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
Willy, even at an early age, had a chance to change and become like his brother Ben, but chose not to. "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. He is constantly haunted by memories of his dead brother Ben who struck it rich the jungle. These include his argument with Howard that he can still sell, his arguments with Charley over the card game and the job, and his argument with Biff about not being "a dime a dozen. Willy, like traditional tragic heroes, has a tragic flaw. He wants to do things right, but the fact is he has many incidences that haunt him. ell in business, though he wishes he was, and cheating on Linda, showing her to be a commodity of which he takes advantage. What makes this tragic, though, is that he does not change. "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). 82)! He, however, refuses to change his view of the world and continues his struggle upstream.
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Acceptance Essays
