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As a concept in literature, tragedy can be referred to as a progression of unfortunate events whereby characters undergo severe misfortunes which results to a horrible disaster. The involved characters may be one or more. Tragedy in literature works should basically be in five stages in its normal structure: there should be happy times, an introduction to the problem, the problem should be seen to worsen into a dilemma, the problem should be out of control of the characters and finally the problem should end in a catastrophic or have a grave ending situation. According to Aristotle argumentation, a perfect tragedy should be realistic and having a narrow focus, provoke pity and fear to the audiences, be able to outline traits of a perfect tragic …show more content…
Willy does not reflect to be a tragic hero in regard to classical tragedy as it is with Oedipus in Sophocle’s story but just a mere modern tragic hero. This is simply because Willy’s ancient and present is full of expressionistic scenes which are mixed up together. For instance, if any one happens to look at both works of these two great writers it seems to be totally different as they are intended to represent their tragic heroes differently for them to suit in their respective eras. Oedipus in Sophocle’s story represent a tragic hero as it was required in Aristotle’s play of tragedy whereby heroes had to rotate only around gods, kings and individuals ranked highest within the society. In his work, Miller feels that the ordinary man opts to be the subject for tragedy within the modern society as it were with the kings. Apart from the stand of Aristotle that feeling of getting evoked should be portrayed by pity and fear, Miller feels that this should be felt when we appear to be in the shoes of a character eager to give out his life if necessary in order to get one thing which he sees as one’s own personal dignity. This is the reason why Miller uses Willy to be the subject of his …show more content…
He was unable to visualize his path to self-realization and full awareness. Willy didn’t learn from his own mistake in order to know that he was the cause of failure in Biff’s life after when Biff found him having love affairs with another woman hence becoming unfaithful with him. Eventually, Willy takes his own life believing that his money from insurance will help improve Biff’s status within the society. Traditionally as a tragic hero, Willy could have not committed suicide though his downfall was to be there but instead he was supposed to learn from his mistakes and await for another fate in life just has Oedipus did in Sophocle’s story though his down fall was overdue.
By deviating from tradition conventions in regard to tragic hero literature work, Miller uses Willy to represent the common man who his ignored within the capitalistic society following the end of the World War Two when economic recovery is being realized after the Great Depression of 1930. He represents how the ordinary person tries to survive within the competitive society following the American Dream but lastly he is unable to accomplish his goals due negative effects of Capitalism system which enslaves and exploits this common
In ‘Death of a salesman,’ Miller uses Willy to depict the common man who “is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” Willy is a character whom is referred to as a “tragic hero” because he has been suppressed by society from succeeding as a salesman, and has been forced to “put thirty-four years into this firm … and now I can’t pay my insurance!” This idea ...
Aristotle states that "For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality. Now character determines men's qualities, but it is by their actions that they are happy or the reverse. Dramatic action, therefore, is not with a view to the representation of character: character comes in as subsidiary to the actions. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of a tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all.
According to Miller, a tragic hero is someone who dies for personal dignity. Willy does die for his dignity. “Those who act against the scheme of things that degrades them.”(Miller. Tragedy of the Common Man) Willy, in his ideas and action of committing suicide, fits in that category. In act 2, Willy reveals his desires to win back Biff’s respect by committing suicide.
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
Willy's Tragic Flaw and the Effect it Has Upon his Sons in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Miller is about to show that through specific characteristic and thematic elements that Willy is indeed a tragic hero whose demise was an product of the misconceptions of his salesman’s dream. Due to Willy’s delusional dream, he is unable accept the reality he lives in causing him to live in the past. Since he cannot accept reality, society and the very nature of business is changing around him and he is incapable of realizing where his failures lie. Willy’s last resort of committing suicide is a result of his inability to adapt to and accept reality. While Willy displays elements of a tragic hero, many can argue that he is more of a pathetic man than he is a tragic hero, but ultimately his desire to become a successful salesman is his demise.
Everyone wants their own version of the perfect life with a successful job, family, and a good standing in society, but limitations put in place by society hamper the dream and Death of a Salesman and The Crucible are examples of how the average person who is striving for this seemingly unattainable dream ends up striking out due to the failings of their society. Arthur Miller gives this message in a time where the entire country was in a flurry about communism and the American Dream was thought to be the glue holding America and its citizens together and keeping them safe from the horrors of communism. Miller used Death of a Salesman and The Crucible to make a statement against the troubles being ignored by society, and the ludicrous idea
Despite his desperate search through his past, Willy does not achieve the self-realization or self-knowledge typical of the tragic hero. The quasi-resolution that his suicide offers him represents only a partial discovery of the truth. While he achieves a professional understanding of himself and the fundamental nature of the sales profession, Willy fails to realize his personal failure and betrayal of his soul and family through the meticulously constructed artifice of his life. Unlike Willy and Happy, Biff feels compelled to seek the truth about himself. While his father and brother are unable to accept the miserable reality of their respective lives, Biff acknowledges his failure and eventually manages to confront it.
“A salesman has got to dream” (Miller ). That sums up Willy Loman’s life in just one sentence. Willy is a sixty-three year old salesman with two son, Biff and Happy, and loving, supportive wife, Linda. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy tries to provide for his family while struggling with financial, emotional, psychological, and suicidal issues. Willy commits suicide at the end of the play, with the help of his dead brother Ben, in believing that the action is the only way he could provide for his family one last time. Willy was not the only one to suffer disillusionment over his life; his sons follow in step (Loos 2). Biff is lost through most of the play, but he finds himself. He achieves a sense of personal dignity and comes to understanding his rightful place in society” (Nienhuis 95). In this classic American play, Miller uses the themes of chasing the wrong dream and identity crises to influence the overall theme of tragedy.
What is man’s focus in life? What is man’s purpose in life? Is it materialism and/or the prospect of how others may view him? Should man put their trust in God’s Word the Bible or leave it up to himself? In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, but is it correct to define this theatric drama as a tragedy.
Willy is a person that has always been a dreamer. Willy is very proud and self reliant in his approach to life. So much so, that his attitude contributes to his overall downfall. Willy's character lives during a time of great change in America. Willy's job along with the American way of life he loved and felt secure with has outgrown him. As his life and job slip away from him, Willy's attempts to hold his dreams and family together continue to deteriorate to a point that all he has left are his memories.
Willy's search to find his mistakes of his life failed because, even though he found out what happened to Biff, he did not search for the right thing: his identity. Willy found out that his affair made Biff envision his father as a fake and phony, but he did not realize that a salesman was not the right job for him. When Willy died, no one came to his funeral (Act II. Scene I). This just showed that Willy was not the man he thought he was. He thought he was a great salesman with an unlimited amount of friends, but, when he died, no one was at his funeral but his family (Act II. Scene I). It showed that Willy was just a simple craftsman, who only needed attention and love from his family, and did not need fame or to be well-known ("Arthur Miller and Others," 311-314)
In 350 B.C.E., a great philosopher wrote out what he thought was the definition of a tragedy. As translated by S.H. Butcher, Aristotle wrote; “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Melody. (http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html)” Later in history, William Shakespeare wrote tragedies that epitomized Aristotle’s outline of a tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one such tragedy.
Willy is a multi-faceted character which Miller has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes and done so with disturbing reality. In another time or another place Willy might have been successful and kept his Sanity, but as he grew up, society's values changed and he was left out in the cold. His foolish pride, bad judgment and his disloyalty are also at fault for his tragic end and the fact that he did not die the death of a salesman.
In Aristotle’s book, Poetics, he defines tragedy as, “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in the different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear” (Aristotle 1149). Tragedy creates a cause and effect chain of actions that clearly gives the audience ideas of possible events. The six parts to Aristotle’s elements of tragedy are: Plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody. According to Aristotle, the most important element is the plot. Aristotle writes in Poetics that, “It is not for the purpose of presenting their characters that the agents engage in action, but rather it is for the sake of their actions that they take on the characters they have” (Aristotle 1150). Plots should have a beginning, middle, and end that have a unity of actions throughout the play making it complete. In addition, the plot should be complex making it an effective tragedy. The second most important element is character. Characters...