"Death of a Salesman" Thought Piece

When looking at the various "American dreams" in Death of a Salesman as reflections of different eras in American history, the reader can not only understand each character better, but also the philosophy they each hold fast to, and why none are entirely correct.
First, Biff's American dream manifests itself when he moves westward and seems to roam the wide open country-- a lifestyle very different from the new suburban/businessman lifestyle he came from. The contrast in these two "American dreams" opens up a new door of interpretation to his character. Historically, in the days of Manifest Destiny, when the west was open for settlement and many a pioneer set out for a new life, this American dream of moving westward was often a way to abandon a life of failure and restart somewhere entirely new. Many a convict would flee their crimes and seek redemption in the west. So it is interesting that after failing math class and thus not managin to graduate high school, that Biff pursues this American dream. According to the dream of his father, he has failed; so he flees. Also, after discovering his father's mistake (the affair), he flees. As a result, Biff comes to represent this "pioneer, fresh start" kind of American dream, since he flees his old life after a.) failing, and b.) discovering another dimention to his family's dysfunctional tendencies.
Willy, on the other hand, represents the post-WWII suburban dream. Due to the GI Bill after World War II, office jobs, rather than factory jobs or farming, grew increasingly more popular. Soon, most people found themselves employed in the worlds of business and service rather than industry; and this, along with the 1950s white flight to suburbia created the societal perception that success was a manicured lawn and a beautiful home, a working father with a large income, a housewife, two kids, and two Fords in the driveway. Pressured by this newfound societal expectation, Willy becomes consumed with living up to this standard, which, the play's end result comments, eventually kills him. He even says, "y'know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive." With a societal emphasis placed on business and service, suddenly, for the survival of the business, the worker becomes about what he (or she) is worth; and when Willy Loman is no longer worth his salary to his employer (to which he has dedicated all the "appointments" and "years"), how is he to know he is still worth something as a human being? When his American dream, which he has poured all of himself into, fails, what else does he have?
The contrast between Biff's free-spirited, failure-abandoning dream and Willy's socially-bound, success-driven dream explains some of the dysfunction within the Loman family, as everyone seems to have different goals in life. Viewing their ultimate purposes differently, they look at their lives through different lenses, and argue about what they see. But by analyzing the American dreams of various characters, the reader can identify their motives, and better understand them as people.