Ethan Frome: The Truest Tragic Hero

Crowning Achievement Paper

Benjamin E Mays once said, “The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities”. Ethan Frome lives a normal life, but is utterly destroyed because he it too moral and afraid to be happy. Instead of living life the way he wants and following his dreams, Ethan wastes it doing what society says he should do; like most average people. The audience understands Ethan because he is a common man and his struggles are the same as those normal people have. Therefore, Ethan Frome is the truest tragic hero because he is relatable, and in turn evokes more pity and understanding from the audience when it comes to the tragedy of his life.

Furthermore, a tragic hero appears more tragic to the audience if the reader can relate to them because they can understand what the character is thinking and feeling. In

Because Willy commits suicide at the end of Death of a Salesman, it is hard to feel sympathetic towards him because it was his choice. While his death was a tragedy, it was not nearly as heart-wrenching as it would have been if someone else were the cause of his demise. Willy’s son, Biff, admits, “He never knew who he was” (Miller 138). If Willy did not know who he was or what his true passions were, how is the audience supposed to know him or feel sympathetic for his downfall? Also, Willy struggled financially, as many people do, but the way he thought and the things he did were not common at all. Instead of finding a different job or continuing to try harder at work, Willy went crazy and stopped trying all together. It is easy to imagine his situation, but it is not easy to understand why he quit and let down the people who loved