“He had all the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.” Here Biff may be referring to the American Dream of which Willy longed for. The audience can see that Biff can see that Willy was chasing an impossible dream, and could even say he has wasted his life trying to achieve this dream of his. This shows that Biff has indeed learnt a lesson and will not follow in the same footsteps as his father Willy. In this scene Charley defends Willy saying that “A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.” This is another example of people making excuses for Willy even after he has died. Miller has displayed a lot of dishonesty and naivety in Death of a Salesman. It shows that the characters don’t seem to be in the real world, they make up excuses for themselves and their lives to make them seem better and more important and this dishonesty with other people and themselves is what caused their downfall in the first place. Charley’s speech is one of the most memorable passages in the play. It is as if he is still defending Willy, it is a kind of respectful eulogy removing the blame from Willy.
“I’m gonna show you that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have – to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.” Here Happy is clearly displaying that he is truly his father’s son. He hasn’t listened to a word Biff has said even though he is the only one who seems to be talking sense. There has been a realisation with all of the other characters expect Happy. Therefore, showing he is a lost cause and will probably share the same fate as Willy. This adds to the tragedy as this isn’t the end of the Loman’s demise. Now he only seems more determined to make his father’s dreams come true for himself, which both the audience and Biff know is extremely unlikely as their whole lives have basically been a lie. Miller gives the audience a sense of foreboding as if more is to come.
At the end of the requiem Linda says “I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home. We’re free and clear.” This is also more tragic because as soon as Willy dies the house is finally paid for. He has worked all of his life to pay off his house and as soon as he has paid for it he can no longer live in it. At this point the audience can see a sense of irony in the plot. Linda’s initial feeling that Willy is “just on another trip” suggests that Willy’s hope for Biff to succeed with the insurance money will not be fulfilled. Through Linda’s final speech the audience may realise that Willy’s death was as pointless as the trip from which he has just returned as the play opens. The recurrence of the haunting flute music symbolises Willy’s futile pursuit of the American Dream. Miller shows the audience that Willy died as deluded as he lived.
The definition of Shakespeare’s tragic hero’s is that the story leads up to and includes the death of the hero, the hero is of high status, the suffering and calamity are exceptional, also, the heroes are responsible for the catastrophe of their fails.
However, in comparison the modern tragic hero, rather than falling calamitously from a high position, begins the story appearing to be an ordinary man. For example Willy Loman. This serves to illustrate Millers belief that all people not just the nobility are affected by materialistic and capitalist values. In my opinion Willy Loman falls into both categories. People could say he is a modern tragic hero but he also does apply to the definition of a Shakespearian tragic hero. A Shakespearian tragic hero may have to be of high status, but, technically Willy Loman was of high status to those close to him like his family. The characters Linda, Biff and Happy thought the world of Willy Loman therefore he was clearly of high status in his own family.