Death of a Salesman
"If the exaltation of tragic action were truly a property of the high-bred character alone, it is inconceivable that the mass of mankind should cherish tragedy above all other forms" (Dwyer). It makes little sense that tragedy should only pertain to those in high ranks. As explained in his essay "Tragedy and the Common Man," Arthur Miller sets out the pattern for his own idea of a tragedy and the tragic hero. This pattern supports the idea that a tragedy can occur in characters of common men as well as those in high places. In his paper, he demonstrates that it should be possible for everyone to be able to identify with the tragic hero. Miller redefines tragedy as more common occurrence than what might happen in such tragedies as portrayed by Shakespeare and Euripides, thus defining Death of a Salesman as a tragedy. Willy Loman is a tragic hero. His fear is that he wants to be viewed as a good, decent human being. He wants to believe that he's a well liked, decent person who doesn't make mistakes. The truth is that he makes mistakes, many that haunt him, and that he is human. Willy does not consider this normal and severely regrets such failures such as raising his children poorly, as he sees it, not doing w
The common man, indeed, can relate to Willy Loman. His stubborn refusal of character change along with his fear of being denied his identity by the world and his attempts to believe that existence can be justly evaluated brings upon him the death of a tragic hero. This death locks him into place both as a hero by Miller's standards and by traditional standards. "Did Arthur Miller provide us with this essay as a response or defense of Death of a Salesman? Is he trying to justify his work by remolding the definition of tragedy to justify and elevate this play? Whatever the case it is clear that Death of a Salesman fits the model set forth by Miller in 'Tragedy and the Common Man'" (Dwyer). "I thought I'd go out with my older brother and try to locate him, and maybe settle in the North with the old man. And I almost decided to go, when I met a salesman in the Parker House... and he was eighty-four years old, and he drummed out merchandise in thirty-one states... he'd pick up the phone and call the buyers, and without even leaving his room, at the age of eight-four, he made his living" (Miller, Death... 81). "The possibility of victory must be there in tragedy" (Miller, "Tragedy..."). Setting aside Willy's "tragic flaw," there is a certain amount of hope that Willy will change. If there is something to bring the element of hope into the play, there also comes the conceivable possibility of change. "Change is the compelling force, without which, there would be no hope" (Dwyer). And with change, comes the conceivable possibility of victory. The entire play, Willy lives by the credo "be well liked." "Someday I'll have my own business, and I'll never have to leave home any more... bigger that Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not lik
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1175
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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