cottagecore and death of a salesman (yes, this does relate :))

I love cottagecore.

a quick scroll on tiktok will yield videos of picturesque homes settled in lush, farm landscapes, rustic recipes made from fresh, homegrown ingredients, flowering fields bathed in natural sunlight - all hallmarks of the cottagecore aesthetic. 

I mean - can you just imagine going out to have a picnic all day and then coming home to make cute fruit tarts from berries you just picked on your walk back home and watching the sun set as you look out the window from your little cottage nestled in the middle of nowhere? 

no? just me?

not me watching cottagecore tiktoks for "english hw"

So, it was to my surprise that when reading death of a salesman, I encountered a fellow cottagecore lover (ok maybe he did not say this explicitly, but I think we all know it's implied):

"It's a measly manner of existence. To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer. To devote your whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying...

This farm I work on, it's spring there now, see? And they've got about fifteen new colts. There's nothing more inspiring or - beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt."

 - Biff, DOAS (1875)

Ladies and gentlemen, Biff is indeed a cottagecore icon. Not only does he enjoy the aesthetic - but he actually embodies it, working on a farm in real life!!

But in all seriousness, the popularity of cottagecore now and Biff's desire to work on a farm in DOAS both reveal something about the nature of the American Dream. 

I believe that the reason cottagecore is so popular nowadays is because, somewhere, deep down, we all long for a simpler life - a simpler time, even. Instead of the rat race of modern society, we fantasize about a life that is not as hurried - perhaps, not as flashy or glamorous, but one that allows us to stop and smell the roses and to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Similarly, in Death of a Salesman, Biff wishes for a simple life in the farmland - one characterized by the beauty of simplicity and hard work. 

On the farm, Biff finds contentment and even wonder - he states that "there's nothing more inspiring" than seeing the birth of a new colt on the farm. There's nothing more beautiful than watching nature. And yet, despite the obvious happiness Biff experiences with farm life, he returns back to the bustling city of Brooklyn, New York - the polar opposite of cottagecore or a simple farm life.

The question is - why? We need to look no further than what Biff says next after his romanticized description of the farm: 

    "And every time I come back here [Brooklyn] I know that all I've done is to waste my life."

Notice what Biff doesn't say - he doesn't say: "I came back to Brooklyn because I found farm life too harsh/unfulfilling/boring". Instead, he only feels prompted for a change of lifestyle because he feels societal pressure that he isn't doing enough - he isn't "successful." In essence, Biff feels insecurity because he isn't following the modern American Dream.

You know - the white picket fence, the sprawling house, the neatly manicured lawn. 

is this a clip from pbs kids? you bet it is

The modern American Dream is built off of hard work - but more than that, it is based off the accumulation of status, wealth, and visible possessions. 

After all, what is success if it's not something you can show off? (pls note the sarcasm here)

By this standard, Biff has failed - a farm life is not flashy and certainly, not the most lucrative field by any means. And yet, the irony is in the fact that the American Dream started off with farmers - farmers settling on their own plot of land, planting and harvesting their own crops, making a living and happy home through honest hard work. 

What does it say about our society that our modern definition of success has drifted so far away from what the American Dream used to be? 

For me, I think this speaks to the artificiality of society-defined success. In Death of a Salesman, Biff faces a classic tradeoff: contentment vs. achievement. To him, deciding between the farm life and the business life is like deciding between failure and success. 

But in reality, these are false choices. Sure, Biff is a failure if he chooses the farm - that is, if you define success through the lens of society. But on a personal level, Biff's life on the farm is actually quite successful. On the farm, he experiences peace. A sense of joy. Fulfillment. His life is uncomplicated - and yet, he still works hard and is able to experience the satisfaction of a job well done. 

As I near the end of high school and prepare to go off to college, I feel the pressure of choosing a life that society deems successful more and more - choose a lucrative major, go to an elite college, get a well paying job. And yet, in the middle of all this, Biff's story reminds me that there is more. There's more to life than possessions and titles and achievement. After all, life is not defined by one glorious moment of fame. More often, it's defined by the simple pleasures - a picnic, a ray of sunshine, baking a cake.

 I can only say that as I progress, I  hope that I stay consistent and choose the success that I find personally fulfilling. And that is all I can hope for you all as well :).