Death of a Salesman fulfills Aristotelian guidelines for tragedy to a certain extent but does not fully qualify for the tragic hero defined by Aristotle. Aristotle defined tragedy as ¡°the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself, incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions.¡± He says that the tragic hero will evoke both pity and terror, and the effect will be stronger if the hero is of higher than ordinary moral worth. The protagonist of Death of a Salesman who is Willy, however, does not qualify the conditions defined by Aristotle. Willy is a common man that the readers feel he is no better than them, he is neither noble nor heroic. Even when he commits suicide at the end of the play, his death does not cause a pity or terror inside the readers mind. One can conclude that Willy is just a common man, not a heroic character, by his dream that he never achieves even after his death. Willy has high but unattainable ideals. He wants to be liked by all; he wants to succeed by terms, which do not suit his nature. He wants to leave his mark on the world but fails it. His struggle to achieve his dream causes him to act out the behaviors of a common man, not as a hero. Willy¡¯s tragic flaw is that he is a big dreamer, who does not realize the reality in the world, and his tragic flaw turns him into a tragic hero mentioned by Aristotle, but Willy is lack of nobility and higher rank or class in the society. Willy¡¯s death appears to be reasonable for what he shows and how he acts in the play, and rather evokes pity or terror out of the readers, which makes him not a strong tragic hero.
             ...