Death Of A Salesman Aristotle Analysis

As such the emotions linked with tragedy in relation to the human condition are all universal leading to tragedy and the emotions associated becoming a common part of everyday life. Such as the sense of less felt upon the death of a decent human being or the fear that the events that happen hit too close to home causing realisation of their own suffering. As such tragedy is indeed a timeless genre whereupon the pathos and emotions which are invoked upon the audience can be directly linked back to the main character and their

Instead, Tack chases the path that makes him more accepted and this prevents him from uncovering his hidden potential. Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman desires this same approval and acceptance. Willy, having grown up without a father figure, is extremely doubtful of his parenting and admits that, “[he is] afraid [he is] not teaching [Biff and Happy] the right [values]” (Miller 52). Due to his own insecurity in his parenting ability, Willy turns to Ben for approval and asks him “how [he] should teach [Biff and Happy]” (Miller 52). By continually looking for Ben’s approval, Willy limits his abilities and fails to be an adequate parent for Happy and Biff.

Arthur Miller carves theme of loss in his play “The Death of a Salesman”. He achieves illustrating this theme through the characters in the Lowman family. Arthur Miller deliberately makes Willy Lowman a salesman. This career demonstrates to the reader that Willy possesses the character traits of a salesman. For instance, for a salesman to become successful, an abundance of sales.

“The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (33). In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses foil characters to elucidate Willy’s flaws that ultimately prevent him and his family from succeeding. The contrast between Charley and Willy and Bernard and Biff serves to highlight how Willy’s obsession with achieving his version of the American Dream impacts both his life and his children’s. His poor values are passed on to his children producing even more failures. ¬¬¬¬Both Charley and Willy work as salesmen, however Charley represents what Willy desired to become – successful.

Another characteristic of a tragedy is the use of violence and death. Once again, both play’s use this in entirely different ways. In “Death of a Salesman” it is shown that Willy and his family have tremendous family issues because of Willy’s fatal flaw of illusion. Most of the play consists of arguments, sobbing and pleading because of Willy’s ignorance of the true values of life. Especially when Willy becomes violent when things do not go his way.

In the play, every member of Loman family is leading a life that is characterized by renunciation and perpetuation of a cycle of renunciation for others. Willy Loman denies the facts that he has the traits of

Aristotle once said, A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language; in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions. Therefore, in order to comprehend the tragic aspects of this play in particular,

Tragedy has been a part of drama since the time of the ancient greeks, an example of such a tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Since then tragedy has been adapted to adhere to different societal views and conventions, such that of the american theatre. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is an example of that. Both plays fall into the category of tragedy, but exemplify it through different aspects in their respective heroes. The roles of Oedipus and Willy Loman as tragic heroes convey the meanings of the works as wholes through the use of the literary devices dramatic irony and imagery.

He has a Job, two kids, and a wife. Willy is a salesman who dreams to be like his role model, Dave Singleman. Singleman - in Willy perspective- had the ultimate successful life, as expressed in this quote: "Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?" [Act 2] Willy believed that success, was equivalent to how well liked he was. Willy's 'flaw' was his foolish pride, his persistence of achieving "his rightful status".

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first critic of literature to see the differences between moral and visual condition. He described a tragedy as “an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude: in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties…by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (qtd. in Kennedy & Gioia 856). This description completely embodies the representation of Shakespeare’s protagonist and play Othello. Aristotle’s recipe for a perfect tragic drama included three main ideas: hamartia, or a tragic flaw in the tragic hero’s character that brings about his downfall; katharsis, or a purgation of the audience’s emotions so that they feel that they have learned something from the play; and anagnorisis, or

An Analysis of Fatal Flaws: Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? A timeless question that has been asked for centuries is: does the punishment fit the crime? A question that is applicable to a multitude of situations and people, but more so to Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and his infamous character Willy Loman. Some may argue that Willy did not have a fatal flaw, a hamartia, and that he is not a tragic hero because he does not fit the classic mold of one but Willy has multiple flaws, each one leading to his pointless death.

His pursuit in this unrealistic expectation led to shortcomings that, not only dragged him down, but dragged down the people around him. In “Death of a Salesman”, Arthur Miller uses strong symbolism, powerful diction, and blatant foreshadowing to show that Willy Loman drags suffering onto the people around him. Miller uses physical objects as symbols of Willy’s failures and strong desire for validation. In one instance Willy questions Stanley

Miller depicts Willy as a tragic character in his willingness to preserve his dignity. Additionally, Willy’s dignity is tainted in the story because of his flawed philosophy of the American Dream. This along with unjust comparisons leads to Willy’s death. Based on how Willy Loman evaluates himself unjustly, he is a tragic hero because he must do anything to preserve his dignity, and his false impression of the American Dream, which leads to his downfall.

According to the paper, Shakespeare’s criteria includes being from a noble birth, having a fatal character flaw, and dying due to this flaw. Although Willy does not fit, the author found another way for Willy to be considered as a tragic hero by Shakespeare’s requirements. “Willy is universal in the sense that he embodies hopes, dreams, and fears which could be typical of all of us.” (xi) The reader can see throughout the story Willy’s hopes, dreams, fears, and, most importantly,

Willy Loman is a salesman having two sons and a wife, He had to earn money from his house and his wife for groceries. Willy is a man who desire to attain the unattainable American Dream. Willy also had many reality and illusion moment in this play. He some time dream of success that is not possible for him to achieve, and he turn it into an illusion for people around him that he is a successful man. The truth is if Willy has been true to himself and not desire attention from others, he would not become a salesman and live in the city.