Death of a Salesman: Modern-Day

Death of a Salesman: Modern-Day Tragedy

Aristotle established a definition for a tragedy centuries ago that is still taught today. Aristotle believed that a tragedy must contain specific elements including an imitation of life, a hero with a tragic flaw, a well-constructed plot, and events that inspire pity or fear. Aristotle also believed that the hero of the play is a character of great stature. Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, contains most of these aspects with the exception of Willy Loman being of great stature. When examining the play as a tragedy, we should consider the world in which we live and label the play a modern-day tragedy because the plot is well constructed, it revolves around a tragic hero, and it generates pity and fear within the audience. Willy is common and therefore a common hero and his story makes Death of a Salesman a tragedy.

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character that is "not eminently good or just, yet whose misfortune is brought about by... some error or frailty" (Aristotle qtd. In Barranger 691). Aristotle also thought that the hero of the play needed to be "highly renowned and prosperous" (691). The hero is seeking to establish a sense of self-respect amidst his misfortune. At first glance, Willy does not seem to fit this description but what many critics observe is that society has changed and so has the tragedy. Milly Barranger argues that Death of a Salesman fits the definition of tragedy because the compulsion to secure a sense of dignity "belongs to all of us, not just an Oedipus or Hamlet" (Barranger 312). She observes that Miller's play demonstrates how heroes in modern dramas "act against a scheme of things that degrades them and, the process, generate a fear (similar to classical catharsis) in their assault on accepted ways and seemingly stable environments" (312). In this way, the heroes of these plays are securing their own place in the world. Willy, in his attempt to capture the American Dream with the tragic results that only make us pity him and fear for ourselves, conforms to this definition.

Death of a Salesman is a tragedy in that its hero possesses a fatal and tragic flaw. Willy suffers from an inability to face reality. In short, he is blind because the life he dreams about is not the life he lives. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is good to dream but Willy dreams too much and acts too little. He wastes his life by never realizing that he might not be a good enough salesman to succeed. Instead of facing this harsh truth, Willy would rather invent excuses for why his salesmanship fails. He honestly believes that soon, he will "knock Howard for a loop, kid. I'll get an advance, and I'll come home with a New York job" (Miller 1070-1). He honestly believes that he will succeed and never have to "get behind another wheel" (1071) again. He cannot face the truth about his failure and makes excuses. He tells Linda that the reason he did not do well once was because "three of the stores were half-closed for inventory in Boston. Otherwise, I woulda broke records" (1046). He admits, "people don't seem to take to me" (1047) but he never stops to consider why. The people he works with, "just pass me by. I'm not noticed" (1047), he tells her without further consideration. Willy's fatal flaw is his refusal to accept the reality of his life.

We must look at the meaning of a tragedy through the lens of modernity and realize that as times change, drama changes in its effort to remain true to life. That tragedies reflect life is one of Aristotle's requirements and this requires that dramas drift from the tales of great kings and princes. Arthur Miller writes, "Insistence upon the rank of the tragic hero, or the so-called nobility of his character, is really but a clinging to the outward form of tragedy" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132) and "I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132). "The tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity... Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132). Wilson supports this perspective by pointing out that we have no kings or queens in our society, except in a few places like Great Britain and he asks is this means that no one else can "stand for other people, or symbolize a group or culture" (Wilson 132).

Wilson reminds us that when we are creating a modern tragedy, the "question is not whether we view the human condition the same way as did the French in the seventeenth century or the Greeks did in the fifth century B.C. - but whether our age allows for a tragic view on its own terms" (132). He adds, "Our dramatic heroes and heroines fight to the end" (132). Willy fits this description in that he does fight until the end. He is a hero because represents most individuals today. Since our society does not includes kings and princes, we must look at the play as a representation of real life and, when we do, the play generates pity for Willy and fear that we might not repeat the same mistake.