Tragic Heroes in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House
Dramatists such as Aristotle started to write a series of plays called tragedies. They were as follows: the play revolved around a great man such as a king or war hero, who possessed a tragic flaw. This flaw or discrepancy would eventually become his downfall. These types of plays are still written today, for example, Arthur Millers "Death of Salesman" and Henrik Ibsens "A Dolls House." "Death of Salesman" shows the downfall of the modern tragic hero, Willy Loman, a middle class working man. Nora, in "A Doll's House" displays that characteristics of a tragic hero, in that she shows potential for greatness, but is stifled by her society. Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" and Nora in "A Dolls House" are two perfect examples that illustrate a tragic hero.
In "Tragedy and the Common Man", Arthur Miller discusses different criteria and definitions for tragedy as they apply to the common man. Miller's ideal tragic hero is one who "is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality," and when approached with a struggle, "demonstrating the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity." A tragic hero is willing to takes on the role of what makes the audience accept him as a hero when by his own virtue is worthy of their attention and perhaps respect. Miller's common man, Willy, fought the battle of life, by trying to make the best of what he was given, and by living life the only way he knows how, being a traveling salesman. Being prideful, and at times stubborn man, he loses some opportunities to better his life along the way, partly because of his pride, and partly because of the American lifestyle, Willy is still attempting to support his family, even at age sixty. Though we think of Willy as a classic tragic hero, his life is more pathetic and saddening than inspiring. His name implies he is a "low man", an ordinary man, whose dreams and expectations have been shattered by the false values of society he has put his faith in. His problems stem from his own delusions which result of his failure to succeed in life. Willy's obsession and lack of insight thwart all his relationships and cause him to betray his own set of values. His loyal wife supports him in both his fantasies and failures and her life seems to be entirely absorbed into his. Unable to achie...
... middle of paper ...
...n his world" (Para 14, Miller). Finally in the end, she begins to realize that her whole life has been a lie. Nora's rebellion was deliberate and well planned. She knew what was expected of her and she still did what she thought was right in her own mind. These qualities lie at the heart of Nora's heroic character. For Nora's heroically brave personality shows her confidence in herself and her absolute refusal to live a life where she is not in control of her actions. She flouted society's laws, worked hard, and is now about to reap the success of the action by handing over the final payment.
In conclusion, Willy Loman and Nora are two ideal examples of tragic heros. Both Ibsen and Miller have showed how the common man such as Nora in 'A Dolls House' and Willy Loman in 'Death of Salesman' have emerged as a tragic heroes.
Works Cited:
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707
In ‘Death of a salesman,’ Miller uses Willy to depict the common man who “is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” Willy is a character whom is referred to as a “tragic hero” because he has been suppressed by society from succeeding as a salesman, and has been forced to “put thirty-four years into this firm … and now I can’t pay my insurance!” This idea ...
What is a tragic hero? The most well known definition of a tragic hero comes from the great philosopher, Aristotle. When depicting a tragic hero, Aristotle states "The change in the hero's fortunes be not from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery, and the cause of it must not lie in any depravity but in some great error on his part." In addition, he explains the four essential qualities that a tragic hero should possess, which are goodness, appropriateness, lifelike, and consistency. All of these necessities help to classify the character of John Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible as the tragic hero of the play. Not only does he unfortunately fall to desolation, but also his character captures the sympathy and pity from the audience or readers. Proctor's downfall in the play is initiated by a human flaw, which to a great extent qualifies him to be the tragic hero.
Here I sit, in this chronically divided school board meeting, listening to the heated debate about the busing in our troubled school district—particularly in regards to Rio Bueno High School (RBHS). Busing may seem like not such a big issue when you first hear its topic; however, it is much like a melting ice burg exposing its web of issues as its perpetual underbelly reaches the surface. As a guidance counselor here at RBHS, I can tell you that, this busing, desegregation bussing to be more specific, has been a way of integrating other races into school since the Supreme Court Decision in Brown v. Board of Education 40 years ago. Since the 1980’s, segregation levels have increased such that urban schools are now more racially imbalanced than they were prior to the Supreme Court’s 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Meckelburg Board of Education decision, which legitimated the use of bussing to integrate city school districts with significant residential segregation. Moreover, the gap between Black and White achievement levels, which narrowed from the early 1970s until the late 1980s, has increased during the early 1990s (Douglas, 1996) So, with this evidence, it may seem that even with the implementation of the desegregation busing system, the achievement gap is still growing between races, particularly between Black and Whites and the financial situation and the performance of the schools in this district as a whole are declining.
As a native of Miami, Florida, I have witnessed the many cultural changes that have taken place over the years. As an educator teaching within the nation’s fifth largest public school district for the past 25 years, I have had a great amount of exposure to the cultural diversity that makes up the public school, and I have become very familiar with challenges, family issues, and cultural differences that can influence the educational performance of my students. I have developed an understanding that in order to provide the most successful learning environment for culturally diverse student’s, teachers must be able to provide classroom instruction that is free of personal bias and which addresses the diversified cultural learning needs of every student. Too many schools are not set up to give students an education that teaches them to love learning and takes their individual needs into account (Castleman & Littky, 2007).
The legalization of assisted suicide has been a controversial topic that has created a divide within the medical community, as well as the general public, for many years. Assisted suicide occurs when a patient decides to take their own life, with help from their doctor. The doctor can end the patient’s life without causing any additional pain or suffering. While some believe that assisted suicide should be legal for patients who are suffering from a terminal and painful condition, others argue that it is unethical and going against the doctor’s oath to help and not harm their patients. As the average life expectancy age increases, people are living longer while also having to live with more serious illnesses. As a result, lives are ending with a great amount of suffering and pain, rather then dying peacefully. Since death is ultimately inevitable, I will therefore argue in favor of the proposition that assisted suicide should be legal for those capable of making a rationale end of life decision.
Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
On the other hand, another type of tragic hero exists, the modern tragic hero. This type of hero is a product of a clash between the individual and the social environment. Arthur Miller, the famous playwright said, “each person has a chosen image of self and position, tragedy results when the characters environment denies the fulfillment of this self concept.” (LATWP, 640). This is a contrast from Aristotle’s classic tragic hero because the hero is no longer born into nobility but gains stature in the action of pitting self against cosmos, and the tragedy becomes, “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world.” (LATWP, 640).
New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print. The. Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy.
Solomon, Andrew. "A Reading of the Tempest." In Shakespeare's Late Plays. Ed. Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod. Athens: Ohio UP, 1974. 232.
In "Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman is the opposite of the classic tragic hero. Unlike Oedipus, Willy is a ordinary man. His name implies he is a "lowman" whose dreams and expectations have been shattered by the false values of thesociety he has put his faith into. This simple characteristic makes him a tragic hero like "Oedipus Rex."
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707.
Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.
A Doll House was a great play that showed women’s struggles. Nora dealt with the struggle of money and having to comply with the men in her life. Anne Marie had to deal with the struggles of making a mistake and sacrificing the most important thing to her for a better life and Ms. Linde spent most of her life sacrificing everything she deserved for the people she loved. These were models of the women for many centuries around the world. All of them showed great courage and selflessness for the one’s they loved. Ibsen made a great impact to women’s liberation by writing this play and allowing women to see that it was okay to fight for their rights. This play will be a great model for history for many years to come.
Willy Loman’s character in Death of a Salesman portrays him as a tragic hero. Willy Loman continued to want his recognition and his reputation but never forgets about his family. These characteristics describe him as a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.