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Analyse Aristotle,s elents of tragedy
The death of a salesman success and failure
Analyse Aristotle,s elents of tragedy
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Recommended: Analyse Aristotle,s elents of tragedy
When Aristotle talked about his idea of a tragic hero he said “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall.” In The Death of a Salesman we know that Willy Loman falls right under Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. To be a tragic hero you had to have one tragic flaw that brought you to your demise. For example in Macbeth it was the desire to have power and the greed that brought him to his death. Loman’s tragic flaw is that he is too blind to see that he and his son are unsuccessful and he cares too much about his reputation to even accept that he is unsuccessful. Not only did these two things bring Willy to his downfall they eventually brought him to his death.
A wonderful example of this clouded vision of being successful is when Willy comes home from a week of selling and tells Linda his earnings. At first Willy claims his earnings were “...five hundred [dollars] in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston” (Miller 35), then after some questions we find out that he only earned 200 dollars all together, which barely covers the Loman family expenses. Willy believed that his reputation was more important than telling the truth so he had to lie to his wife about what he made. He dissembled to his wife, probably the only person still there for him in his life, so he could still seem like a successful businessman to her. This is just one occurrence of his fibs about how much money he made coming back from a business trip, there could have been other times. Willy doesn't understand that being successful in business is not the way to be truly happy. That might have been one of the main reasons he committed suicide when he was fired. He thought that the more money he said he had the more successful he...
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...ole life searching for a man that he thought was sinful. When Javier finally caught this man, he realized that this man did a 180 with his life, and was a better person, so Javier committed suicide because he wasted his whole life searching for this man. Willy is like Javier. Willy spent his whole life thinking that he was a successful man and that his life was perfect then Biff made him realize he was a failure, so he took his own life. In the end all “[Willy] want[ed was] success, but the meaning of that need extends beyond the accumulation of wealth, security, goods, and status”(Jacobson 1).
Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1976. Print.
Murphy, Brenda. Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman: By Arthur Miller. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2010. Print.
The play, “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller, presents Willy Loman, as a salesman, who fails to earn a living and slowly loses his mind. Willy continuously seeks the past to find out where he went wrong. During his years in life, Willy wanted his two sons, Biff and Happy to become someone they’re not; Willy wanted them to become a salesman like him. However, because of his obsession in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, he created a life full of lies for himself and his sons. In the end because of “his misconception of himself as someone capable of greatness” leads to his downfall and the end of his life (Death of a Salesman).”
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed.Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 1908-1972. Print.
Willy Loman’s character is capable of making errors. He believes he is a very successful salesman and well liked. He also thinks that the company likes what he is doing. He once said, “I’m the New England man. I am vital in New England” (Miller pg. 32) Because of his false belief about his success Howard fired him. After he got fired charley offered him a job, but he refuses to accept, because he is too proud and jealous to work for Charley. His actions were wrong because at no time was a successful salesman. He is not a powerful character. Willy lives in his fantasies where he is the man. Who goes out to another place and comes out rich, he is love by everyone and admired by his family. In real life, he is lazy and does not live up to his own ideals. “As Aristotle explains, a tragic hero must be one of noble character and must fall from power and happiness.”(Www.ccd.rightchoice.org/lit115/poetics.html) but Willy neither has a noble characteristic nor does he fall from power because he does not have a position of power.
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Death of a Salesman" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print.
In "Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman is the opposite of the classic tragic hero. Unlike Oedipus, Willy is a ordinary man. His name implies he is a "lowman" whose dreams and expectations have been shattered by the false values of thesociety he has put his faith into. This simple characteristic makes him a tragic hero like "Oedipus Rex."
Murray, Edward. “The Thematic Structure in Death of a Salesman.” Readings on Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1999.
Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.
He decided that there were some factors that made a tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, melody. The character had to have a tragic flaw that would ultimately lead to his downfall. The traits of tragedy's character defines Willy Loman as a tragic man. Also, a tragedy must have catharsis at the end, and the end of Death of a Salesman cleanses the audience. Aristotle believed that the protagonist of a tragedy should be “good or fine”.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999
Miller, Arthur “Death of a Salesman” Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012. 205-13. Print.
Willy Loman’s character in Death of a Salesman portrays him as a tragic hero. Willy Loman continued to want recognition and his reputation, but never forgets about his family. These characteristics describe him as a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman’s tragic flow leads him to pursue the idea that reputation in society has more relevance in life than knowledge and education to survive in the business. His grand error of wanting recognition drove him crazy and insane and led to his tragic death.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707.
Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares,
Willy Loman is a 60 year old senile salesman who desperately wants to be a successful salesman; however, his ideas about the ways in which one goes about achieving this are very much misguided, just as his morals are. He believes that popularity and good looks are the key to achieving the American dream, rather than hard work and dedication. He not only lives his entire life by this code, but instills his delusional beliefs in his two sons Biff and Happy. As a result, his sons experience similar failures in their adult lives. Willy led a life of illusion, lies and regret which not only ruined his life, but gad a negative impact on the lives of family as well.
Willy Loman is a firm believer in the "American Dream:" the notion that any man can rise from humble beginnings to greatness. His particular slant on this ideal is that a man succeeds by selling his charisma, that to be well liked is the most important asset a man can have. He made a living at this for 30 years, but as he enters the reclining years of his life, people have stopped smiling back and he can no longer sell the firm's goods to support himself. His ambition was one of greatness, to work hard and to be a member of the firm; and if he could not succeed in this respect, that he should at least be well-liked and be able to sell until the day of his death: When his friends would flock from all over the country to pay their respects.