Supporting that Death of a Salesman is a Tragedy
Uploaded by Slickest Nicca on Sep 20, 2006
In The Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman serves as a tragic hero and the play itself is a tragedy. It has many of the characteristics of a tragedy such as the idea that Willy thinks he has no flaws with himself. Willy has many characteristics of a tragic hero, in that he is a martyr who is willing to kill himself for personal dignity. A true tragedy does not necessarily have to involve a “great” individual, but rather a “grand” tragedy.
The Death of a Salesman is a tragedy because it fits the definition of a tragedy. A tragedy by definition is, “… the consequence of a man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly.” (Tragedy and the Common Man, A. Miller) Even though he attains a professional understanding of himself and the fundamental nature of the sales profession he fails to realize his personal failure as a father and a husband. He believes he is a superb father to Biff and Happy but his constant praising of Biff causes him to be overly confident and can not get work under someone because of his inflated self-esteem. Willy freely shows that his favorite son is Biff, which ruins Happy’s psyche. This makes Happy want to get attention from his parents by any means. Willy’s infidelity shows his failure to his wife, adding to this, he denies to Biff and to himself that he was unjust in cheating. Willy’s final failure to understand is himself; his salesmen profession is not his true calling in life. Willy’s life calling is in blue collar work, “You know something, Charley, there’s more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made.”
Willy Loman is tragic hero, in that he serves as a martyr to his family. “I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing—his sense of personal dignity” (Tragedy and the Common Man, A. Miller) At the end of the play, Willy realizes his failures and that they are so plentiful that he cannot deal with them. Instead, he seeks a solution: suicide. Willy reasons he can finally be a success because his life insurance policy will in some way compensate Linda for his affair. Additionally, Biff will consider him a martyr and respect him...