Analysis of Death of a Salesman and Oedipus the King

Death of a Salesman/Oedipus the King

Oedipus is the epitome of the tragic hero. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, there is the constant attempt by characters to change their destinies, which all, in the end, fail. In Aristotle's Poetics, he describes Oedipus the King as the perfect example of a tragedy. A tragedy is modernly defined as a story where one must overcome some sort of flaw; however, according to Aristotle, a tragedy had to do a few different things. First of all, a tragedy had to have a plot that was compete with a beginning, middle, and an end. Second, the plot had to have unity of action; that is, according to Aristotle, the plot had to be self-contained; thirdly, the plot had to be of a certain magnitude with length and complexity as well as having a serious content or universal significance; finally, the plot could be simple or complex (although complex was always better).

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller can be defined as a tragedy as it adheres to all of the above characteristics, which have been thought to make up a tragedy.

Tragedies are often characterized by rather somber themes, and they usually involve characters who are destined because of a flaw in character or some kind of conflict with a powerful source, such as fate or society, to downfall or destruction. Willy Loman, the protagonist in Death of a Salesman, is by no means a great -- or even very good -- person, but he is not so unlike any other American who has striven for the American Dream, but met up with challenges along the way, standing in his (or her) way of achievement and success. Willy's dreams, like those dreams of so many other Americans, have a major impact on his family.

Miller subtitled the play "Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem."

A requiem is a ceremony that is held for someone who has died, however, it is most notably a word that connotes a ceremony for someone of importance who has died. In this sense, it seems that Miller was making a statement about the American Dream because Willy Loman is not a great or important person; he is a man like many others who has tried to find a certain dream and has failed. Willy's dreams, and his inability to fulfill them, have a huge impact on all of those around him. All of these facts point to the conclusion that Miller did mean for Death of a Salesman to be a tragedy, as it was a major commentary on the toll that searching for the American Dream can have on someone. Because of the fact that Willy seems to be a representation of many people, the Everyman, this play has got to be considered a tragedy.

In the article, "Family Dreams in Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman is contrasted with Shakespeare's Hamlet and Milton's Samson, who are more introspective figures, confronting their situations "in a profound social and metaphysical solitude."

Furthermore, "a protagonist who cannot be alone, who cannot summon the intelligence and strength to scrutinize his condition and come to some understanding of it -- whatever agony it may cost him -- seems disqualified for the tragic stature literature can bestow."

Though critics such as Sheila Huftel characterize Willy Loman's "fall" as only a fall from "an imagined height," it is nevertheless still a fall, which makes Willy Loman, like Oedipus, a tragic figure. Willy has created very powerful ideas about what he wants his life to be and what he wants his sons lives to be. But these ideas are part of what make Willy who he is. He cannot help but persist with these ideas and that is what sends him on a path headed for failure inevitably. Just like Oedipus was doomed by fate, Willy is too doomed because of his inherent desire to achieve things that society puts out of his reach. No matter how far away his dreams go, Willy always strives to reach them, and it puts a rift between himself and others in his life.

Willy's idea of "success" goes way beyond any kind of desire for wealth, security, goods and status.

According to Aristotelian standards, a tragic character has to have some kind of flaw which causes them to fall. Huftel has remarked that Willy Loman and Death of a Salesman, in general, simply represents the "collapse of a Philistine,"