In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman can't grow plants from seeds because he has an inability to succeed. Throughout the play, Willy tries to be successful at the things he does (including being a salesman, a father, a good provider, and a well-liked person), but he fails at each of these. He is misguided in his expectations and cannot face reality; this causes his ultimate downfall and can be considered his fatal flaw. Growing plants from seeds is symbolic of Willy's flaws. Growth of a plant represents prosperity and new life. Willy cannot do something as simple as growing plants, and he recognizes that this shouldn't be that difficult. The repeated failures Willy faces eventually beat him down, and, at the end of the play, he takes his own life as he succumbs to despair.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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