Most works people read follow the standard good and bad characters but in a few occasions there are no heroes or villains just antiheros. As it is seen in Arthur Miller's plays Death of a Salesman and Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape an antihero is not what anyone would expect to be the main character of a book or play. There are a few classifications that a character must abide by to be an antihero. The main characteristic of these two antiheroes seems to be self-destruction. Nevertheless, an antihero is traditionally defined as a main character in a dramatic or narrative work, characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage. Both characters in these two stories lack any heroic qualities and make no positive impact on any other characters or themselves.
             Willy is the antihero of Arthur Miller's plays Death of a Salesman mainly because of his ideas or goals. When people accept an ideal to live by it can be a glorious and noble thing unless they become so obsessed with the ideal that it becomes a burden and they are unable to realize their dream. This is especially true for Willy in Arthur Miller's plays Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman lives by an ideal that ultimately is self-defeating. Willie lived to pursue the American dream rather than living the American dream. Willy pursued the ideal rather than living it and thus he was unable to succeed. As for the definition of an antihero Willy's ideals would be it.
             Furthermore, Willy punished those who did not work towards that ideal or accomplish it, such as Biff, his son, and most importantly himself. The extreme to which he followed the dream brought him to disillusionment and lose sense of reality. Willy created a reality for himself where he "knocked 'em cold in Providence"(Miller 1807), and "slaughtered 'em in Boston"(Miller1806). The ultimate result of his
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