Tragedy and the Common Man - Miller Redefines the Tragic Hero
analytical Essay
465 words
Tragedy and the Common Man - Arthur Miller redefines the Tragic Hero
Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie.
Miller states, " . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life . . . to secure one thing, his sense of personal dignity" (1021). Willie is no exception. Willie's sense of personal dignity is primarily found in his family, most notably his son Biff. Willie transfers his dreams of being great onto Biff and, when Biff is a failure in the world, these dreams affect Willie's self-image and sense of personal dignity. To regain this personal dignity, Willie must make Biff great. In the end, it is the love for his son and the belief that his insurance money will make Biff "magnificent" that give him the needed excuse and cause him to end his life.
"Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (1021). It is the nature of man to make evaluations of himself based upon his peers. Willie's peer with whom he evaluates himself is Charley. Willie and Charley are about the same age, their children grew up together, and have been friends for many years. Charley has achieved what Willie has dreamed of for so long. Charley's son is a successful lawyer, whereas Biff is a loafer. Charley is successful in business, whereas Willie has "washed out." As mentioned before, for Willie to be great, Biff must be great. Willie has failed his job in making Biff better than Charley's son, therefore he fails his evaluations of himself.
"The flaw
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how arthur miller redefines the tragic hero in his essay, "tragedy and the common man." miller uses willie loman as the subject of his tragedy, death of a salesman.
- Analyzes how willie's sense of personal dignity is primarily found in his family, most notably his son biff.
- Opines that tragedy is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly. willie and charley are about the same age and have been friends for many years.
- Analyzes how willie's "unwillingness to remain passive" manifests itself in his desire to kill himself.
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- Analyzes how miller uses the conventions of self-recognition and the common man to complete his tragedy in the crucible.
- Analyzes how miller acquires the conventions of the tragic flaw and tragic feeling in the crucible in order to accomplish a modern tragedy.
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- Analyzes how willy loman is a tragic hero because of his tragic downfall. he strives to make money but is unsuccessful.
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- Opines that arthur miller is correct in stating that a common man is just as apt for tragedy as nobles through the relatable nature between the hero and the reader.
- Explains that tragic heroes possess a fatal flaw with repercussions that can relate to many people.
- Explains that the morals of tragedies can be difficult to grasp when one tries to connect with a nobleman's situation.
- Analyzes arthur miller's re-establishing of modern tragic heroes as common with relatable nature with the reader. tragedy is a magnificent form of literature, and will continue to evolve as time prevails.
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- Analyzes how the loss of willy's ability to be likable to his son has a strong impact upon his happiness, especially when his success dwindles.
- Analyzes how willy and biff devise plans to save the family from financial ruin.
- Analyzes how the loss of his job leads willy to the place where his illusion appears to finally be forced out of him.
- Analyzes how the embarrassment of willy's condition causes happy and biff to lose the moments of affinity that they shared with their father.
- Analyzes how the old salesman decides to need his life because he is worth more dead than alive, both monetarily and in his mind. the play ends by revealing that few people attend his funeral and prove to family the greatest lies that
- Analyzes how death of a salesman gives the reader an insight into the destructive power of trying to be liked by everyone and meeting their standards. willy succumbs to lies while biff breaks free.
- Analyzes how arthur miller's play, death of a salesman, portrays an aged and weary salesman struggling to keep his identity and dream.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes northrop frye's definition of a tragic hero through the suffering of both himself and his friends and family.
- Analyzes how frye's definition of tragic heroes brings suffering upon themselves. willy loman is delusional and has a skewed view on the world he lives in.
- Analyzes how willy loman isn't the only victim of his tragic flaw; his wife, linda, and his two sons, biff and happy, are also affected by his fault.
- Analyzes how frye's definition of a tragic hero is suitable for willy loman, as he is an instrument of suffering as well as victim.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the glass menagerie, the death of a salesman, and a raisin in the sun are centered on lower-income families in urban settings.
- Analyzes how amanda's reality check comes from another dreamer, her son, tom, who is annoyed by her nagging and domineering. amanda and her family continue living their fantasy lives.
- Analyzes how willy gets it from all sides; his conflict is with biff, charley, howard, and bernard. he is an average man who believes he is better than those around him.
- Analyzes how walter lee has the best grasp on reality and the highest hill to climb of all the dreamers in these stories. his reality check comes from lena younger, a highly spiritual woman.
- Analyzes how the stories dealing with real working class family struggles are complicated by the varying illusions of the different family members.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how willy loman is no tragic hero in arthur miller's "death of a salesman" because he never accepts nor admits to his own errors.
- Analyzes how willy loman's character is capable of making errors. he believes he is a successful salesman and well liked. howard fired him because of his false belief about his success.
- Explains that a tragic hero is someone who dies for personal dignity. willy, in his ideas and action of committing suicide, fits in that category.
- Analyzes how willy isn't a good father for many reasons. his love for biff is based on his achievement as an athlete.
- Analyzes how willy loman neglects his responsibilities as a father and is not truthful, leading to loss of his pride and dignity.
- Cites koon, helene wickham, ed. twentieth century interpretations of death of a salesman.
812 wordsRead More - Heroism In Death Of A Salesmananalytical essayArthur Miller was a young adult during the occurrence of the Great Depression. This national tragedy shaped Miller’s view on human existence and showed him true human vulnerability in the modern era. The Great Depression presented Miller with the notions of how mankind attempts to compensate for our downfalls by always having security in our sense of personal dignity. From the experience of his own father losing everything in the stock market crash of 1929, Miller was inspired to write a new kind of tragedy, the tragedy of the common man. But even more than just focusing on one man and his particular problems, Miller believed every play he was writing was a commentary and criticism on societal issues. Many critics found offense in Arthur Miller’s portrayal of Death of a Salesman’s protagonist, Willy Loman, as a tragic character. These critics commented on Willy being “too little” or “too common”. It had been generally thought tragedies could only involve people of nobility or pow...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that arthur miller's play, death of a salesman, is frequently named among the most influential plays of the 20th century.
- Analyzes how the great depression shaped miller's view on human existence and showed him true human vulnerability in the modern era. miller believed every play was a commentary and criticism on societal issues in america.
- Analyzes how miller brought to light a tragic character that could be relatable to the every man, like millions in the great depression.
- Analyzes how miller did not mention willy loman's actual product of what he sells in death of a salesman. the audience could imagine him in their own versions of their jobs and their "american dream".
- Explains that jo mielziner's set design included transparent walls, which was used again in the 2012 revival with director mike nichols stating that he felt it was "intimately connected with the way the play developed."
- Analyzes how salesman uses a past in the present, but there are no flashbacks in that play.
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