Is “Death of a Salesman” A Modern Tragedy?

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A.M.D.G.        Filip Prodanovic GM2        8th January 2002

In “Death of a Salesman”, the main character Willy Loman is epitome of a tragic hero as

he is surrounded by various elements of tragedy. These Elements strip him of his dignity as    

          he struggles to clinch his rightful position in the world. Arthur Miller uses corrupted

society, a bad view of success, and delusional dreams, to create a path to Willy’s downfall.

Willy’s destruction is calamitous, and did not have to happen. He had many opportunities

to live a good life that he just failed to grasp, and he would get lost in a moment of joy.

The intercity of this tragedy comes from the actual viewing of these failed attempts in

finding happiness and a good life.

One of the main forces that destroyed Willy Loman, is Willy Loman himself. Despite all

other elements of tragedy in the story, Willy ultimately destroys himself, as his tragic flow

slowly kills his existence. Willy enormously cogitates the concept that connections, and

linked pasts can provide him with the future, as he as a salesman desires. Willy’s perception

of what he could be, or should be, contradicts what he actually is. He sees himself as a

success. However, we see Willy as a tired old salesman with a vintage view of society.

Willy’s entire identity is tied up with an image of what a salesman should be.

One of the most important causes of Willy’s suffering is the great villain of most modern

writing in the realist vein – Society. Willy Loman is constantly trying to

find the key to progressing into a genuine success, but the society prohibits his discovery.

He suffers from the obsession of how he is observed by other people, and he blames his

lack of victory, and a diversity of shallow personal traits like his weight:      

“I’m fat….a salesman I know, as I was going to see a buyer, I heard him say something

about walrus.” The fact that people do not take him seriously: “I know it, when I walk in,

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they seem to laugh at me.” His wardrobe: “I know I got to overcome it. I am not dressing to

advantage maybe. The control of the amount of talking he does: “I don’t know why – I

can’t stop my self – I talk too much. A man ought to come in a few words. One thing about

Charley, he is a man of a few words, and they respect him. “ He uses all those excuses to

explain his failure. In all reality, much of his failure results from his inability to recognise

he ...

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