The struggle for financial security and success has always held an important place in American culture. The idea of ​​the American dream captivates the hearts of many people, but leaves almost all of them enslaved in a never-ending economic struggle to achieve high status, wealth, and a house with a white picket fence. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, we see how difficult it is for Willy Loman and his sons to achieve what is called the American dream. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she examines an African-American family's struggle to escape the poverty that prevents them from achieving any sort of financial stability, or in other words the American dream. Both plays explore the desire for wealth, the driving forces that encourage the continued struggle for dreams, and how these dreams can lead to the downfall of the patriarchal figure. However, the plays contain minor differences, which have a common underlying factor, which leads to a much more positive outcome than Death of a Salesman. We know that both of our protagonist's dreams involve wealth, which is the basis for almost every element of the standard American dream, but what are Walter and Willy striving for in particular? For Walter, the American dream is to become a successful entrepreneur. This dream is largely based on the idea of ​​wealth, because Walter both needs money to finance his liquor store business, but also because with the profits from his business, he will be able to support himself on his own. needs of his family. The exchange between Mom and Walter “Oh, so now this is life. Money is life. Freedom used to be life, now it's money. I guess the world is really changing. . . No, it was always money, Mom. We have... middle of paper ... as Walter and Willy seem to think it is. On the contrary, they both show that the quest for wealth and the American dream lead to the downfall of their protagonists. They have similarities, but while Miller shows Willy's final and absolute downfall through his suicide, Hansberry allows redemption for Walter. She allows family to be a saving grace that can pull him back from the edge. Regardless of the ending, both authors have managed to write a play that makes us question the validity of this so-called "American Dream" by showing the desire for wealth, the driving forces behind this dream and the ultimate downfall which can be the consequence of having an unrealistic dream. Work cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A raisin in the sun. 10th ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print. Miller, Arthur. Death of a seller. 7th ed. New York: Penguin Group, 19