Tragedy in Death of a Salesman Essay Example for Free

catastrophe in Death of a Salesman EssayArthur Miller depicts a salesman, named Willy Loman in the crook Death of a Salesman. Faced with hardships and troubles, Willy maneuvers in ways that cause his unfortunate outcome. In the tragedy, Death of a Salesman, the main ace Willy Lomans fatal flaws were his unrelenting pride and his inability to face reality, which ultimately direct to his demise. This novel is a tale well-nigh the tragedy that was the life of Willy Loman. A tragedy is a serious drama that depicts a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force such as which ends up with disastrous consequences that elicits pity. (Merriam Webster) Death of a Salesman is a tragedy because the main protagonist is a man make full with unrealistic hopes and dreams that lead to his demise. Although the story portrays a tragedy, I believe Willy Loman attempted to find optimism in defeat. By translation, a tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy th at is destined for consumefall, suffering, or defeat. (Dictionary.com) Willys life resembled that of a tragic hero, he was not one by definition because there was nothing great or virtuous about him.He was an average person who lived a tragic life. As one critic suggests, Willy Loman is too far down the social scale to be considered a classical tragic hero he represents the average man. We claim that he made mistakes just like any different human being. In fact, one of the mistakes he made changed the very way he lived his life and perceived himself. In the set out of the story, Willy cheats on his married woman and is caught by his son Biff, which negatively affects their long-term relationship. As a result, Willy always feels guilty, leading to a incessant struggle between father and son about almost everything. One example of this is in coiffure II, after arguing Biff says to his father, Dad, youre neer going to see what I am, so whats the use of arguing? If I strike oil, Ill send you a check. Meantime, forget Im alive (129). A lot of times they argued because Willy always cherished to see the positive even when in reality things were not as he believed.The tragedy is that his life was full of delusions and misguided dreams. In the beginning of the story, Willy explains to his wife why they nookienot leave the crowded city to live in New York They dont need me in New York. Im the New England man. Im vital in New England(4). However, as the story continues we see that Willy had a fabricated perception of himself. In fact, he was not well liked. Instead, he waslaughed at and pitied. In actuality, his boss had wanted to fire him, but just did not have the nerve to do it. This is seen when Willy goes to his boss dealing to be given a position as a floor salesman, his boss tells him, I dont want you to represent us. Ive been meaning to tell you for a long time now(83). subsequently Willys life long commitment to the company, he is fired and even then , he does not bestir up to the understanding that in society he is nothing special. Biff tries to make his father relieve oneself that he is nothing special by saying, Pop Im a dime a dozen, and so atomic number 18 youThis infuriates Willy who counterattacks, I am not a dime a dozen I am Willy Loman, and you argon Biff Loman Another one of Willys flaws was his unrelenting pride. For example, when Charley offers him a job he refuses saying he already has one even though in truth he was just fired. After get ahead discussion Willy finally responds saying, I cant work for you, thats all, dont ask me why (98). We see irony here because a little after this Willy is willing to ask Charley to start money but refuses to take a job from him. Willy Lomans flaw was his hubris and his inability to face reality. He had the right idea just the wrong dreams. Ultimately, his unrelenting pride and his inability to face reality led him to his demise. One must acknowledge that throughout the who le story he strived to make up for his mistakes and do the right thing.He had mostly good intentions, however, he made mistakes just like any other human being. However, contrary to most people, he judged himself harshly for his mistakes and constantly criticized himself. He tested to overlook his mistakes or hide them for the rest of his life. As the play goes on, we learn that he has a hard time set about reality that is complicated by his unrelenting pride and at the same time, he suffers from self-loathing. As the play goes on and Willys identity as a salesman is stripped from him, we begin to understand better the immensity of his life insurance policy. After Willy loses his job, which was his primary identity, he is forced to face reality that he could never be like his brother who was his hero. He could never be the father he wanted to be or pattern his sons deserved.He wanted his son Biff to look up to him and excel in life. He realized that he was not the star salesman h e always believed himself to be. We see this as he becomes increasingly preoccupied with his life insurance policy, which symbolizes the only other way he can picture for his family he has been a failure at everything else.He always had the best intentions and the play ends with Willy trying to erect for his family in the only way possible, as the critique states, Willy of course ends the play with nothing he can sell except himself, hoping that his expired life insurance policy will pay up.According to Dictionary.com, the definition of a tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Although Willy was not a virtuous character, in the end, he tried to do what he thought was right by providing for his family in the only way he thought possible. His life was tragic because he tried to cope by living in denial about his failures. In the end, he faced reality in the only way he thought he could, by taking his li fe.Works Cited1. Miller, Arthur, and Gerald Clifford. Weales. Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman, Text and Criticism. New York. Penguin, 1996. Print. 2. Tragedy. Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. . 3. Tragic Hero. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 08 Apr. 2012. . 4. literary Criticism Attached