for his bills. His would compare to F Scott Fitzgeralds
interpretation of the American Dream. In the text of The Great Gatsby, it states that, Gatsby
believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us
then, but thats no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms fartherAnd one
fine morning-(Fitzgerald, 189) This explains Fitzgeralds concept of the American Dream as an
idea that the main character tried to grasp at every single opportunity. Both of the main

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characters obtained an idea of what the American Dream meant to them using imagery, Willys
being the beautiful scenery and Gatsbys being the green light.
Also, Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby are both similar in that they use the
aspect of hope to show meaning. In the text of Death of a Salesman, it states that You and Hap
and I, and Ill show you all the towns. America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding
people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people.
And when I bring you fellas up, therell be open sesame for all of us, cause one thing, boys: I
have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their
own. This summer, heh? (Miller, 31) This explains Willys hope for his two sons in the past
how they were going to live up to his expectations and the first thing to do was show his hope for
them in New England with its new towns and people. This would compare to F Scott
Fitzgeralds interpretation of hope for Jay Gatsby. In the text of The Great Gatsby, it states that,
Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished
forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very
near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a
green light on a dock. (Fitzgerald, 98) This explains Gatsbys string of hope that he had for
Daisy and because of how close they now were, he still hung on to that hope. Both of the main
characters had their own hope for the future, Willys being Happy and Biffs future and Gatsbys
being him Daisys future together.
However, Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby differ in that they demonstrate different
social classes. In the text of Death of a Salesman, it states that, : Are they any worse than his
sons? When he brought them business, when he was young, they were glad to see him. But

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now his old friends, the old buyers that loved him so and always found some order to hand him
in a pinch theyre all dead, retired.- Now he takes his valises out of the car and puts them back
and takes them out again and hes exhausted. Instead of walking he talks now. He drives seven
hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him any more, no one welcomes him. And
what goes through a mans mind, driving seven hundred miles home without having earned a
cent?- When he has to go to Charley and borrow fifty dollars a week and pretend to me that its
his pay? How long can that go on? (Miller, 57) This explains that Willy is lower class where he
needs to drive miles away to make ends meet and has to borrow money from other people. This
would contrast F. Scott Fitzgeralds concept of social class in The Great Gatsby. In the text of
The Great Gatsby it states that, He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores
here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter-I picked him for a bootlegger the
first time I saw him and I wasnt far wrong. (Fitzgerald, 141) This explains how Gatsby become
upper class by selling bootlegged alcohol over the counter and succeeding by becoming rich and
famous. Neither of the main characters were from the same social class but both were lower class
poor at one point in their lives.
In conclusion, even though both Arthur Miller and F. Scott Fitzgerald both describe the
concept of the American Dream and the aspect of hope to show meaning, they differ in how they
demonstrate different social classes. Arthur Miller and F. Scott Fitzgerald both wrote about the
lives of people tormented by the American Dream and showed that each person has a bit of
Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby in them.

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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1995 ed. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. 1958 ed. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc, 1949. Print