Dead heroes are safer because you know what they've done, and if you're going to be disappointed, you'll see it in advance. There's much more room for disappointment with the living.
All of our "heroes" for the american dream have the same thing in common. Holden is selfish, McMurphy is a rebel to a fault, Gatsby went to far to try to win Daisy, Willy's vision was clouded by his need for success, Walter Lee loses all his money for his dream. All of these characters relate in the same way.They're all flawed one way or another and they're all...