Tragedy In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

I suppose that little else is more engrossing to those of the present generation than the concept of change; the more the grand revolution, the more captivating it becomes. Political oppression is found to be more significant than wretched acts of cruelty, even when in large part these acts are committed by the most ordinary of men. What dominates the hearts and minds of millions globally is not life, but rather how that free that life is to lead. Thus, imparted through tragedy, common men may also claw their way upon equal footing as those of power. In Tragedy and the Common Man, written by Arthur Miller, it is this exact argument that explains why tragedy has remained relevant even in this modern era. Initiated by the hero’s own inability to remain complacent, tragedies classically demonstrate a downfall through the ‘fatal flaw’ of the protagonist. “The flaw, or crash in the character is really nothing…but his inherent unwillingness to remain passive…”
In this particular story, the protagonist - Willy Loman - is on the surface elevated no higher than a psychotic liar who often manipulates even those he loves the most. However, when looked upon through a harsher lens, the only thing that truly becomes obvious is that Willy himself is the archetype of a tragic hero. Lying to his family in friends, while in part cowardly, also questions the way in which a family could be defined as successful. Willy’s affair with another woman, while gross and unforgivable, allow others in the story to demonstrate the perseverance of love. In fact, it is throughout the entirety of Death of a Salesman that Arthur Miller uses his characters to question society, and then demonstrate their unwillingness to fall to adversity. Willy Loman, while indeed a pathetic man, falls through no weakness of his own