Aristotle's Concept Of Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

The phrase “The American Dream” is a motivation for people to come and live here in America. For the 21st century generation it has come to mean to live a successful life for themselves but back in the 1940’s-1950’s the dream is to have a house, family, and a stable job. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller the main character, Willy Loman, wants the same for him and his family but he also wants something much more. He wants to be well liked by everyone and that is why he became a salesman. In parallel to Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy, the similarities are seen by Willy in his incapability to make proper decisions that would benefit him and his financial, emotional, and personal state.

For a play to be considered a tragedy, the tragic hero (main character) has to fit into Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy. It says there has to be a tragic flaw and evidence of hubris (excessive pride) found in the main character. In Willy Loman’s case there is proof of both. All Willy wants is to be well-liked; it is his main goal in his life. He wants to be able to die the death of a salesman. The most tragic decision that Willy made was that he wanted to pursue his weakness, to become a salesman, instead of focusing on his possible strengths, such as a carpenter or an architect. He did not know much about being a salesman and he was good with

By using Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy, one is able to see the decisions that Willy makes and as to why he was a tragic hero. He has a tragic flaw and evidence of hubris in his character. His lack of skill to make good choices and his ego gets in the way for him to realize his faults and because he does not see them, it leads to a horrible end in which he kills himself. The end result of this is that this leads him to cause his own ruin and