ipl-logo

Death Of A Salesman Research Paper

553 Words3 Pages

The Fantasy of Life
Tragedy, Britannica defines tragedy as a "branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.".
Throughout Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman it becomes abundantly clear that Willy, a salesman in his mature stages of life, struggles to distinguish fantasy from reality as we are transported into his last few days of life that include memories and visions of the past. Because his moral is a bit askew, many do not agree that Willy is worthy of the title "tragic hero"; however, I believe that Willy is the tragic hero that Miller intended him to be.
As Arthur Miller explains in his essay, Tragedy and the Common man, the time of kings
and …show more content…

Modern tragedy is still about the downfall of a man; however, this man needn 't be one of high social standard, in fact, it is better if the man is an everyday person. Every tragic hero needs to have what 's called a "tragic flaw", Miller defines this flaw as "...Really nothing-and need be nothing, but his inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, his image of his rightful status. "Meaning, the tragic flaw should be their great sense of pride.
Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, fits right in with Miller 's definition of tragedy because his pride keeps him from doing quite a few things. One such instance is when
[Last Name] 2 he was offered a job by his good friend and neighbor Charley after being fired from his former job as a salesman. From the play we learn that Willy has been asking Charley for money for quite some time now and Charley has offered him a job, however Willy repeatedly refuses, claiming he already has a job. Later Willy comes forward, telling Charley, he was fired. This is where we learned that Willy has been jealous of Charley when charley says "You been jealous of me all your life, you damned fool!" (Act Two, Page 71). Upon the discovery of this it

Show More
Related
690 Words | 3 Pages

The Similarities of Willy Loman and Troy Maxson in Death of a Salesman and Fences Willy Loman and Troy Maxson, as the protagonists of Death of a Salesman and Fences, respectively, has shown significant similarities in the plays over their social status, personalities, and relationship with their family members. On the other hand, there are also many noteworthy differences between them to be discussed, such as those in understanding of their own status, in the expectation toward the children, and in their family and friend’s reaction at the demise of themselves. Willy Loman and Troy Maxson share similarly hard-pressed life situation, but they view such hardship completely differently. In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a figure deeply focusing on his fame and relationship with his social friends. As a salesman, Willy dreams of making successful deals as well as becoming appreciated by other people.

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

Aristotles’ protagonists revolve around kings, gods and people of high standing, but how can a normal audience of no noble standing relate to a king or a god? Therefore, Millers introduction of the ‘common man’ is almost revolutionary in the world of tragedy. Miller creates a central character to whom the audience can relate. The tragedy is instantly more appealing to the audience. The common man has faults just like the people watching in the audience, the most important of which is the characters tragic flaw, the fault that will inevitably lead to his downfall.

Read More
197 Words | 1 Pages

A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is usually noble by birth, has hamaria, has peripeteia, his actions usually result in self awareness, and the audience feels pity or fear for him. A more modern tragic hero would be a man of noble stature or is extraordinary, good but not too good, his destruction proves a point, and his downfall is his own fault but also his own choice. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the protagonist,

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

What is a tragic hero? The most common definition of a tragic hero is a literary character that displays characteristics of bravery and courage, yet is destined to downfall. Often times, these characters have a tragic flaw which leads to the ultimate collapse of the hero. In Arthur Miller’s tragic play, The Crucible, John Proctor is a good, well-respected man, however he has one fatal flaw. His secret affair with Abigail Williams spurred the jealousy that Abigail has towards Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife.

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

“The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (33). In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses foil characters to elucidate Willy’s flaws that ultimately prevent him and his family from succeeding. The contrast between Charley and Willy and Bernard and Biff serves to highlight how Willy’s obsession with achieving his version of the American Dream impacts both his life and his children’s. His poor values are passed on to his children producing even more failures. ¬¬¬¬Both Charley and Willy work as salesmen, however Charley represents what Willy desired to become – successful.

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

What is a tragic hero? The most well know definition is a good person who makes a (stupid) mistake that leads to his/her tragic downfall. A perfect example of this comes from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. We see this through the one of the characters who got trapped in his own conscience about whether or not to save his name from being spread all over Salem. In the play, a farmer, John Proctor is committed for witchery (which he never did) by Abigail, a girl who he had an affair with.

Read More
724 Words | 3 Pages

The tragic hero demonstrates how a character in a pla, or a movie starts out with good qualities and everyone like them. Towards the end they have a tragic death. In the play Macbeth this is shown. The main character Macbeth starts out a good leader and a Scottish general, when you get further in the story he starts to show the other stages of the tragic hero.

Read More
278 Words | 2 Pages

In the paper, “Tragedy and the Common Man,” (1949) Arthur Miller, the author, points out that tragedy is best suited for the common man, not high kings and nobles, as the great tragic works seem to suggest. Both the lowly and the high exhibit the ability to relate and comprehend tragedy because the underlying basis of what constitutes tragedy is applicable to both the high and low classes. This basic tenet of tragedy, as outlined by Miller is a character who is willing to risk it all to obtain, to the belief of the character, their place in the world. The reason for wanting to achieve this has some slight variations, but the story always ends in failure due to the character’s tragic flaw. This grand flaw, however, may not be a flaw at all.

Read More
2027 Words | 9 Pages

Asif Ali Ruperdra Guha Majumdar, Associate Professor, DU IA Term Paper Semester - IV 19th April 2016 Tragedy of a common man in Mother Courage and Her Children: From the spectacle of Realism In the essay "Tragedy and the Common Man," the author Arthur Miller puts forward a very strong argument in the favor of a common man’s suitability for being the hero of a tragedy. And this argument was based on some common points like, such plays can influence us greatly for they contain various elements like the fear of displacement, the tragedy of the difference between who we are and who we wish to be in this world.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Tragedies can be defined as an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe. With tragedies come tragic heroes, who are seen as people who overcome great tragedies. Aristotle’s classification of a tragic hero says that one must be of certain stature to fit the qualification. It is debatable whether one can be a tragic hero because of his rank in the world. To Arthur Miller,the author of The Crucible, rank did not matter, it was more of their role in society and the effect they had on people around them.

Read More
930 Words | 4 Pages

A tragic hero is a literary character that makes a judgment error that leads to his or her downfall. Traditionally, a tragic hero is reserved only for the elite, or noble members of society. However, Miller believes that the common man is equally subject to tragedy as the highest kings are. In The Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller portrays the protagonist, Willy Loman as a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a financially struggling man in his sixties looking for success for him and his family.

Read More
1537 Words | 7 Pages

Tragedy can spread. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is the protagonist, however he not the only person in the play who’s story ends tragically. His view on life spreads to those close to him. Primarily, Willy teaches it to his children who look up to him while his wife simply attaches herself to him, rooting for him in blind support while really she should be waking him up to the cold and dark reality that is their life. Throughout the play, the Loman family evolves differently.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

In the play the main character willy had trouble doing his job right. Willy was in a good mood, he woke up happy to go see his boss and ask for a job where he’ll stay in one place without having to travel but there were no jobs available, willy desesperante said “i 'm talking about your father! There were promises made across this desk! You 've shouldn’t tell me you got people to see…”(60). After this big fight with his boss he losses his job.

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

Willy wanted the 'Death of a Salesman' like Singleman - "and by the way he died the death of a salesman" [Willy concerning Singleman: Act 2]-. And he struggled to achieve that dream, only to tragically kill himself. Which reaffirms Miller point that a tragic hero is a character " who is ready to lay down his life... to secure one thing".

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

A tragic hero is a multifaceted, admirable character with a tragic flaw that turns his life from glory into suffering. Hamlet is an example. ‘Born’ personality, shifting mentality, and inevitable fate leads to its tragedy which eventually triggers audience’s pity. Unlike other tragedies where tragic heros discover the truths by their own actions at the end of the story, realizing that the reversal was brought by their own actions. Hamlet begins differently by knowing the truth from things happening to him.

Read More

More about Death Of A Salesman Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document