Death of a Salesman as a tragedy - Book Report/Review Example

Outline Introduction 2. Definition of a tragedy by Aristotle 2 Features of a tragic hero 2.2 Hamartia in Death of a Salesman 2.3 Hubris in Death of a Salesman 2.4 Recognition of the self 3. Death of a Salesman as a tragedy of a common man 4. Difference between classic and modern tragedy 5. Summary Discuss Death of a Salesman as a tragedy. As defined by Aristotle, is it correct to label the play as a tragedy Hamlet, Oedipus, King Lear, Macbeth, and Willy Loman are the characters observed by the critics in the numerous writings devoted to the genre of tragedy. Many critics argue if the classic tragedy must include "fall of princes," as it was defined by Aristotle, or modern plays may be also defined as tragedies. Can the problem of a common man be regarded as the tragedy in its classical form The author of Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller, believes that it is possible, and he is sure that a common man may be represented as a tragic hero, and he succeeds to prove his belief with the help of his play. This is a tragedy of a common man in the modern world, a story about a man from Brooklyn. This play was awarded by prizes in literature; it combines several literature styles, as surrealism and realism. This is a story of a man that is swallowed up by the world of hypocrisy and fraud. The hero is shy and unlucky: "Suddenly I realize I'm going sixty miles an hour, and I don't remember the last five minutes." (Miller, p. 56) He is alone in the surrounding world, and even his family doesn't understand his odd behavior. He speaks to the characters from the past that was luckier and friendlier to him, and his sons are disappointed with his behavior. His wife is also unhappy with this, as she understands that he cannot overcome the distinction between the dreams and the real world. As it has been said above, the critics discuss the question if Death of a Salesman can be treated as the tragedy and if Willy Loman can be regarded as a tragic hero. Investigation of this subject demands mentioning the notion of a classic tragedy and its definition, developed by Aristotle. There were four key elements that the writing needed to be defined as the tragedy: "1) noble or impressive characters; 2) the main character's discovery or recognition of a truth or fault in himself ; 3) poetic language; and 4) the ability to arouse and then soothe the audience's pity and fear. " (Kelly, p. 59) Some critics suppose that Death of a Salesman doesn't meet any of these requirements, or at least, hesitate that all these demands can be applied to the play; the others insist that the play corresponds to these key elements. It is known that Miller was greatly impressed with the Greek tragedies and he wrote much about the impressions after reading of classic Greek tragedies, he wrote that he was attracted to the Greeks due to their "magnificent form, the symmetry. That form has never left me; I suppose it just got burned in." (qtd in Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of a Common Man). But, at the same time the author insisted that the time changed, and the world changed as well, and "we no longer live in an era dominated by kings andqueens- and so maybe our definition of tragedy should change, too." (qtd in Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of a Common Man). Accordingly, the image of a tragic hero in modern tragedy is to be changed, as the tragedy changed during the ages that had passed since the times of Ancient Greece. A tragic hero, as seen by the eyes of Miller, is a person that intends to die for his or her values or ideas, or beliefs, but there are some limitations that shape him as a literature hero and do not allow this happen. This is the essence of the tragedy. Willy Loman is persistent and passionate, and he has a dream, which is the sense of his living, and he doesn't hesitate to die for it, if it's necessary. There are alternative ways of behavior, another ways in life, but Willie chooses the path that coincides with his inner world, and his intentions, and he isn't concerned if this is the way to success. Here we may see the difference between Willy and another character from the play, Charley, who chose another alternative. (Murphy) The debates about the Death of a Salesman as a tragedy appeared just after the play was published, and Miller was a witness of these debates. As the majority of the critics stated that Willy Loman cannot be regarded as a tragic hero, Miller answered them via his writing "Tragedy and the Common Man". He stated that his play affected the minds and emotions of the audience that is close to the audience of Greek tragedies. The play depicts persistent movement that ends with the death of the main character; it shows the development of self-awareness. This is a story without strict beginning, end, and subplots. The unit of time, one more essential element of the classic tragedy is also represented in the play, as the events described take place within a day and a night. The author is sure that there are many features in the play that make it a tragedy, but he focuses mainly on the notion of a modern tragedy, and a modern tragic hero. (Murphy) The name of the main character is symbolic - Loman is a low-man, and the author describes him as "a verybrave spirit who cannot settle for half but must pursue his dream of himself to the end". (qtd in Murphy) This hero doesn't reveal much intellect or any other outstanding features of character, while Aristotle mentioned the intellect as the feature of tragic hero in classic tragedy, but the sense of self-awareness developed in him - this is the reason why he committed a suicide after he had seen that his life had been senseless. Understanding the motives that forced Willy commit a suicide is significant. The title of the writing informs us about the end of it just before we start reading. Probably, the reasons that forced the hero kill himself are the most common reasons in this case: attempt to escape from cruel reality, desire to revenge and punish his sons for their misunderstanding and disrespect, illusion of getting power in acting while the problems seem irresolvable, bravery to rule his living, even the aspiration for the success and victory, making something that is done perfect, and at last, providing his sons with the insurance, and thus proving that he had gone the wrong path. This last moment can be compared to the tragedy of King Lear and the death of Cordelia. Thus, the hero feels that he destroyed his life and the lives of his sons, and his final attempt to repair it is giving them the money that will be available for them after his death on his insurance. (Sandage) Despite of the fact that the heroes of Death of a Salesman are not of a noble origin, and do not demonstrate the features that are inherent to heroic characters, there are definite elements in the play that allow speak of it as of a tragedy. The moment of the crash in the events is connected with the family of Willy Loman, with the blemishes of each of the member of this family, and this is hamartia, one of the elements of tragedy, as defined by Aristotle: "A hamartia may be simply an intellectual mistake or an error in judgement. For example when a character has the facts wrong or doesn't know when to stop trying to get dangerous information. Hamartia may be a moral weakness, especially hubris, as when a character is moral in every way except for being prideful enough to insult a god." (Halliwell, p. 176) The notion of the success in Loman's family doesn't have relation to reality. Willy speaks of success as not of prosperity, or education, or work, but as of "who you know and the smile on your face." (Miller, p. 27) Besides, Willy laughs at the education and states that his own children will succeed in business because "the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked, and you will never want." (Miller, p. 67) Willy has his own idols - his brother who managed to get success, rising from poverty, and an old salesman, who may "pick a phone in twenty or thirty cities and be remembered and loved, and finally honored by hundred of mourners at his funeral." (Miller, p. 59) Linda sees success and happiness in the possibility to pay off a mortgage, she forces him to borrow money, and she doesn't see what it costs to his mind. Biff dreams of getting a loan from ex-employer, Hap is waiting for his colleague to die to get a promotion. It's evident that these ideas and beliefs push the family of Willy Loman to crash. (Murphy) The other element defined by Aristotle as the second key element in classic tragedy is hubris. To understand the issue it is necessary to observe the character of Willy Loman. He is skillful in hand work, but he doesn't consider it to be his advantage, and he doesn't appreciate this talent, he states that "a man who can't handle tools is disgusting"(Miller, p.47), so he chooses a career of a salesman, as it is coincides with his perception of what is needed to get prosperity. This notion derives from his image of his father who abandoned him in his childhood, and from his image of an old salesman who died all alone on his way to Boston in a train car. Willy is proud with the mastery he put in their home, but he still thinks that being a salesman is better than being a carpenter. Then he asks question about the destination of a house, and says that "some stranger'll come along, move in, and that's that." (Miller, p.38) But in fact Willy is much more skillful carpenter, rather than a talented salesman. He pretends that he creates impression on the customers, but in reality he has a date with the secretary in order to get new clients. This is hubris, or false pride in this case, that forces Willy make a poor choice, at the moment when he rejects Charley's offer. The same false pride and the incapability to choose the right things in life force Biff and Hap choose occupations that do not bring them either money or satisfaction. Another important issue is the question of morality and moral values. Cheating and theft are appreciated in Loman's family, and Willy encourages his sons to steal and to cheat. This is the basis of the values inherent to Loman's family. The author opposes this morality, and downfall, as the result of it, and prosperity and success of those people who have honest values, for instance, Bernard and Charley. (Murphy) Another essential element of a tragedy, in addition to the connection between the downfall of character's personality and the features of his character, is recognition of the self. This point is represented with the help of Willy and Biff, who gets aware of his personal self at the end of the play, while Biff understands that his father had unreal dreams, and he becomes able to decide what will be better for him in future, and this decision derives from a realistic notion of his abilities. (Sandage) Willy desires to impress the people around him, and to be remembered by the people after his death, he also want to provide his sons with the money, and he suffers because he realizes that he is unable to do this. He realizes that he wasted his living and all the opportunities he met in his life. He is now old, and he has nothing to hope for, and he achieved nothing as well, he is not respected by his sons and he hasn't got friends to support him. He thinks that he realizes the reason why human life is absurd. Linda states that "A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man," (Miller, p.39) and the character of Willy Loman demonstrates that modern tragedy doesn't describe the downfall of a great man, a person of high moral standards, the person who has a power or rules the country. Tragedy now describes the downfall of a common man, and this particular play is a wide perspective of contemporary USA, with its lacks and hidden flows, critically reflected in a story of an ordinary man, one of the millions of people. (Linderholm) Thus, Death of a Salesman describes not only the tragedy of one particular family, but also reflects the conflicts in the USA society, examining national values and morality. This play questions the costs and value of notorious American Dream, or, rather the costs of attempts reach it. In this sense the play is often compared with the Sophocles's tragedy about Oedipus. As some critics state, "Miller charges America with selling a false myth constructed around a capitalist materialism nurtured by the postwar economy, a materialism that obscured the personal truth and moral vision of the original American Dream described by the country's founders." (Linderholm) He even speaks about the career as something material that can be reached by the same means as the financial security and success: "He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back-that's an earthquake". (qtd in Murphy) In spite of the fact that the play was written fifty years ago, it still remains relevant for the modern society. Now the play and the moral of the play are inevitable for growing self-analysis and revaluation of the values that are inherent to modern conscience of the USA nation. But the author revealed extreme radicalism daring to question the value of traditional values of American nation, and American Dream based on the material prosperity and abundance at the moment when the play was published. (Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of a Common Man) In the period after World War II the USA experienced deep and discrepant tensions within the nation, together with contradictions that separated the nation. Despite the World war II avowedly produced a sense of confidence, security and prosperity within the nation, the state was involved into cold war with the republics of the Soviet Union. The country faced persistent propaganda of quiet, prosperous and fortunate period of the history in USA, completed with persistent interest to the ideas of communism, racial conflicts, and ignorance of social and economical stratification. (Linderholm) Many Americans were not able to get involved into the lifestyle that was praised by flourishing representatives of conservative middle class of society. They defended orthodoxy in culture, ideology, and social life. Miller as the writer was brought up in the atmosphere of contradictory atmosphere of discord in the contemporary society. In this period a new generation derived from the ideas of existentialism, and hypocrisy, inherent to the postwar society. This was generation of the writers and artists, and Miller became a part of it. These people started a fighting for self-realization and the possibility to express identity. They protested against material values to be the basis for the happiness and success, as they are perceived in contemporary capitalistic society. They were disturbed with the fact that the majority of American families focus their lives on getting material values. They stated that people often hunt for cars, furniture, TV sets etc not to make their existence more convenient, but to compete with their relatives and neighbors. (Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of a Common Man) The structure of the play resembles the style of Joyce's stream of consciousness. Willy is portrayed in the process of shifting from his living-room to the memories of the past, that he idealizes, and to imaginary dialogues with Ben. The change of these stages allows the author show the contrast between the dreams of protagonist and the reality he faces in his everyday life. The author tells the story from the viewpoint of his hero and from outside at once. He tells the story step by step, calling for understanding and sympathy from a reader, but he also forces the reader to change his attitude towards each hero during the play. (Sandage) In modern literature, in contrast with the classical tragedy, the definition of a tragedy, as it should be is different. Although some features defined by Aristotle as the features of tragedy, can be found in modern plays, there are definite points of distinction. As far as Death of a Salesman is concerned, it is possible to point out hamartia and hubris as the elements that are inherent to the play. The basic distinction lies in the author's reject from portraying a great and powerful person that plays significant social role. The author portrays an ordinary man in his habitual surroundings. The other distinction is that the symbol of fate is different in classic and modern tragedies. In classic Greek theatre these were the gods that shaped the destiny of the individual, in modern tragedies this role is given to social institutions and organizations that make the person feel like a speck of dust in the myriads of the same specks. Thus, it will be wrong to judge Death of a Salesman as a classic tragedy, as there are some essential issues that make it differ from the tragedy defined by Aristotle. This play should rather be defined as the modern tragedy, adapted to the society, culture and viewpoints of the contemporary society. Works Cited Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of a Common Man. From Midsummer Magazine, 1991. Available at http://www.bard.org/Education/Other/deathofasalesmad.html Halliwell, Stephen. Aristotle's "Poetics".University of Chicago Press. 1999 Linderholm, Karl. The American Dream. 1995 Available at http://members.aol.com/sunny2345/stories.html Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Ideas and Forms of Tragedy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. 2005 Murphy, Brenda. Abbotson, Susan. Understanding "Death of a Salesman": A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents. Greenwood Press March. 1999 Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Heinemann Educational Secondary Division. 1994 Sandage, Scott A. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Harvard University Press, 2005. Read More