Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Willy Loman from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a salesman whose flawed thinking makes him associate success with a powerful personality instead of hard work, arousing pity and fear in the readers similar to Aristotle's tragic hero. The author points out that a prerequisite for being categorized a tragic hero includes a fall from grace; Willy Loman, a sensible, normal, loving father, who turned into a delusional character who couldn't separate reality from illusions, fits into this category. The paper relates that Willy commits suicide and becomes truly a tragic hero.

From the Paper:

"The difference between Aristotle's bad man and a tragic hero is that while the former tries to harm people through his wrong action and is fully aware of his sins, the latter is completely ignorant of his actions being unproductive or them having a bad impact of his life. Secondly a tragic hero doesn't intend to harm anyone through his actions which the intentions of a wicked man are just the opposite. In short while the wicked man's actions are directed against another person, a tragic hero's actions are aimed at himself and eventually result in self-destruction."

More papers on Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman":

• Comparison Essay # 147487 : "Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible"
• Analytical Essay # 120692 : "Is "Death of a Salesman" a Tragedy?"
• Analytical Essay # 148958 : "Willy in "Death of a Salesman"
• Analytical Essay # 134620 : "False Materialism in "Death of a Salesman"

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