Willy Loman's Suicide

In the ashes of the Great Depression, the American Dream lives. Willy Loman, a salesman, drives on endlessly, searching for buyers and a reason to continue. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman perfectly captures the struggle of everyday Americans looking to find success in the struggling economy of early 20th century America. Miller’s artfully crafted play proves through the character of Willy Loman that everyday people can have the flaws and experiences that create tragic heroes. As with every tragic hero, Willy Loman suffers from a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to his suicide. Pride, a deadly sin, plagues every facet of his life, and induces him to deny the reality of social standing, economic status, and the lack of success in
Willy’s suicide represents a last attempt to propel himself and his family to financial security as well as his last push to achieve the American Dream. The combination of his excessive pride and inability to understand the reality of the Loman’s status ultimately drive him to the point where death becomes the only solution to Willy’s stress and despair over his failures as a salesman. In fact, Willy begins to view the idea of suicide favorably, telling Ben he can “see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough” and that “[his] funeral will be massive… they’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire… that boy will be thunderstruck” (100). For Willy, death is the last chance he has of achieving the American Dream, truly making him a tragic
Although other tragedies portray tragic heroes as noble figures who fall from grace, Arthur Miller crafts a hero by instead elevating a common man. Similar to the pride of Sophocles’ Oedipus and the impossible dream of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby, Willy Loman possesses the characteristics of a classic tragic hero with his own pride and rejection of reality. Through the character of Willy Loman, Arthur Miller shows us that even the most average person can experience the most heart wrenching tragedies