The Tragic Hero

"Man is here too little and too passive to play the tragic hero".

In Death of a Salesman, Miller presents us with a new version of what we define as tragedy. If we look to the Greek plays such as Oedipus Rex, we are shown very fixed ideas of tragedy that involve a hero falling from high stature to the depths of depravity by the mistakes that he has made. Indeed, Aristotle termed tragedy as downfall that was not the fault of the hero. However, he produced his definitions based largely on The Theban Plays and so perhaps gives us reason to question these archaic prescriptive terms. Moreover, if we are to ascertain whether or not Willy Lowman is able to "play the tragic hero," we must surmise how effectively Miller's writing conforms to our preconceptions of the tragedy genre. It would be luxurious to suppose that these preconceptions are changeable, for to give the above quote any credence, we are acknowledging "the tragic hero" as being one of many such figures that have made literary fame (or indeed infamy) before it.

Miller has willingly spoken of his play as being tragic and calls on the reader and his critics to acknowledge it so. "I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kin

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However, how then are we defining honour? From the opening and indeed our initial perceptions of Willy, are that he is conscious of the world around him and enjoys all that is natural, "…it's so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick, and the sun is so warm. Therefore, rather than attribute tragic status based on depth and lack of specificity, we must look to character stature for information. Miller does not explicitly write of Willy's death and leaves a rather obvious implication instead. Willy is not "too little," but he is too feeble minded and unsure of his convictions to play the tragic hero. Talking in slogans and adverts, "Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built," (26) Willy believes in what he is selling, albeit not a product but an ideology.

Indeed, we have often associated tragedy with someone who starts on a high level (and falls), however, we may suppose that the same is true of Willy Lowman.

The American Dream had (some argue still does have), the ability to give you everything; if you only stretched out, the world was within your reach. The irony of Willy is that if he and his children had followed the American Dream, they stood to succeed as well as Charley, Bernard and the notorious Ben. However, selfishness may well be seen as a flaw, indicative of the morally corrupt Dream this "hero" follows. " (1949 cited Weales 1967) This view forces us to question our initial interpretations of the "tragic hero. On the other hand, if we are not to blame Willy for his own nemesis, then he is not only honourable but his end is indeed tragic. Able to socially critique Willy due to his seeming moral security, he stands as a template of what could be achieved if only you knew how. If we examine for one moment, the more confident and separate the character is from the American Dream, the more detail and information we learn of their lives. Willy is not entirely to blame, as self-worth is as necessary to him as the money he will earn. Ben's character does not contain the realism of the others.

Approximate Word count = 1328
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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