To What Extent is "Death of a Salesman" a Tragedy?

As soon as Death of a Salesman opened, critics began writing about its relation to Greek tragedy, usually pointing out that Willy doesn't qualify as a tragic hero. Miller replied to these critics with an essay titled "Tragedy and the Common Man." He said that Death of a Salesman does have a shattering emotional impact on the audience that corresponds to that of a Greek tragedy. It also shows the inevitable movement toward death of the protagonist with growing self-awareness, the single story without subplots and a clear beginning, middle and end, and the unity of time, as Death of a Salesman takes place within the course of about twenty-four hours. Miller is adamant that Death of a salesman has many elements that allow it to qualify as a Greek tragedy but, he is more concerned with the idea of modern tragedy and how Willy Loman is a tragic hero in modern society

Though he is a common man or a Low-man as his name suggests, Willy was described by Miller as "a very brave spirit who cannot settle for half but must pursue his dream of himself to the end." Though Willy did not have great intellectual powers, the first of Aristotle뭩 qualities, he did experience self-awareness- otherwise he would not have killed himself when he realised his life was meaningless. The question of why Willy commits suicide is of course central. The title Death of a Salesman raises it even before the play begins. The forces that drove Willy to kill himself were perhaps; escape, from the empty and bitter reality of his life; revenge, for his sons' disrespect and resentment; power, in taking action when everything seems hopeless; courage, to lay down his life; victory, finally being able to make a profitable deal, and, by redeeming his life insurance policy, giving his son a fortune, understanding, that he went wrong, this is the true realisation and is similar to King Lear at his death with Cordelia. So Willy Loman wreaks havoc on his own life and on that of his sons. The blight of his own confusion is visited upon them. His final attempt to make a legacy for Biff and Happy is his suicide, which he feels will earn the $20,000 of his insurance policy

Willy wants to make an impression, to be remembered after his death, to "give something" to Biff and Happy, and his inability to do any of these haunts him. Once he realises his life has been futile: he is old, has achieved little, is scorned by his peers and his sons. Willy comes to face, the absurdity of life, and it is for this reason that "attention must be paid." As Linda says "A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man," this reinforces the idea that a tragic hero must no longer be a man of high moral stature, he need not have the power or largeness of a King but he can be an ordinary "Lowman" to be influential on an audience and because Death of a Salesman is also a criticism of the moral and social standards of contemporary America, not merely a record of the particular plight of one man. And, also, it presents Willy as a victim of the deterioration of the "American dream".