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 well in business, thou
"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). Willy, even at an early age, had a chance to change and become like his brother Ben, but chose not to. He saw the life of a salesman and refused to do anything else. He had decided what he wanted to be. In the end, because of his unwillingness to change and submit passively to the established world, Willy dies at the hands of his tragic flaws. "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 liked. He's liked, but he's not well liked" (Miller, Death... 30)! He finds this untrue as he increasingly makes less and less money on business trips. "Howard, and now I can't even pay my insurance! You can't eat the orange and throw away the peel! A man is not a piece of fruit" (Miller, Death... 82)! He, however, refuses to change his view of the world and continues his struggle upstream. What makes this tragic, though, is that he does n
Some common words found in the essay are:
Miller Death, Willy Loman, Tragedy Willy's, Arthur Miller, Tragedy Setting, Indeed Willy, , Death Salesman, Parker House, Dwyer Willy, tragic hero, miller death, miller tragedy, tragic flaw, he's liked, death salesman, willy loman, comes conceivable possibility, conceivable possibility, idea tragedy, submit passively, miller tragedy willy's, underlying fear displaced, liked he's liked, submit passively established,
Approximate Word count = 1171
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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