Death of a Salesman Essay Example

Death of a Salesman Paper The quintessential American tragic hero1 or a passive victim of corrupted propagandist society2; this is just one example of the conflicting views surrounding Arthur Millers Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Consumed with a flawed vision of the American Dream, this character is certainly a contemporary figure and his life remains symbolic and relevant to this day with regards to the pitfalls of capitalist values, as it was fifty years ago. Indeed, Willy Loman is unique in the sense that it is difficult to categorise him as one particular character stereotype; it depends on the individuals point of view. Some critics argue that he is neither a tragic hero or victim, but rather a victimizer of himself and others3 and a coward4. Certainly, there are numerous interpretations that have been explored over the years and it is due to the wide scope for analysis Willy offers that Death of a Salesman remains a favourite to discuss amongst critics to the present day. The idea of Willy Loman as a tragic hero has been the subject of heated debate for decades. Some of the classic features of a tragic hero, as determined by Aristotle, can undoubtedly be applied to Willy Loman and therefore support the idea of a heroic character. We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Firstly, a tragic hero  should have a magnitude or nobility5 about them. At first glance this would seemingly exclude Willy from the status, however according to Hardison, noble does not necessarily imply a high social status, but rather a larger than life6 quality. The fact that Willys visions are of such a great grandeur, especially where his sons are concerned, (You guys together could absolutely lick the civilised world. ) along with the constant gesticulations that accompany his exclamations, all support the idea that Willy Loman is indeed a larger than life character. Therefore, it is not possible to dismiss him as a tragic hero on this basis. A further accepted feature of the tragic hero is the possession of hubris and hamartia; a tragic flaw and the mistakes caused by it. Hubris traditionally means a form of arrogance or pride and this trait is certainly present in Willy: Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! This excessive pride means that Willy believes himself capable of accomplishing the American Dream to the point of delusion; he cannot accept failure and becomes unhealthily obsessed, leading to an inevitable downward spiral. Indeed, it is Willys pride that prevents him from taking on Charleys job offer: I got a job what the hell are you offering me a job for? I got a good job. Willys repetition indicates that he is trying to convince not only Charley, but himself of the idea. Deep down, he realises that he is in trouble, but his pride makes it impossible for him to accept any help. Unfortunately, it is probable that if Willy had agreed to Charleys offer, he would not have ended up committing suicide. In this way, Willy contributes to his own downfall, which conforms to Aristotles dictum that the tragic heros fate must be partly their own fault. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that a tragic heros actions should evoke catharsis in the audience at the end of the play. As Arthur Miller suggests, the tragic feeling is brought on by a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure on thing, his sense of personal dignity. 6 Certainly, Willys suicide can be seen as an act of extreme bravery and selflessness, if it is viewed in light of Willys hope to set up his family for life with the insurance money: I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough Willys comparison of his suicide to a diamond suggests that he believes it will produce something concrete for his family in the form of materialistic success, which the diamond is symbolic of. This self-sacrifice undoubtedly induces fear and pity amongst audiences and can be seen as a catharsis-evoking act due to this, thus supporting the notion of Willy as a tragic hero. Of course, there are many counterarguments to dispute the idea that Willy is a tragic hero. With respect to the classical tragedy form, the structure should end with an understanding and resolution on the tragic heros part. An example of this is Othellos realisation that he had been fooled into a jealous rage by Iago, leading to the murder of Desdemona,  when he speaks of himself as one that loved not wisely, but too well. He recognises his hamartia. Contrary to this, Willy dies just as disillusioned as ever, clutching on to his skewed values until the end: Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty-thousand dollars in his pocket? He never questions his blind vision of material success; indeed his hopes for Biff are all centred around the same dream that proved so empty for him. On top of this, the values he holds on to are shallow because hi struggle is for material gain and recognition; he does not strive for truth or honour for example. Although it could be said that Shakespeares Hamlet possesses similar faults at the beginning of the play, he manages to outgrow them. Willy on the other hand, never does. In this way, Willy Loman does not fit this particular aspect of a tragic hero. It could also be argued that Willy Loman is a victim of capitalist society; in particular the American Dream. One of the elements of Death of a Salesman that supports this notion is the setting itself. Miller describes the salesmans house as fragile surrounded by towering, angular shapes (symbols of capitalism), yet an air of the dream clings to the place. With the use of lighting, many directors allow the stage to gradually become more claustrophobic, until the house is so consumed with the apartment buildings it appears suffocating. Of course, this physical aspect of the play runs parallel to Willys decline; he becomes so consumed with his warped version of the American Dream to the point where it kills him. In this way, Miller immediately manages to link both the notion of imminent tragedy and the American Dream together. To put it into context, Miller was writing during a time of post-war economy, when American confidence, prosperity and security was high. The playwrights criticism of an obscure American Dream, that no longer encouraged people to be recognised for who they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position7 , was therefore quite a radical challenge to make at the time, as unlike nowadays, people did not constantly self-analyse on a national and individual level. The dream is the villain of the play. Willys desperate nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables in the garden further compounds to this idea, as it signifies not only his shame at not being able to provide for his family, but also symbolises the concept that pursuing the dream is a fruitless affair altogether. Consequently, if the American Dream is the villain, Willy Loman cannot be deemed a typical tragic hero because it is the society he lives in that predetermines his downfall from the very beginning. Some critics have even gone as far as saying that Death of a Salesman cannot be deemed a true tragedy because of this, but rather a social drama 8 according to Brenda Murphy. This is because it is questionable as to whether Willy Loman has any control over his destiny at all, as although he is in command of his body and actions, the American Dream has polluted his mind to such an extent that he can barely grasp reality. Indeed, his frequent hallucinations at inappropriate moments emphasise this: Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! Also, Miller often uses language through out the play to foreshadow Willys death: these arch supports are killing me , tired to death etc. It is almost as if Willy is predicting his own ends; he is precariously ready to drop or give up on life throughout many sections of the play. This self-pity is not an admirable quality and is therefore more befitting to a victim than a tragic hero. Interestingly, another interpretation of Willys character is that he is a tragic villain. This is because he selfishly disregards the dreams of his family in order to fulfil his own. Biff, for example, is not a businessman at heart and is content with the simple necessities of life (Why am I trying to become what I dont want to be? ). However, his father constantly makes him feel guilty about this and frequently refers to him as a lazy bum. Also, in declining Charleys job offer Willy Loman casts his familys needs aside because it does not live up to his ideal job. Although the term villain may be a bit harsh, it is certainly true that the shortcomings of his personality make Willy a harder character to sympathise with than Sophocless Oedipus for example. In this way he could be considered neither a hero nor a victim, because a tragic victim generally needs to arouse high compassion amongst audiences. To conclude, it seems as if the character of Willy Loman is most accurately described as an anti-hero. This is because, although he is the protagonist of the play, he lacks many of the traditional qualities of a true tragic hero; Miller has subverted this stereotype in creating Willy Loman. More importantly however, audiences would certainly not wish t to be like him in any way, although there are undoubtedly aspects of Willys personality that we can relate to. As Joyce Carol Oates suggests: For all his delusions and intellectual limitations Willy Loman is all of us. Or, rather, we are Willy Loman, particularly those of us who are writers, poets, dreamers; the yearning soul way out there in the blue. 1 Nevertheless, Willy does still possess some of the attributes of Aristotles typical tragic hero as previously mentioned, which means he cannot be considered a total victim either. The only certainty is that critics will continue to ponder over Willy Lomans character for years to come. Bibliography: 1. ) Oates, Joyce Carol. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, Michigan Quarterly Review, Fall 1998. 2. ) Moss, Leonard. Arthur Miller, 1967. 3. ) Salitt, D. The Character of Willy Loman, 2000. 4. ) Swietek, F. Death of a Salesman: Tragedy? , 2003. 5. ) Carson, Neil. Arthur Miller, New York Grove Press,1982. 6. ) Miller, Arthur. Tragedy and the Common Man, 1949. 7. ) Adams, James Truslow. Epic of America, 1931. 8. ) Murphy, Brenda. The Tradition of Social Drama,1997. death of a salesman Essay Example death of a salesman Essay Seeking the American Dream of Success Arthur Millers Death of A Salesman could be described as a study in the American Dream ideology, a system that at times is indescribably brutal and at other times compassionates. Author Millers plays are usually associated with real life issues filled with failure and disappointment. The authors main character, Willy Loman, is a traveling salesman that spends his whole lifetime trying to find success based on looks and popularity. Willy Loman is a product of this ever-increasing society, obsessed with measuring success by popularity and material wealth and unfortunately emphasizing these principles upon his family. For Willy Loman, to be liked was the definitive criterion of life success. The American dream of wealth and luck became Willys dream, and it almost became reality. Willy realizes that in fact he has lived his life in vain, never achieving nor succeeding but remaining a shadow of his ambition. It is this sudden insight that urges him i nto a fantasy, afraid to face the future. It is only through Willys failure as a salesman that his innate desire for the outdoors is exposed. At the end of the play, Charley mentions, He was a happy man with a batch of cement so wonderful with his hands he had the wrong dreams, all wrong.. It has been often said that the play emphasize the path not taken may have been the right one, still Willy holds the inability to see who and what he is. Miller has created Willys wife Linda in such a way, that it is difficult to confirm whether she is a positive or destructive force upon him. It is hard to understand why she allows this deception to rise to the level that it does. The love Linda holds for Willy is relentless. She sees herself as his protector, allowing him to laps into his illusions where he feels contentment.