“The American dream has become a nightmare” (Sanders). The American Dream is the ideal life of comfort and happiness that Americans desire to achieve. Death Of A Salesman written by Arthur Miller and The Catcher In The Rye written by JD Salinger are two very different books, however, they share the idea of ​​each protagonist wanting to achieve the American dream. Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death Of A Salesman, is trying to make it big by making a lot of money and starting a happy, loving family. Holden Caulfield, protagonist of The Catcher In The Rye, tries to do the same by becoming a better student, friend, brother and son. These two stories share the common theme that when striving to achieve a prestigious goal such as the ideal of American comfort, an individual often finds themselves caught up in mental health issues. Both characters show signs of these problems when they begin to have hallucinations, mood swings, and reach a vivid point of self-realization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, Willy and Holden experience hallucinations and lucid daydreams about their pasts throughout their travels in the books. Willy experiences flashbacks of when his two sons, Biff and Happy, were younger. These flashbacks are from when Willy was proud of his children; for example, a flashback to when Biff was younger and was a football star going to school on scholarship, before one of his games. Willy dreams of his deceased older brother, Ben, who represents wealth and success to Willy because he found a diamond mine in an African jungle. He also experiences flashbacks and hallucinations about the woman he had an affair with. The woman is a representation of Willy's loneliness in his life and in his marriage. These hallucinations and flashbacks become dangerous for Willy: “Suddenly, I couldn't drive. The car kept rolling onto the shoulder, you know? [...] No, it's me, it's me. Suddenly I realize I'm going sixty miles an hour and I don't remember the last five minutes. I – I can’t – keep my mind on it” (Miller 13). This shows that he becomes a dangerous driver when he goes off the road and also starts running the brake lights. Willy's flashbacks and daydreams represent his evolution as he thinks back to when he was a successful man. Holden also experiences hallucinations. He often sees and speaks to his younger brother, Allie, who died at the age of 10 from leukemia. “I started talking, a little out loud, to Allie. I do this sometimes when I'm depressed. [...] 'Okay, go home, get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house. Hurry up’” (Salinger 99). He also dreams of himself in situations where he is dying, such as when he is walking down the street and he imagines crossing the street but never reaching the other side because he was killed first. "Every time I got to the end of a block and got off that damn sidewalk, I felt like I'd never make it to the other side of the street, I thought I was going to just go down, down, down and no one “I'll never see me again” (Salinger 65). Holden's flashbacks and daydreams represent the happiness and sense of success he had with his brother before Allie's death. The hallucinations experienced by Willy and Holden are side effects of their mental illnesses, caused by their desire for the American dream. Additionally, Willy and Holden becomevery emotionally unstable characters and start to have mood swings. Willy's mood changes quickly. For example, when Willy was in the kitchen with his wife and having fun. Then, all of a sudden, he became very angry at the kitchen appliances he and Linda own, because he always pays for them, while other families have better ones. Willy also contradicts himself frequently, saying things like "Biff is a lazy bum." [...] There’s one thing about Biff: he’s not lazy” (Miller 16). This shows that he has difficulty deciphering what he feels and taking out his frustration on those around him. Holden is also unable to control his emotions. His mood fluctuates as he feels depressed, sad, then angry, and often raises his voice at others for no reason. An example of this is when he hires a prostitute. He later decides that he doesn't want her, which results in him being beaten by his pimp. The woman removes five dollars from Holden's wallet, which upsets him; “All of a sudden I started crying. [...] but I swear I'm crazy. I swear to God that I am” (Salinger 56). Holden also contradicts himself and how he feels. For example, when dating a childhood friend named Sally, he initially confesses his love for her, but later tells her that she is a "royal pain in the ass" (Salinger 159). This proves that while striving so hard to achieve their American dreams, their mental health is deteriorating, as shown by their mood swings. Finally, the two characters both reach a point of personal realization in their lives, where they make big decisions to help themselves become their own idea of ​​success. . By the end of the book, Willy realizes that his idea of ​​the American dream is unrealistic and he realizes that he will never achieve business success and that he cannot control his life. his sons. From there, he seeks to find an alternative solution to succeed. He realizes that he is no longer able to support his family with money from sales and Charley's money, so he begins by planting seeds in their garden with the idea of ​​providing food for his family. Then he makes his final decision on how he can succeed. He decides that his $20,000 in insurance will allow him to take better care of his wife and two sons than if he continues his life as she does now. Throughout the book, it is foreshadowed that Willy will commit suicide because he has been suicidal from the beginning; “He tried to kill himself. [...] The insurance inspector came. He said they had proof. That all those accidents last year weren't accidents” (Miller 58), in the end his final decision is to commit suicide. At the end of Holden's journey through the story, he realizes that he is taking his life in the wrong direction and that at the rate he is going, he will not be able to achieve his idea of ​​the American dream. He realizes that he won't be able to succeed or please his parents with the way he behaves. Throughout the story, Holden exhibits suicidal thoughts and tendencies very frequently: “Anyway, I'm pretty glad they invented the atomic bomb. If there's another war, I'll be on it. I will volunteer, I swear to God” (Salinger 263). Meanwhile, Holden admits that he feels depressed but avoids admitting that he has many unhealthy coping mechanisms and needs help. His point of personal realization is when he realizes that he cannot achieve his dreams at this point in his life, but if he makes some changes, he is eligible to succeed. At the end of the book he admits that he needs help and is admitted to a,.