Willy Loman As A Tragic Hero Essay

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Almost all texts have a hero in them. Many texts also have a tragic hero. Aristotle had is own ideas about tragedies and tragic heros. Gerald Else tells us that Aristotle believed a tragedy should depict, “the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods.” William Shakespeare is very famous for his tragedies and tragic heroes in many of his plays. Another play writer that is famous for his use of tragic heroes would be Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller has written many famous tragic plays such as Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, is a tragic hero because of his aspirations to be great, his tragic flaws, and his tragic downfall In Arthur Miller’s …show more content…

Willy strives to make money in this story but is largely unsuccessful. He is also very insecure so he turns to lies and his life spirals downward. Willy commits suicide in the end. Donald Smith states that Willy was, “still harboring misguided hopes about success for Biff. It seems Willy would rather kill himself than accept the fact that really, honestly, all his son wants is some shirtless sweaty time in Midwestern haystacks.” Which is why Willy committed suicide. Willy was also a kind of lost man with the wrong dreams. Biff even said after Willy’s suicide, “He had all the wrong dreams. All, all wrong….He never knew who he was.” Willy had the wrong dreams and didn’t know who he was which is also lead to his downfall. So, Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, is a tragic hero because of his aspirations to be great, his tragic flaws, and his tragic downfall. Tragic heroes are very important to many texts such as Willy was to Death of a Salesman. Victor Perry explains that a tragic hero, “shows a magnified version of the consequences of that fatal flaw, as a hero 's life can be 'writ large '.” Audience members can oftentimes relate to these tragic heroes which also adds to their importance. They connect the audience to the

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