You've watched some videos about Greek tragedy, and this week you read -- or I welcome you to just WATCH the play -- Death of a Salesman. The full-length play is linked to here on our blogsite -- you'll see it under the heading "Scenes from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman" in the links to the right (scroll down a bit).
Arthur Miller's version of the classical form of
tragedy brings the genre of tragedy closer to home by giving us an American
family of the mid-1900s, with a cast of characters and struggles that are
familiar to us to this very day.
Willy is indeed a hero, in particular, a "tragic hero,"
which has some requirements not often seen on the stage or screen these days.
Willy's character meets all the elements. For instance, we can see that Willy
has had a great fall that he himself caused. We see the tragic consequences of
that fall in the washed up lives of his sons who are affected by it. It's no
doubt challenging when we see him so washed up to see him as a hero, so we must
consider how he is regarding by his family. We see how Willy is regarded as the
"king of his castle," as per the norms of 1950s American. And we see
that this "prince" of his family (as Biff calls him) is also the
cause of the "contagion" in his "kingdom" of the Loman
household. He hardly seems royal and noble when we meet him at this late stage
of his life, though he manages to engage our sympathies.
Consider how Willy does indeed fit the role of a tragic "hero." Write
a paragraph of at least 200 words in which you explore this topic. Draw
parallels to someone you know, if you want.
Due Sun., May 5 by midnight
Willie Loman is often seen as a tragic hero, have the sense of "heroic" qualities, but in the whole idea of a commons mans struggle. He's got this relentless pursuit of the American Dream, which kind of gives him that authority of being called a "hero". Adding on, I can see that he clings towards the idea that he can achieve great success through charisma and personal connections. However, what I admire about Willie is that he also has his downfalls in a humble/humilative way. I also notice that his stubbornness and his inability to adapt to change, which is something I believe I myself cam even struggle with. He can get too caught up from time to time to achieve the whole idea of "success" and he misses the love/support that his family are tying to put out. All in all Arthur Miller, the playwright, uses Willie to question the values of society and the cost of chasing dreams that might be outdates or unattainable. So, while he might not be a hero in the traditional sense, Willies journey is a heroic battle in its own way, in a way that represents the fight for self-worth against all odds.
ReplyDeleteA tragic hero is a character in a story, usually the protagonist, who possesses admirable qualities but also has a flaw or makes a mistake that leads to their demise. They typically elicit sympathy from the audience because they struggle against fate, and their stories usually revolve around themes of human suffering, fate, and morality. In the story "Death of the Salesman" by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman plays the role of a tragic hero in several ways. First and foremost, Willy has admirable qualities, such as his determination to provide for his family and strong work ethic. Yet, Willy battles with the harsh realities of his life and is plagued by feelings of failure and inadequacy. Despite his flaws, Willy elicits sympathy from the audience because he sincerely wants to succeed and provide for his family. However, his tragic flaw comes from his stubborn belief in his ability to achieve everything and his refusal to accept his limitations. I believe this flaw causes him to make poor decisions, such as refusing to take a job offer from his friend Charley, eventually leading him to his downfall. Willy ends up in an awful mental state, which is a form of his downfall. This demonstrates that Willy is the tragic hero of the story for his successful days but also his unsuccessful days.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I noticed from Willy that could contribute to how tragic is added into his title is his indecision. The father is unable to make decisions that could impact his family and other people around him. I also think pride plays a part in this as well. Sometimes that right decision involves sacrificing one's image or level of respect in order to save your family and strive for what is best. A big indicator of this tragic hero his is “downfall” he never truly has a downfall. He has many failed attempts and tries that don’t work out. This man is saved by another thread every time, he never actually goes under. This is presented in a humorous way to show exactly how he gets saved by the silliest situations every time. This nature of Willy’s allows him to experiment and refine his ideas. Towards the end of the play there is no resolution but the audience can infer that Willy is going to be able be more open minded towards ideas that will work better.
ReplyDeleteWilly Loman, though arguably a quite dislikable character for a majority of the play, does fit the description of a "tragic hero." In many tragedies, a hero is someone who, despite their mistakes or bad judgment, is ultimately trying to be good. Throughout the play, Willy is fixated on creating a name for his family so that his children and wife can live fulfilling lives. His actions are driven by his desire to make his family proud, and ironically are the same actions that push them away. Repeatedly, Willy and his son, Biff, clash over their very different lifestyles because Willy is worried Biff will not be able to live a comfortable life without creating a name for himself. This is because Willy was raised by the people around him (like his very successful - and dead - brother) to think this way. He has done nothing but work hard for his family. Though his actions were harsh, I believe he had his family's best interests in mind. There were many times where Willy recounted moments from his son's childhood fondly, and in these moments, I felt pity for the old man who just wanted to make his son proud and yet was unable to do so. It may seem selfish when observed from afar, but up-close, Willy wanted so badly for his family to be happy, even if it meant he must sacrifice himself to his work. That is what makes him a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteIn “Death of a Salesman” Willy Loman fits the role of tragic hero in several ways. He is a man with many aspirations and is driven by his need to provide for his family. However, Willy faces a tragic flaw of becoming obsessed with making money and having his name be known. He also wants the same thing for his son, Biff, and that causes tension within their relationship. Willy is very stubborn and prideful which ended up leading him to his path of tragedy. Willy becomes disillusioned and disconnected from reality and starts thinking he is living in the past. He wants to be the best he can be and provide as much as he can for his family but he is only making himself and those around him suffer. Towards the end of the play, Willy realizes who he is and how he fits into the world. Which leads to his demise.
ReplyDeleteWilly Loman, the main person of interest in "Death of a Salesman," fits the role of the tragic hero in several ways. Willy Loman is a man obsessed with business and success, which don't seem like bad qualities in hind sight. Willy's obsession leads him to spiral into a state of depression which wreaks havoc on his family. Because of his pride and expectations for success, he puts immense pressure on his sons, so when they failed the possible business deal, the family was torn apart. Willy's hubris comes through his delusional state of mind and his inability to accept failure. Willy wants his family to be successful, but it's clear he doesn't have a grasp on reality and doesn't know what to do in the event if something goes wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn the play "Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman is a character who exhibits the qualities of a tragic hero. One of the significant characteristics of a tragic hero is the individual's great ability or responsibility. Willy Loman is portrayed as a man who bears an enormous responsibility as he tries to provide for his family while balancing his work and home life. He is a man who works in a highly competitive environment, where success is measured in terms of sales, and he is not doing well in that regard. As we delve deeper into the play, we see that Willy faces numerous struggles and hardships. We begin to sympathize with him as we understand how difficult it is to navigate through those feelings. We see the frustration that he experiences as he tries to deal with his shortcomings and the pressure to provide for his family. Furthermore, the flashbacks and memories that Willy experiences in the play are significant in revealing how his life has turned out and the way he feels about himself. We get to see the events and instances that have led to the downfall of his life. These memories reveal a man who was once full of hope and ambition, but who has now lost his way. We see a man who struggles with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, and who is unable to come to terms with the reality of his situation. These memories also reveal a man who is haunted by the past and unable to let go of the mistakes he has made.
ReplyDeleteIn Miller's play "The Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman illustrates the characteristics of a classic tradgey hero , regardless of his imperfections and failures. Not withstanding the ups and downs of his life, Willy still holds your imagination and sympathy. Similarly to Greek tragedy heroes, Willy experiences a major fall about which he is partly responsible due to his unrealistic expectations and wrong perception of the American Dream. The sons, especially Biff and Happy, carry the burden of their father's broken dreams whose consequences are revealed through their life stories. Not withstanding his declining social status and the enemy's at home, Willy still enjoys a high honor as the family’s patriarch. Though he is called "the king of his castle", the fact that he is the very person who brings the dysfunction into the family makes him similar to the "sludge" that contaminates his kingdom. Willy is a hero, not by a traditional sense, but he still has problems, and this brings out a sort of emotional sadness within the viewer because the audience can feel their pain. Also a mirror of humanity, the uniform process of his journey stand for a reminder of the vulnerability of our dreams as well as the relevance of endurance needed to get rid of all the challenges in life. But what is life without challenges. What is going to be vividly illustrated is the struggle of the identical man who could be one of us, symbolizing the inner battle between the understanding of the meaning of life and happiness in the middle of daily hardships or challenges.
ReplyDeleteWilly Loman in "Death of a Salesman" is practically the textbook definition of a tragic hero. We see his life in the past as a fairly successful salesman, living in an stable/upper class life, two sons that look up to him, and a good wife, the American dream. But one mistake happens that causes starts the fall of everything, Willy's affair, found out by his prized son, Biff. After finding out about this affair, Biff leaves home, heading somewhere south to try and start his own life, throwing Willy into the start of his depression. As our tragic hero gets older, we see him make less money, hold less value to the company he works at, not being able to afford the life he once could. Willy starts having daydreams, flashbacks, hallucinations even, of his brother and how life could've been different, being more successful and rich. Willy starts to poison himself through a gas-line in his home, only furthering his decent into depression and madness. This man who once was higher-class has fallen into despair, not accepting help from others who have done better than him, such as his neighbor offering Willy a job, only to be rejected. When he finally comes to terms that his son Biff cant be a part of his life after finding out about the affair, not able to look up to his father, Willy ends his own life in a car crash. Everything caused by his own volition finally crumbles around him, making him turn to the only thing he think he can, suicide.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes Willie Loman a tragic hero? Willie Loman is the protagonist in the play “Death of a Salesman” written by Author Miller. And while Willie is the protagonist of the story, he’s not quite the “hero” of the story, but he’s not quite the villain of the story either, that’s why the term “Tragic hero” is so fitting. By definition, Willie fits the role of “Tragic hero” almost perfectly, he possesses traits and qualities that lead to his downfall while at the same time possessing qualities that earn the sympathy of the audience. Willie Loman is presented to the audience as coming from nothing and having built his way up by hard work and staying committed to his profession, this can be admirable in the eyes of the audience, it almost seems that for everything he does, he can justify himself. Willie wants so badly to see himself as the hero and believes whatever he does is for a greater reason even when the audience can clearly see his faults, it’s only when Willie accepts that he is not the hero and rather he has done more harm than good, is when he kills himself. We have all been like Willie at some point in our lives, trying to justify our wrongdoings and becoming very biased towards ourselves, this is part of the reason we feel sympathy towards Willie, he thinks he is doing right from his perspective, Willie struggles to see the perspective of others. Willie truly believes that, for his son to be successful, he has to follow in his footsteps and is destined to be a salesman, Willie thinks he is doing the best thing for his son. We also see small subtle moments, for example when Biff caught him cheating on his wife, his excuse to Biff is, he felt lonely and later says that “Someday you’ll understand”. Willie tries to justify himself just as most of us try to justify ourselves daily throughout our lives because we all have a slight bias towards ourselves. We find sympathy for Willie because he believes he is doing the best thing for his family and for himself, and even in the end, what he does, in his eyes, is for the greater good. It’s tragic because we usually have a false sense of hope for these characters in the same way Willie has a false sense of hope that things are going to get better. We see the good in Willie but by the end, it’s too late.
ReplyDeleteA tragic hero is a character, most of the time the protagonist, in a play or story that has credible qualities, yet makes a huge mistake that results in their downfall. Willy, the protagonist of “Death of a Salesman,” is a perfect example of a tragic hero. One of Willy’s biggest strengths is his strive and ambition for the American Dream, and success. However, this is also the cause of his downfall, and his complicated relationship with his family, and ultimately, taking his own life. He desired to achieve the American Dream so much that when he failed many times, it broke him, and his family. A tragic hero like Willy we can sympathize for, and sometimes relate to, because he desires something we all desire, yet, unlike many heroes in many stories, is unable to achieve it. It is challenging for the audience, because we see him care so much, and his inability to attain it. The audience wants the hero to succeed, but a tragic hero does not. However, we can see how his failure has affected his family as well, and in a negative way. Willy’s large desire and care for success lead to a fractured family, and is something he is not proud of, yet can’t go back and change.
ReplyDeleteWilly in "Death of a salesman," by Arthur Miller fits the role of a tragic hero because he has traits of one. Willy tries his hardest, and he is an ordinary man but his downfall is from his inner self and his flaws but mostly his delusions and not accepting reality. Willy's want pursue the American Dream went well with his perception of success and masculinity. His obsession with material wealth and societal status blinds him from the values of life, causing such damage to his relationships and. mental. Much like classic tragic heroes, willy experiences a reversal from being respected figure to a broken delusional man. Other than his flaws, he definitely gets sympathy from the audience and especially me because of his desire to provide for his family and be the best he can be And thats how he fits the role of a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteKaydence
DeleteWilly Loman, the main character in "Death of a Salesman," is a kind of hard-core, classic tragic hero. But, really. He's got all the from our handy list, and, to top it off, his particular issue is . In other words, his story is a lot like what's already been happening to people for, oh, a few thousand years. The problem is that Willy is the least successful character in the drama—ironic, considering that it's his death that inspires the pity and terror that is the essence of tragedy. All of the people who care about Willy are still alive and have to go on living. If Willy unleashes his own tragedy in killing himself, what do people like Linda and Biff and Happy have to look forward to? Willy is so short-sighted that it's tragic. He can't see that he has succeeded at raising his sons wrong, or that he has so alienated Biff and Happy that they no longer care about him. In the end, we can say that Willy is a total failure ... of epic proportions.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Willie Loman fits the role of a tragic hero because, like everyone else in his time, he is trying to achieve the American Dream. He can achieve success through personal connections. He still has his downfalls such as stubbornness and inability to adapt to change. He struggles with the values of society and the cost of pursuing dreams that may not always get straight with them. Willie keeps making bad decisions because of his stubborn belief that he will achieve anything and refuses to accept his limitations. When he refused the job that Charley his friend offered to him, he had a great downfall. He is a tragic hero because in the hero part, he experiments and refines his ideas but in the tragic part, he has his downfalls. His family is pushed away when he decides to create a name for his family. When his family is being pushed away, he feels disconnected from reality and love, causing him to harm himself and those around him. I think another factor is at the end of the play when Willy realizes who he is and how he fits into the world, which eventually leads to his death. His obsession with business and success eventually leads to depression, which damages his relationships and mental health. Overall, we can sometimes relate to Willy when he struggles with finding his self-worth. In the story, we also see how the consequences of pursuing dreams that may not always align with society's values.
ReplyDeleteIn this play, it is about a struggling family where a brother and sister live together and the brothers wife and him have a kid and their mother lives in the house as well. As Ruth goes through the daily struggles of keeping the family in order, she has the conflict of expecting another child and as mama has been given a 10,000 inherent check, she is conflicted on how to use the money, along with how everyone else’s goals and dreams play into reality. Ruth has another kid on the way, Walter isn’t concerned about it and seems to not be very supportive and wants to start a business, Beneatha is wanting to go to medical school to be a doctor, and mama just wants everyone to be happy and well and be grateful for what they have at hand.
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ReplyDeleteWillie I believe is considered a tragic hero because of how he himself has provided so much and done so much as a man to benefit others, but his downfall was of his own doing. Willie provided a lot for the family though the struggles they had. He did a lot for the home and put a lot of elbow grease in fixing it up nice. He cared for his boys futures and what success they would turn into. But even though he had good aspirations for his family, Willie forced thoughts and ideas of what his sons should become and this pushed them away and even caused Willie to have issues with perceiving his reality. He chose to need to be liked, and cared too much on what other people think and success he never was really grateful for. His dreams for other people caused for them to push away from him even though they loved him so it cause for Willie to be seen as a man who took care and was loved but lead the reality of his personal failures, and who his son’s really were to lead to him taking his only life due to the stressors and unfair treatment he had as a businessman. Even though before his death he had made sure the boys were okay, he was loved, and the house was okay and his wife would be all well.