In the distant 1949, Arthur Miller wrote one of the essential tragedies in American literature named The Death of a Salesman. However, while describing Willy Loman, the main hero, the author illustrated the essential obstacle of the whole middle class. The tragedy is presented ambiguously due to the refutation from the classical “tragic” heroes and presenting a “common” person in this role. Despite the criticism of Loman’s relation to tragedy, the author described his character as slightly “tragic” based on the centralistic, common-relative, and dignity concepts.
To start with, it is important to define the modern tragic person from Arthur Miller’s perspective by describing the main hero’s portrait. First, the Salesman’s tragedy perspective may be illustrated by describing a specific situation. For instance, during the whole drama, Loman was permeated by a notion that his “American dream” came true owing to his success in creating strong links with many influential people (Miller XI). In other words, the notion of “success” was centralized not only in the Salesman’s actions but also in his mind. On the other hand, this statement can be refused if take a closer look at Loman’s situation: he becomes dismissed, and this leads him to a hard financial situation, his sons refuse his authority, and he deepens in strong depression, digging into his memories. From this perspective, Miller defines the Salesman as a tragic hero because he is close to the central issue and trying to realize his life mistakes.
Second, the main character possesses another important feature for a “tragic” hero, in Miller’s opinion—a personal tragedy from the family perspective. Willy Loman is in trouble because of many unrealized goals for life, which he does not admit. To illustrate, during the scene where he argues with his son about a young man’s career, Loman cannot admit that he was an awful father who failed to build a strong family (Miller 106). However, the most important scene resulting from the previous one occurs when the Salesman decides to die. Because of this death, his son will receive a large amount of money from the insurance company and, in Loman’s opinion, realize his “American dream.”
On the other hand, he does not understand his son’s values because Salesman thinks he wants to be “like his father.” Consequently, based on Loman’s real family tragedy and behavior to resolve it partially, Arthur Miller might think of the main hero as the tragic person. This is because he is in family trouble, trying to find an escape, but deciding to solve the problem in the simplest way— there are no issues if there is no life. From this regard, Willy Loman excellently fits Miller’s notion about a “tragic hero.”
Third, many crucial arguments were examined in another Arthur Miller’s work named Tragedy and the Common man, written just after two weeks from the premiere of Death of a Salesman. In this sort of essay, he is trying to defend his main hero’s tragic role because of the amount of criticism about Willy Loman’s relation to the same type of heroes “From Orestes to Hamlet, Medea to Macbeth” (Miller). Moreover, publishing this work aims to prove Loman’s tragic destiny and the way he perceives it. For instance, in the beginning, Miller introduces a notion that “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” (Miller). As a result, it is assumed that every person, especially a common individual, may possess all the main characteristics of a “tragic” hero.
Furthermore, the author was one of the pioneers of the “common” tragic heroes in the modern world, so that he has a sensitive attitude to the relation of his characters to the tragic genre. A bright example occurred when he wrote: “I think 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” (Miller). This leads to the possible statement that Loman perfectly fits the author’s description of the “tragic” hero. Following this, the Salesman’s death might mean the so-called “dignity” because of the character’s willingness to remain noble rather than solve many life obstacles. Consequently, Miller’s hero is a tragic person, but with a low degree of tragicness because Loman does not realize his life mistakes, which was a crucial criterion for Miller’s “tragic” hero.
In conclusion, Willy Loman is defined by his author as a “tragic” hero, but with a low degree of “tragicness.” First, demonstrated in the Death of a Salesman, the main character lives in ambiguous “success” and partially agrees with his confusing situation. However, he does not fully agree with his life failures so that he may be presented as a “low-degree tragic hero.” Second, the author illustrated his drama, which gives a chance to Loman to be the modern tragic hero. Moreover, in another work, Miller defends his main hero’s relation to tragedy, stating that not only the kings possess the right to be involved in this classification. Finally, the author recalls the “dignity” concept applicable when the main hero becomes dead due to the willingness to remain a respectable person in other’s eyes.
References
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. 1st ed., Penguin Books, 1998.
Miller, Arthur. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” New York Times, 1949.