Compare Death Of A Salesman And American Tragedy

907 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Weaknesses and strengths of a tragic hero

Tragedy and American Drama As we have learned in the past, the style of literature evolves as time changes. Different events in the world had influenced these changed. The different movements that created its definitions of their work and how we use these definitions today to classify a piece of literature what period it belongs to. The American dramas, The Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Alan Mamet are tragic plays. Analyzing the main character of each drama: Willy of The Death of the Salesman and Shelly of Glengarry Glen Ross will determine if both, neither or one of them possess the features of a tragic hero by the descriptions of Aristotle and Arthur Miller. According to Aristotle, “A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall. ” What is the root of the hero’s downfall? This is what Aristotle calls hamartia or flaw (“Tragic”). Willy Loman lives …show more content…

Miller is implying that the tragedy of nobility is no greater to a tragedy of an ordinary man. The consequences of both noble and common character’s action and flaw is leading them to their demise; in Shelly’s situation is job loss and probable jail time. The essay also mentioned “…tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to laydown his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity…Tragedy, then, is the consequences of a man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly (Miller 3).” We have witnessed this when Willy committed suicide thinking it is the last resort to help his sons to be successful by using the insurance money the family will receive after his death. After Shelly was identified to be one of the culprits of the crime, he desperately pleaded and offered bribe to his boss to be forgiven of his crime and not to face the chance of jail time with no success. “ John: John: … my daughter…

Show More
Related

  • Compare Oedipus And Willy Loman

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tradition of the tragedy, the renowned form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis, has principally become a discontinued art. Plays that evoke the sense of tragedy-the creations of Sophocles, Euripides, and William Shakespeare-have not been recreated often, nor recently due to its complex nature. The complexity of the tragedy is due to the plot being the soul of the play, while the character is only secondary. While the soul of the play is the plot, according to Aristotle, the tragic hero is still immensely important because of the need to have a medium of suffering, who tries to reverse his situation once he discovers an important fact, and the sudden downturn in the hero’s fortunes. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the modern tragedy of a common man named Willy Loman, who, like Oedipus from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, exhibits some qualities of a tragic hero. However, the character Willy Loman should not be considered a full-on tragic hero because, he although bears a comparable tragic flaw in his willingness to sacrifice everything to maintain his own personal dignity, he is unlike a true tragic hero, like Oedipus, because he was in full control of his fate where Oedipus was not.

    Read More

  • Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed.Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 1908-1972. Print.

    Read More

  • Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    They argue that the character Willy Loman fits the mold of a tragic hero, a misguided man unaware of his flaws who comes to discover them through his journey but ends up dying in a tragic way in the end in grand release of tension. However, Willy Loman doesn’t reach the standard of a high status that is required to be a tragic hero. He is simply a typical man, a simple salesman. Willy is not even great at being a salesman or even a husband and father, the only roles he plays in his simple life. He never comes to discover his many flaws, he is deluded until the very end. The only consistency Willy has with a tragic hero is the tragic end. But the audience does not experience a catharsis of emotions, the audience can anticipate the miserable way Willy goes out but when it happens there is still a lingering air of unresolved misery and , especially for his

    Read More

  • Tragedy And The Common Man

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Arthur Miller’s 1949 essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," Miller began by saying, "In this age few tragedies are written." This particular essay was published in the New York Times, was also the preface that was prepared for "Death of a Salesman" in 1949. Before Miller’s "Death of a Salesman," there was only one type of tragedy—that which fit Aristotle’s definition. For Aristotle, plays of tragedy had to revolve around kings, gods, or people of high class. In these classic tragedies, the diction must be elevated and fitting of the characters.Arthur Miller challenged just about every belief and convention that had previously been accepted about tragic plays, as in Shakespeare’s "Hamlet"—which could be considered the paragon of tragedies. In claiming, "The tragic mode is archaic," Miller explains "that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were." This very notion that regular people are just as fit to be main characters in a tragedy as royalty was also applied to the audience’s understanding of a tragic play. If the play was supposed to be about upper-class people, and was spoken in a vernacular that was only known to the high-bred, how were the common people who saw these plays supposed to comprehend their meaning?

    Read More

  • Oedipus Comparison Essay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Set ages apart, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex provide different perspectives on the topic of tragedy and what is defined as a tragic hero. Although Oedipus would be thought of as better representing the tragic hero archetype due to tradition and time period, the modern tragic hero of Oedipus Rex is more of a dismal one. Through analysis of their respective hamartias, it is exemplified that the New York businessman with his humble story proves to be more thought provoking than the King of Thebes and his melancholic tale. **By incorporating a more relatable character and plot, Arthur Miller lends help to making Willy Lowman spiral toward his own downfall while building more emotion and response from the audience than with Oedipus. When Oedipus learns of his awful actions, this invokes shock and desperation.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have strikingly different plots and characters; however, each play shares common elements in its resolution. The events in the plays’ closings derive from a tragic flaw possessed by the protagonist in each play. The downfall of each protagonist is caused by his inability to effectively cope with his tragic flaw. The various similarities in the closing of each play include elements of the plot, the reflection of other characters on the misfortune of the tragic hero, and expression of important themes through the dialogue of the characters.

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Hamartia Quotes

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hamartia: a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. Derived from the Greek verb hamartanein, meaning to “miss the mark” or “to err”, Aristotle introduced the term to describe the error of judgment which ultimately led to a hero’s tragic downfall. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare uses teenage love to portray the importance of moderation and vigilance. Although Romeo and Juliet are known as “star-crossed lovers, it does not negate the fact that they are impetuous in their love; fate may have designed their punishment but because of their recklessness it may not have needed to.

    Read More

  • The Presentation of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay on Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and Amanda in Glass Menagerie

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, Millers’ work portrays the death of the American dream while Mamets’ work takes that death and uses it for social criticism on capitalism and the world it has created. Death of a Salesman is modern in that it has a common man as the tragic hero and his downfall is during modern times, it adds irony to Aristotle’s nature of tragedy, it has a clear plot and characters, is subjective, and has a clear distinction between high culture and low culture. Overall, it is a warning to the audience to make sure they do something meaningful with their lives rather than chase the capitalistic American dream. Glengarry Glen Ross is considered a postmodern play because it doesn’t create meaning for its characters lives, doesn’t try to make any point across to the audience other than entertainment, is playful, and it doesn’t give us any catharsis.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tragic hero is defined by Aristotle as "a great man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (Aristotle n. pag.). There are a few principles that Aristotle believes to form a tragic hero: the protagonist should be a person of power and nobility, who makes a major error in judgment and eventually comes to realization of his or her actions (Aristotle n. pag.). In Arthur Millers’ play, Death of a Salesman, he has twisted Aristotle’s belief of a tragic hero, and has created his own. Although Miller has twisted Aristotle’s belief, Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, has a tragic hero (Oedipus) that follows the flaws, dignity, and acknowledgment of the truth that Aristotle believes in to make a tragic hero. It is essential for them to recognize their position and role in the play. Due to the fact that Willy Loman and Oedipus experience tragic flaws throughout their respected plays, they both have nobility, and they both realize the fact (anagnorisis) that they made an error in their life (hamartia). Through their fatal mis-steps, their pride and ego, predominately affect their familial lives, which in turn causes them to realize the truth that they are tragic heroes.

    Read More

  • Comparing Death of a Salesman and The American Dream

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman and Edward Albee’s The American Dream, Willy Lowman and Mommy possess the trait of superficiality. Their priorities are to look good and be liked, and this contributes to their misguided paths to reach success. This attribute is one of many societal criticisms pointed out by both authors. Arthur Miller criticizes society for perceiving success as being liked and having good looks. He illustrates society’s perception through Willy, who thinks the keys to success are being popular and attractive. Willy transmits this philosophy to his sons by ignoring their education and personal growth and setting an example that popularity is most important.  Edward Albee criticizes society for the same thing. He points out the wrong priorities in life such as emphasizing good looks and the wish to be liked at the expense of deeper ethics and morals. Through Mommy’s incident with the hat, which showed she wanted to be liked, and her problems with her own son’s physical and mental faults, which showed she cared too much for good looks, Albee shows how society is misguided in its methods to achieve success.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is A Modern Tragedy

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the fourth century B.C., Aristotle set forth his description of dramatic tragedy, and for centuries after, tragedy continued to be defined by his basic observations. It was not until the modern age that playwrights began to deviate somewhat from the basic tenets of Aristotelian tragedy and, in doing so, began to create plays more recognizable to the common people and, thereby, less traditional. Even so, upon examination, the basic plot structure of some modern tragedies actually differs very little from that of the ancient classics. In spite of its modernity, Arthur Miller's great twentieth-century tragedy, Death of a Salesman, can be successfully compared to the Aristotelian description of traditional tragedy.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle defined tragedy in his respected piece Poetics that defined the tragedy and many other forms of literature. Many tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet fit well into this mold of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. For example, they were flawed but well intentioned and their lives ended in a catastrophic death. Those plays, and many others in the genre, had all the elements of a tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. They were fantastic displays of misery that aroused pity and fear in the audience.

    Read More

  • The Death of a Salesman

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Character is made up of principles and values that give one’s life direction, meaning and depth. Famous figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson have believed that one can only experience true success and happiness by making character the foundation of our lives. However, in the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the last days of a tired old salesman who throughout his life, believed that personality will make one successful. However, this salesman, who goes by the name of Willy Loman, was not granted happiness and fulfillment. These come from developing character. Thus, Willy’s failures as a businessman, husband, and father stem from his failure of character.

    Read More

More about Compare Death Of A Salesman And American Tragedy

Open Document