As Aristotle defined, a tragedy should fall under four headings.
             In the times of Aristotle the tragic hero needed to be of high social stature. In the modern day, readers often prefer to read stories with which they can relate to. Therefore the tragic hero can be any ordinary person, just like Willy Loman. The reader must also be able to admire and pity the hero, however this is not true in Death of a Salesman. In Mliller's commentaries, Tragedy and the Common Man, he states that "the underlyning struggle is that of the individual attempting to gain his "rightful" position in his society". This is true, but there needs to be more than an attempt- some sort of happiness must be achieved so that the reader can admire him, as well as pity him when the downfall occurs. As a result of the struggle, after those moments of success, only then can the deception occur so that there is reason for the reader so have pity for the character, in addition to admiration. Willy had the potential to be a tragic hero, just as anybody does, yet right up !
             to the end he remained a victim trapped in his own world of illusions.
             To be a tragic hero, there must also be that moment of discovery and recognition, so that the audience in the end evokes the appropriate emotions. Willy does not achieve this. Some argue that the reason for Willy's suicide is because he came to the realization that he has lived his life in vain. However, it is evident that the true motive behind his suicide was so that Biff can inherit the $20 000 on his insurance policy. "Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket?" {Act 2} He is constantly thinking of how him and his sons, specifically Biff, can be successful in the business world. Despite Biff's attempt to make his father face reality, Willy rather takes this as a cry for help from him. His plan to commit suicide are all for Biff- Willy...