Isra Syed
Barnes
Honors English 3
3 November 2012
A Tragic American Hero: Willy Loman
Willy Loman, the protagonist in the tragic Arthur Miller play, Death of a Salesman, can be exemplified as a tragic hero due to the perimeters set by the notable Aristotle. According to him, a tragic hero can be defined as someone who is of noble stature, isn’t perfect, and their downfall is partially his/her own fault. Also, a tragic hero can be characterized as someone whose punishment exceeds their crime, their increase in awareness on part of the hero, and their tragedy doesn’t leave its audience in a state of depression. According to critics, Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, represents Miller’s “most powerful dramatization of the clash between the individual and materialistic American society, chronicles the downfall of Willy Loman, a salesman whose misguided notions of success result in disillusionment and, ultimately, his death,” (N.P). At the time that this play was written, which was in the 1940’s, the Second World War had just ended and many were getting back on their feet and trying to lead a normal life again. Through these difficult times, many found it hard to adjust to their previous life styles after the many losses and pain each individual endured. And as many others, the Loman family faced these hardships as well. Although many believe that Willy Loman is not what is called a tragic hero due to his many failures as a father and husband, this protagonist is a good example of what would be entitled a tragic hero due to his imperfectness, his own faults leading to his downfall, and his punishment isn’t completely “deserved”. These elements prove how although possessing many common qualities that are of a normal everyday man, he still can be characterized as a true tragic hero.
There are varying viewpoints on whether a common man can be considered a tragic hero. Some argue that, “Death of a Salesman is of crucial importance to literature because it once again raises the question whether tragedy is possible with a common hero. The Aristotelian concept of tragedy, which dominated dramatic literature until the nineteenth century, insists that only characters of noble birth or soul can be tragic heroes. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, an increasing number of plays with tragic endings were written about common people.” However, a common person can be a victim of a tragedy as well as any noble being. Willy Loman fulfills every characteristic that is required of a tragic hero. Being of common status helps the audience to fully understand the details and issues that are encompassed in the play’s plot.
It is not necessary for a tragic hero to be of a noble status. Willy Loman, a common man who is easily relatable by ordinary people, helps prove that everyone makes mistakes and are not expected to be superior in every manner. Willy Loman, who can also be considered a product of society, made many mistakes in the 63 years of his life. For example, he lost trust in his elder son Biff, when he realized that Willy hid a secret affair away from his family. After a shocking discovery, Biff was appalled and instead of understanding his son’s emotions and reaction, he replied, “Now stop crying and do as I say. I gave you an order.” …. “Now look, Biff, when you grow up you’ll understand about these things. You mustn’t—you mustn’t overemphasize a thing like this,” (Miller, 120). And later as justification for his affair he defended himself by saying that [he] was lonely, [he] was terribly lonely,” (120). That was the day when Willy’s respect in the eyes of Biff dropped significantly and the hatred towards his father began to escalate. In addition to losing his son’s trust and faith in his father, Willy is not perfect due to the evidence of his craving for success and fame. Many people in the world want to make a reliable stature in society and desire to earn respect from people. Willy also became a victim of these cravings and let them get the better of him. He expresses his wishes when speaking to his boss Howard and informs him, “Cause what would be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?”…. “—when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral.” (81). Willy, as well as many other people, wishes to have the same admiration as those who were paid respect at their funerals. And to achieve this, he worked his life off to be the best salesman as there could be and tried to provide for his family in every shape and form. Yet, unsuccessful and depraved, he lost his pride that was obtained in his previous years. Also, the love and pride once earned long ago is something that he still fantasizes about when in those days everything was well off. Many critics evaluate Willy as someone who is “obsessed not only with financial success but also, more specifically, with appearances and impressions and with being considered important and “well-liked” by others,” (N.P). Aside from these desires, another event that shows how Willy isn’t perfect is the way that he is unable to succeed in being the understanding and supporting father that Biff and Happy probably wanted. This is seen with the continuous fights that arise between Biff and Willy recurrently throughout the play. Willy wants his son to follow in his footsteps and become a successful salesman, whereas, Biff longs to work in his own agricultural environment and work on a farm. Finally, when the peak of these arguments is reached, Biff blows up at Willy and strictly replies, “I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-workings drummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them!” (132). Not holding back his grudges, Biff makes Willy realize his true identity. He continues to say, “Will you let me go, for Christ’s sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” (133). Biff is fed up with all of the heated arguments on how Willy wants to force his own dreams on his son and wants to see them come true. When he realizes that it won’t happen, he loses hope and finds himself staging a car accident leading to his demise. His qualities as a struggling everyday man who is trying to be successful as a salesman, father, and husband, Willy shows how he is a tragic hero by showing that he is not always perfect and that his flaws shouldn’t be used against him in the argument that common men can’t be the typical Aristotelian tragic hero.
In addition to the imperfectness that trailed in Willy’s life, he was also someone who was the major reason for his downfall in the end due to his many flaws and faults. Willy was essentially a product of society who chased after material goods and was after the “American Dream”, which was, in the end, proven as an empowering and destructive force. Willy not only wanted financial achievements, he also wanted to be famous among his colleagues and other whom he knew. He lives in the past which is characterized by the in-between conversations of Willy and his elder deceased brother Ben. Critics are impressed by the works of Arthur Miller by the way he “enhances the theme of self-awareness by using techniques to distort time and space and to represent the working of Willy’s mind,” (N.P.). When Willy and his buddy Charley are playing cards, Willy imagines that his brother Ben is here and he begins a conversation with him as well as with Charley. For example, when Ben first enters, Willy exclaims, “I’m getting awfully tired, Ben,” (44). Charley, his neighbor, continues on to say, “Good, keep playing; you’ll sleep better. Did you call me Ben?” (44). Miller’s techniques that were incorporated to have the audience swing in and out of Willy’s imagination in order to gain a better understanding of how Willy has begun to lose some sense of reality is a tremendous work of literature which many critics agree upon. For so many years, Willy’s chase after gaining all of the fame and pride in life was in the end what led him to commit suicide. Because of being too caught up in his own desires, he forgot his family which was more important, and he let his sons and wife down. As his success was declining, he started to decline in financial status as well, and in the end, he wasn’t able to support his family due to his job loss. Grief-stricken, Willy found his life taking a turn for the worse and his own chase led him to commit suicide with all of the pain, guilt, and regret left buried in his heart.
Lastly, Willy Loman’s punishment clearly exceeds the real wrongdoing that was committed. After all the efforts to fulfill his imperative obligations in providing for his family, being a good father to Biff and Happy, and to be a prosperous salesman, Willy couldn’t avoid the one fact: He failed in life. Although Willy believed that he failed in his life, it is true that his punishment over exceeded the true crime committed. Normally, people view that taking their life solves problems and are this action is usually the way people tackle hard problems faced in life. Similarly, Willy found that committing suicide was his last resort in order to help his family and end his daily suffering and he left his son Biff with financial prosperity by leaving them the $20,000 in insurance money after his demise. This could be seen as a heroic action by leaving the world in such a way that he would still leave the people he loved in a good state of mind. Although he sensed himself as a disappointment to his family, he didn’t deserve this end to his life. There were many more ways that could have been taken into account in order to put life back into control. He could have tried to solve his differences with his son Biff and try to create a better relationship with his wife, whom he cheated and the guilt of it was drilled in his heart. It can be argued that Willy has faced enough problems with the delusions that he frequently experienced, his son’s hatred towards him, and his guilt from his previous affair, which is why he may have done such a thing. But, there were many more ways that could have been taken into account in order to put his life back into control.
Therefore, an example of a true tragic hero would be exemplified in the character of Willy Loman. Due to his imperfectness, his faults causing his own downfall, and his punishment exceeding his crime, he is able to meet the criteria of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Even with the opposing critics that respond to his character as too common and that the common man cannot be a tragic hero, Willy proves them wrong by displaying these heroic qualities that make his tragedy more enhanced and realistic for the audience.
Citations
Johansson, David. "Death Of A Salesman." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series, Supplement (1997): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
Nienhuis, Terry. "Death Of A Salesman." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
Rosefeldt, Paul, and R. Baird Shuman. "Death Of A Salesman." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
"Death Of A Salesman." Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed (1995): 1. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.
