Willy Loman, from the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, exhibited the traits of a tragic hero. His disastrous qualities came prior to his foreshadowed death when he realized his existence had not panned out the way he had hoped. Mr. Loman aroused sympathy from the readers as he dedicated his life to a single cause, all while having a weakness of pride that led to his catastrophic passing.
Willy was destined to pass away from the very start of the story, just like a tragic hero characteristically does. The title of the work shows the fate of Willy Loman. “Death of a Salesman” (DiYanni 1777). The name of the play foreshadows the destiny of the main character. The reader knows that Willy will perish because the very first words of the work tell the reader exactly that. The name of the literary work obviously states that someone will die, and once the reader finds out Willy has the occupation of a salesman we know his condemned fortune. The opening scene of the play reveals yet another forewarning of Willy’s death. “Linda: Don’t you feel well? Willy: I am tired to death. I couldn’t make it. I just couldn’t make it, Linda. Linda: Where were you all day? You look terrible” (DiYanni 1779). The fact that those words come from Mr. Willy Loman as only his fourth line of many indicates that his death will come at some point in the story. He used the word “death” to describe his physical state so in essence the person reading the tale has insight to his destiny. The reader can clearly see the demise of Mr. Loman from the start.
The salesman, Willy, heroically has a heartbreaking semi-epiphany about his life in the concluding scenes of the piece. In his final days, Mr. Loman grasps the fact that his years have not gone exactly as ...
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Works Cited
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DiYanni, Robert. "Death of a Salesman." Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Emily Barrosse. 6th. New York, NC: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.
George, Thomas. "The Tragic Hero Identity Crisis in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman." Academia. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
Simon, Scott. "'Salesman' Willy Loman: A Towering Little Man." NPR. 2 Feb. 2008. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
"Willy Loman." Shmoop. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
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.
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.
... Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print. The. Sherk, James.
Porter, Thomas E. “Willy Loman and the American Dream.” Readings on Death of a Salesman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999.
Like countless characters in a play, Willy struggles to find who he is. Willy’s expectations for his sons and The Woman become too high for him to handle. Under the pressure to succeed in business, the appearance of things is always more important than the reality, including Willy’s death. The internal and external conflicts aid in developing the character Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
Arthur Miller's, "Death of a Salesman," shows the development and structure that leads up to the suicide of a tragic hero, Willy Loman. The author describes how an American dreamer can lose his self-worth by many negative situations that occur throughout his life. The structure and complications are essential because it describes how a man can lose his way when depression takes over.
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.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 2128-2193. 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.
In the play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,Willy Loman, an unsuccessful business man struggling to support his family is completely out of touch with reality throughout the plot line. Many characters throughout this play and their interactions with Willy have showed the audience his true colors and what he thinks is important in life. His constant lying and overwhelming ego certainly does not portray his life in factual terms, but rather in the false reality that he has convinced himself he lives in.
Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”, primarily focuses on the flaws and failures of Willy Loman, Millers’ main character in this story. Willy’s distorted and backward views of the American Dream, paired with his inability to let go of the past lead him down a road of regret and in the end his biggest failure which was his wasted life.
Drama Analysis: Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman is a dark and tragically sad story about a man’s last days of his life. On the surface the play is about “The American Dream”, however, the underlying tone of this play is the man's obsession with his last name. Arthur Miller said in an interview with Charle Rose said: “it's about a salesman and he dies, It’s about the United States, it's about a man and his economic state and it’s about family. ”. At the end of the day, the story is really about love and what a man is capable of doing for the love of family, however, misguided. Willy Loman, despite his futile search through his past, does not reach self-realization.
Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman is a complex tragic character. He is a man struggling to hold onto the little dignity he has left in a changing society. While society may have caused some of his misfortune, Willy must be held responsible for his poor judgment, disloyalty and foolish pride.