One definition of "tragedy," from Edward Quinn's Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms (Checkmark 1999), reads, in part, that it is "a form of literature that depicts the downfall of the leading character whose life, its disastrous end notwithstanding, represents something significant." Does the story of Willy Loman fit this definition? What's so significant about him or his life? Many suggest that Miller's play is a rueful commentary on the American Dream. Is Willy's failure to achieve that dream his tragedy? How then do we account for the success that Charley and Bernard enjoy?Consider any and all of these questions in your entries. Also, please emulate Laura Love's entry from Discussion Thread 2 and try to respond to one or more of your colleagues' ideas.
However bad the reader may feel at times for Willy Loman i do not think our pity should determine that his story is a tragic one. Though one could argue that Willy fell victim to the American Dream and that it was his utmost belief in it that destroyed him, it is more likely that he fell victim to his own expectations. In act one we see bits and pieces of Willy's past: definitely not a tragic one, but it is possible to link the way Willy thinks to the way he grew up. Perhaps the reason he holds his standards for his sons is because he knows at heart he wasn't as successful as he wanted to be. In short I would argue that because Willy's failures can be linked to his environment and his mentality we cannot call this book a tragedy. To me a tragedy involves something unexplainable and unfair that occurs to the main character. Nothing really happens to Willy, he is just an unfortunate guy who cares too much about who he wants to be.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Kate in saying that this play is not a tragedy. As Kate said Willy really hasn’t had that hard of a life in comparison to others in this time period, but because of the experiences he has had throughout his life and because of his “high expectations” for himself he feels as if his life is a tragedy. I do not believe that the story of Willy Loman fits this definition of tragedy because his life is not disastrous. It may not be the perfect life, but if is defiantly not disastrous. I will say that some unfortunate things have happened to Willy such as loosing his job, but this has happened to a lot of people recently and although this is an unfortunate event; it hasn’t made their lives disastrous. I think that it might be Willy’s personal tragedy that he has not achieved that dream. This might be why he is always telling is sons to be better and to be “well liked” because he wants them to achieve that dream. Willy does not want his sons to fail like he has and he probably does not want them to feel the way that he is feeling. (i.e. the thoughts of suicide)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not believe that Willy Loman’s life is a tragedy, but then again in this play it might be. Charley and Bernard are both very successful and well liked; this makes Willy’s life look even worse. If you compare Willy’s life to basically any other character in the story it is the most “tragic”. So maybe in this play Willy Loman is tragic.
I might be playing devil's advocate here, but I MIGHT have to disagree a little here with Blair and Kate (although I love them).
ReplyDeleteBased on the definition JCK provided above, and presumably other definitions of tragedy, I think this play qualifies as such.
"A form of literature that depicts the downfall of the leading character whose life, its disastrous end notwithstanding, represents something significant."
I want to take this apart and compare it to the play:
-A form of literature. Got that, it's a play.
-Depicting the downfall of a character. Got that, too. I think by now we've all realized that we've watched Willy slowly decompose after we were thrown into his world at the beginning of the play, rewound to other times in his past, and reimmersed into his presently deteriorating state. That's downfall. He's definitely spiraling downward, I don't think anyone could disagree with that.
-Disastrous end not withstanding. We don't (unless you cheated and read ahead or just know the end because you've read this play before) know if Willy will have a disastrous end quite yet. If you ask me I think we're only headed that direction, but RIGHT NOW I can't say for sure. So we'll just leave that out. After all, it's NOT WITHSTANDING anyway.
-Representing something significant. Here's the juicy stuff. We've got Willy. We know he's crazy. We know his family is a little messed up. We know we get really confused sometimes with what goes on, what time it is, etc. But you can't lie to me and tell me what happens isn't all significant in some way. Willy Loman represents people. People from his time period who worked their booties off to put food on their tables and have happy lives while suffering so much just to get it done. He represents the people who didn't necessarily know how to deal with all that happening to him, choosing to fantasize or lie or even commit suicide because it's too hard to deal with. His significance is huge.
I think we've got all the qualifying facts to consider this stuff tragic. The recipe for a good play includes confusing the audience a little, so I'm glad we have different views.
I think that Willy Loman does fit the definition of “Tragedy” based on the “Tragic” definition that JCK gave, “a form of literature that depicts the downfall of the leading character whose life, its disastrous end notwithstanding, represents something significant.” I find this definition to be true based on problems that Willy is having in the play. Willy Loman is one of the characters we really got to know personally in my opinion. Willy is the leading character whose life went downhill. “Tragedy” fits Willy because he lost his job, no money, no friends, and his sons are not succeeding in the business world. His American Dream is crushed. I do agree that Willy’s failure to the American Dream is his tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI think Shenese's key word was HIS american dream. The american dream is something every man makes for himself. People set their standards for life and if they reach them they succeed. If they don't they fail. In that sense Willy is a failure. His biggest downfall however is his ignorance. He fails to accept his life or the lives of others for what they really are. The could be a result of his mental state or it could be what led him to mental instability. We will never know. In Willy's case or his family's case, the play is definetly a tragedy. Everyone in the family contributes to their misery but I feel majority of the blame goes to Willy. His pride and ignorance ultimatly stopped him from succeeding.
ReplyDeleteYou reflect on your own life and your role in it, when you see human suffering. When you’re presented with comedy or T V drama you’re only amused or distracted for a period not drawn into serious thinking. In this way I presumed the play is a tragedy.
ReplyDeletekate and blair started me thinking about what is ‘tragic’ and what is just sad and, or, pathetic, and where I stood on whether or not I felt the play is tragic.
I think I agree with katie robinson that the play is a tragedy if we apply the definition J C K gave us but I don’t think Willy is crazy or meant to be shown as crazy Arthur Miller is showing us a private life and thoughts. I think most peoples private thoughts and inner dialogues would seem crazy if they were projected for everyone to see. (Sometimes a little social pressure is a good thing to keep that social contract working!) I mean that in general people who are unstable, or extreme, are called ‘crazy’, and Willy is both unstable and out there in many ways, but ‘crazy is a label that dismisses someone and we can’t dismiss Willy. If he were crazy the play wouldn’t be a tragedy. We are shown someone who is losing it and we sympathize and reflect on the reasons.
You learn something from tragedy; you’re not just entertained.
I agree with Kate that Willy brought failure upon himself but I also think there are elements in the play that qualify it to be a tragedy. Yes, Willy set himself up for failure by assuming he would succeed and not opening his eyes to the real world but he created the same attitude in his children which wired them for failure before they had the chance to think for themselves. In doing this, Willy altered the course of their lives to the point where Happy became his mirror image and Biff lost all confidence in his father and therefore himself. The tragedy in this play is not that Willy dies, because that's what we known he's wanted to do since the start of the play. The tragedy is in what he did to his family by being hypocritical and dishonest. He made their lives a lie and no matter what they do, try to cover it up, give up all hopes and aspirations, or do nothing and hope something changes, they will never live that down. It's as if Willy's death was a blessing because now his wife and kids can bond in recovering from his death and move on with life instead of being manipulated and misguided by Willy. Also, the only time we see Willy being truthful and happy simultaneously is when he is about to commit suicide. It's as if the tragedy resolves itself by allowing the worst possible thing to happen in order to create peace.
ReplyDeleteThe significance of Willy's life as a lying, confused, overweight, and unsuccessful father, husband, and salesman was to dramatize the failure of the American dream. Charlie and Bernard exceeded the American dream because essentially it is to be average and fit in with society. I picture the American dream as a family living in a development where all the houses are the same with two children who do well in school, a mother who is a housewife, a father who is a business man working 9 to 5, and a dog named Max or something. Just a very typical but well off family, however, neither the Lomans or the (I don't remember Charlie's last name) are typical. Miller created the successful family to better emphasize Willy's failure and to possibly show that although he was aiming for success in a typical job, he was trying to achieve more than the American dream. He wanted to beat Charlie and Bernard's success but he couldn't even achieve earning an income. Perhaps Miller was trying to say the American dream isn't all it's made out to be and that through the hard work of the average American, what is achieved will never be enough alone to make them happy.
If we are defining a tragedy "a form of literature that depicts the downfall of the leading character whose life, its disastrous end notwithstanding, represents something significant." then yes I believe this is a tragedy in the eyes of Willy Loman. He saw an image of himself that he believed he worked so hard to create and just fell short every time. this lead to his downfall and demise and I am sure would feel incredibly tragic to him and his family.
ReplyDeleteBut to me this families tragedy makes me feel goo about the "american Dream." Though it is what Willy was allegedly seeking desperately- I don't think he deserved it. In my eyes he was truly second rate. He was an adulterine, gruff, and attention craving man. He envied the way people viewed Dave Singlemen and didn't understand why people didn't see him that way. Well frankly because what I know of Dave Singlemen- is that he was a hardworking, relentless, and passionate salesmen- not a man who was using business trips to cheating on his wife who worshiped the ground he walked on. He wasn't a man who pushed his children to be his dreams, not theirs. I just don't understand how Willy felt he deserved the "American Dream." And in a way I find this story uplifting not a tragedy because it proves that the dignity of the "American Dream" is not handed out to undeserving people.
Willy gave up. He didn't get what he wanted (the american dream) so he killed himself... does that sound like a good sport?
I think it was actually insulting that Willy felt Biff and him deserved the benefits that come with the american dream. Why should Biff have the sucess that Bernard has? Bernard worked hard to get the answers right- Biff didn't.
Yes, Willy had a hard life, but I believe most of his hardships were created by unreasonably high expectations of himself that he always fell short of. Because Willy didn't work hard to achieve his dreams, he created his nightmare.
Well by this definition I think we could consider Willy's story to be a tragedy. I mean, we see right from the beginning Willy spiraling downward. He spent his entire life trying to have the perfect life. He wanted to ideal job, salesmen, and his boys to grow into great successes. And things just never turned out that way. I feel he just had too high of expectations. He wanted everything out of nothing. Honestly, you can only play with the cards you are given. I feel like Willy never achieved this dream because he wanted it for all the wrong reasons. He wanted it because he thought that was what he was supposed to want. Whereas Bernard and Charlie just did they best they and could and ended up with the "dream". But saying that Willy is a tragedy would be wrong, only his downfall is. He was a good man who chose the wrong path.
ReplyDeleteI think Willy Loman's life suits on the definition of "Tragedy". Willy tried to live life as American way. But by following the way of American, he failed in his job, also as a salesman and also he wasn't the family guy for his wife(Linda) and his children. All of his actions brought breaks with relationships with Biff and he couldn't be a role model to his children. Instead of being a model for Biff, his affair with different woman made Biff turned into unsuccessful life. Biff was admire Willy, but through this happening, Biff was disappointed on Willy, and he started to live life without any goals. Moreover, Willy wasn't happy with his job,and also in his house, this is enough for describe the word tragedy. I feel like Willy was never happy on what his doing and he never knew what made him happy.
ReplyDeleteEven though he was a good person, he had a wrong way of living as a salesman.
I completely agree with Kate when she says that Willy fell victim to his own expectations versus the American Dream itself. There were others in the play who did not necessarily accomplish the American Dream who made do with the rest of their lives. It was Willy's ultimate expectations of himself that was a catalyst for his suicide. There were ways that this play could have been considered something other than a tragedy. Even though Willy did not fulfill the American Dream, his life could have been considered a success because he had two healthy children, a wife who loved him, and a small handful of supportive friends. However, because Willy was so focused on being remembered and surpassing the rest in terms of the American Dream, he let his own selfish expectations stand in the way of what was right in front of him. His lack of living in the moment and opening his eyes past his selfish attitude could have prevented why this play is typically known as such a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Kate Maxtead In my opinion, it is hard to feel pity for Willy, because we see how much he has brought upon himself by his refusal to be truthful and realistic with himself and others. But regardless, he does fit Edward Quinn's criteria for a tragic hero. I believe that his life is significant, in that it shows the importance of honesty and realism and adaptability in achieving success. I think that the play does not necessarily portray the death of the American Dream itself, but more the old way of achieving it. Willy comes from a different generation which puts more emphasis on "personal attractiveness" than on shrewd business practices. Willy is unable to view the world realistically and see how he needs to change in order to be a successful businessman. Charlie and Bernard are able to see what they need to do to be successful in a changing world, and i believe that it is this, in addition to their hard working honesty that allows them to succeed.
ReplyDeleteMarika
By definiton, I too agree that Willy Lomans story is a tragedy. His character, seemingly a difficult one did have a rough life in someways but was blessed in other ways. As Alexa said "he had two healthy children, a wife who loved him, and a small handful of supportive friend". To many that would be accomplishing the American Dream. But Willy always seemed to want more in a selfish way. He could have been happy but he was never satisfied. His downfall came from with in himself. I disagree slightly with Miles when he says "I don't think he deserved it. In my eyes he was truly second rate" (when referring to the American Dream). I think its unfair to say that Willy didn't deserve the American Dream. To me its something thats up for grabs and it just depends on how you approach getting it and what your mentality is for doing so. It kind of reminds me of "Birds with no Feet". Alec seemed to have alterior motives for success and in that never achieved that. Willy in a similiar aspect wanted people to like him, wanted them to come in the thousands to mourn him at his funeral. Did he ever truly want success from his job or more so the success that would come from being successful? (kind of a nonsensical question) but anyway i think willy deserved it if he had the right meaning behind what he wanted. I think the story is one of tragedy, and Willy is a tragic character. I don't mean to keep disagreeing with Mile's post because i think its all thoughful work and it has substance- but i would like to grapple with another one of his remarks. "He didn't get what he wanted (the american dream) so he killed himself... does that sound like a good sport?"- Going on a more personal note now. One of my parents friends daughters recently commited suicide by shooting herself. Was it a selfish thing? yes. Was it giving up? in a way yes. But then again we don't really understand what they are truly feeling before they do it. I can't imagine the lonliness and the reasons behind why they take their life. Its much easier to judge the situation from the outside but i think its truly much diffent on the inside. Its a horrible thing but for some people all you can really do is feel sad for them and the way their life turned out. I feel sad for Willy Loman.
ReplyDelete"I do not think our pity should determine that his story is a tragic one." I agree with Kate here, in the sense that I believe an audience member can fall into the trap of growing connected to the main character. I did not grow connected with Willy Loman and feel like I can honestly analyze the play without any bias for Willy and his unfortunate life. I do not think that his life was "tragic." As JCK said, the definition of a tragedy includes a "life [that] represents something significant." I do not think that Willy Loman's life was significant at all, aside from the fact that Linda obsessed over him achieving happiness. He was an unsuccessful salesman and an unsuccessful father and husband. He made barely enough money for them to survive, he cheated on his wife, and he emphasized teaching his sons how to be masculine rather then focusing on their studies.
ReplyDelete"Willy had a hard life, but I believe most of his hardships were created by unreasonably high expectations of himself that he always fell short of." What Miles said is true. HIS ISSUES CAME FROM WITHIN HIM. HE WAS HIS WORST ENEMY.
When I think of Shakespeare's tragedies I think of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. All of these protagonists, or central characters are opposed by great external forces that THEY CANNOT CONTROL.
Macbeth was basically bewitched by spiritual witches.
Hamlet's father was murdered and he had nothing to do with it.
And most famously, Romeo and Juliet, who longed for each other unconditionally, were unable to find peace and happiness together because of an ancient family rivalry that they could never erase. They came from different worlds and that is how they were born, how they were made. There was no fighting it.
I agree with Marika when she says, "We see how much he has brought upon himself by his refusal to be truthful and realistic with himself and others." He simply is his own downfall. His whole life, he dug himself deeper and deeper into a whole that he, consequently, never escaped from.
In my opinion, every single part of 'Death of a salesman' was a tragedy for the main character Willy Loman.
ReplyDeleteHe was not satisfied about his job (I thought he liked his job but not about the payment,his status..etc ), he was not happy about his two sons, he had no money, he was getting crazy because of the failure he had, and he even didn't reached his dream(goal). He no longer had job, he was so jealous about others all the time, and he always wanted to go back to his old,successful life in his mind. Finally, he ended his life by killing himself and only few people came to his funeral. Willy Loman's ideal funeral (His dream) was the opposite of the funeral he had! Thus, from the beginning till the end, Willy Loman made nothing and didn't changed himself at all.
For me, Willy Loman was the unluckiest, poor, weak, crazy main character in a play I've ever seen who really made me to feel pity for.
On the other side, I do believe that his life was not a 100% tragedy because he had Linda, his wife who truly understood his good side, although he didn't really respected her a lot.
Therefore, I think Willy Loman fits for the term 'tragedy' pretty well.
Behind the title of “Death of a Salesman,” there are two different meaning which brings Willy the tragedy. According to Willy after he loses his job, and When Charley offers him a new job. Willy refuses to have a new job. To Willy, Salesman is everything to him. It’s like identity of Willy. By losing Willy’s job as a Salesman, it is same as losing identity of him. It’s like becoming the dust.
ReplyDeleteWhen the wind blows, it’s completely gone. Another meaning of “Death of a Salesman” refers to Willy’s tragic end. I agree with Heather that Willy was not really happy person. He had a dream of ideal family and job. But he couldn’t reach those dreams (goals). It just gave him more confusion of reality and his dream. Also, he did not have the funeral that he dreamed of like David Singleman. It shows that Willy Loman fits pretty well in the category of the term tragedy.
I would like to respond to both JCK's definition of a tragedy and Conor's description of Shakespearean tragedies. First, I have always been told that one of the key elements of a tragedy is that usually it is one of the main character's own flaws that lead to his demise. This is quite often shown in Shakespeare's plays; for example, in Macbeth, it is Macbeth and his wife's own greed that leads to his gruesome death and the destruction of his leadership.
ReplyDeleteI see this play a very significant role in Death of a Salesman. Willy has the character flaws necessary to create a tragedy. He is greedy, mislead, stubborn, and has an excess of pride. These lead him to make a series of detrimental decisions throughout his life that are not only tragic for himself, but for his entire family. His greed causes him to never be satisfied with what he has. His misguided idea of the American Dream leads him to feel unhappy with his apparent lack of success. His stubborn attitude makes him difficult to deal with and an overall poor salesman. Worst of all his is pride. Because of his pride, he is never able to make a decision that would be beneficial in the long run for his family. He is too proud to accept a job from Charley when the job could have saved his life and enriched those around him.
Another tragic element of the story is that there is no real good to come out of it. Nobody is really the better off from his death. His wife no longer has an income to live off of. Biff now thinks of himself as a complete loser. Happy is set on the same destructive path as his father was on. Charley and Bernard are going to continue living as they had before. No lesson was taught to the characters.
Now that is not to say that no lesson was taught to the reader. The story of Willy Loman shows that one should never allow their pride to get in the way of truth and reality and love, one should never crave for more than they would be comfortable with, and to not judge your success on the success of others.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReading over the comments, I see that a lot of people view Willy's unfortunate life as a result of his own "high expectations." I do agree with this because Willy did create false fantasies that he could never achieve. However, I agree with Kate that it is arguable that Willy is a victim of society's idea of "the American Dream." It is also arguable that Willy created his own downfall and therefore, we should not feel any pity. In my opinion, I think that Willy is an unfortunate victim of society's expectations. Because the society saw success and money as the greatest achievement possible for every man, people like Willy were blinded by this idea. This idea, which was somewhat abstract and possibly impossible , destroyed Willy.
ReplyDeleteWilly's tragic life is significant because his life is an example of how society's high standards and ideas created so much false goals and dreams for an average salesman.
Personally, I feel pity for Willy. He can be seen as a self-centered mad man. However, if you look far before he went mad, before Biff caught him cheating on Linda, Willy was normal. Yes, it is unforgivable that he cheated on Linda, but maybe he felt lonely during his long trips and time away from home. I am not saying that cheating is Ok, but we should try a bit more to understand him and his unfortunate life. Willy started to get obsessive and disoriented after this incident. Maybe it is because he loved Biff and felt so guilty about his huge mistake that lead him to become the "crazy" Willy. I think Willy loved his family so much because sometimes, he would talk shortly about his concerns for Linda or Biff. All he cares about in his life is Biff and his love for Biff may be the reason for his personal downfall. In addition, Willy's suicide might have happened because he loved his family. If he dies, his family "could" get insurance, and he would not be a burden. At the funeral, Linda does emphasize that they are now "free."
Willy Loman is a typical character who is representing failure of American dream. Give a full explanation; he failed in both as a husband and a businessman. He is a definite character to be described as a “tragedy man”, because his first son Biff has been out of work and never devoted himself hard enough to be evolved in a business world. Then Willy himself failed to be success in a business world. All the things that matters to him are receive much recognition from the people, and being a great father for his family. But, first he lost job and then caught his adulterous by his son, so his authority was collapsed and nothing has been left on his hands. Also, his wife Linda is almost devoted her life in to her husband Willy; she is trying to smooth over Willy’s weird behavior, trusting him and loving him. These are Linda’s specific characteristic, which magnifies Willy’s defect even more. Father on, she is trying to ignore all the problems that Willy has, it even stands out more to be questioned further to Linda’s conduct. Therefore all the matters around Willy and himself created a definite characteristic of a “tragedy man”.
ReplyDeleteDetermining whether a play is a tragedy or not depends on each one's mind. As Miles said "[...] this is a tragedy in the eyes of Willy Loman. He saw an image of himself that he believed he worked so hard to create and just fell short every time. this lead to his downfall and demise and I am sure would feel incredibly tragic to him and his family.", we can understand how the main character, Willy, might have felt about his life and himself. As we discussed in class, for Willy as a salesman, sales were everything. Therefore, when he starts to achieve less and less sales, he become more and more desperate and powerless, and the story become tragedic. Finally, the suicide he committed highlights the gloomy and depressed ending of the tragedy. Since "tragedy" means "a form of literature that depicts the downfall of the leading character whose life, its disastrous end notwithstanding, represents something significant.", and Willy's slowly progressive failure in selling products and making contracts and his suicide at the end represent the downfall of the character with disastrous ending, The play, "Death of a salesman" suits Edward Quinn's definition of "tragedy".
ReplyDeleteEven though Charley and Bernard succeed in their field and pursued the American dream, they are only two of the foils in the story. In my opinion, they are not present in the story for showing cheerful and succeeded american dream, but for contrasting two extremely different situations between Willy and them.
I think Willy's life is a tragedy. The tradgedy is his own failure as a person. Money was so important to him that it consumed him. I understand he needed it to support his family, but he never lived for the simple things in life. His family was based on lies and denial. The significance I get from his tragedy is to recognize truth and accept it. When it comes to the "American Dream" I don't think Willy's failure to reach his dream is such a tradgedy. Everyone can fail in their own way. There are worse things in the world. Charley and Bernard are successful to show that some people make it and some people don't. Agreeing with Marika, Charley and Bernard were honest, hard working characters which lead to their success. The play suggests Willy is a failure because he is stubborn, dishonest, and selfish.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Willy Loman is tragic because he is the cause of his failures! He is pathetic, sleeping with another woman, lying to himself and his family and letting his pride get in the way. It appears that he has had many opportunities to make a better living than what he does, but he holds on so tight to his want to be a well known and well liked salesman. His brother offered him opportunities as well as his brother in law. Because he cannot accept his failure, or Biff's, this is what I believe drives him to comitting suicide (no pun intended)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think Willy Loman is the most tragic character in the novel, though he was the actual problem of all tragics, he earned the most tragic end and deprivation during his life. Only one thing he wanted in his life was to be was well earned secured job and being liked by everyone. Compare to other novel characters, Willy Loman's wish was a modest wish a man can have; Bernard has a case in the supreme court and Charlie's job required a personal secretary and even his sons' dreams were big.
ReplyDeleteAlso the most person he cared and loved, Biff realized his little secret and turned back on him. Even it was his fault at the first time,it is most hurtful thing to be neglected by a favorite person for anyone.
When somebody says Tragedy I immediately think of Romeo and Juliet. Like Kate said "To me a tragedy involves something unexplainable and unfair that occurs to the main character." Romeo and Juliet both died because of circumstances beyond their control. They were in unfair situations, and a lack of communication and knowledge of what exactly was going on caused them to unnecessarily die for each other. That is tragic. Willy Loman dying? Well, it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when somebody says tragic, but I do think that the play is tragic. Willy Loman dies because of situations beyond his control. You may say, wait a second, it was TOTALLY in his control, seeing as it was suicide. Yes, it was suicide, but it was inspired by the fact that Willy Loman came to the realization that the tragic circumstances in his life were unchangeable. There was no way he could live up to the idealistic American Dream. It was too late. He was fired, his sons were not successful, he no longer has the capability to be a successful salesman. How could he control whether or not he was well-liked in this society? Willy's inability to accept his situation is what was tragic about the story. So, like Romeo and Juliet, Willy thinks the only way is suicide. It is this similarity that brings me to the conclusions that the play is indeed a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone has read or heard of this play, but I find "Death of a Salesman" to be extremely similar to August Wilson's play, "Fences." Both revolve around a grown male character that has a conflict with his son, has an affair, and dies at the end. They both involve sports (though one involves baseball, while the other has more to do with football). This leads me to believe that Willy Loman is tragic, yet there is still hope. At the end of the play, Linda notes that she made the last payment on the house and that they are "free." This shows that there is still hope for the rest of the family, while Willy lays dead (sad, but true). I believe Willy had a life not for himself, but for his son, Biff. As we discussed, Willy wanted Biff to do the things that Willy never got to do, yet now that Biff has "failed" (though he hasn't really), Willy finds as though there is nothing he can really do. His life ends when he "discovers" that Biff loves him, which shows that despite Willy's efforts to make Biff great, and that he disappointed Biff, Biff has always had a place for him. I believe that at the end of the play when Biff states that his father had all the wrong dreams, he was talking about how his father dreamed for him and not for himself.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Willys character is compleetly in line with the definition of Tragety. Willy is obsessed with "The American Dream" but is consumed in his falsehoods and delusions to be actually sucessfull in the mid 20th century. Because he has had a fixation on living "the life of a salesman" he also exagerated and created a fake dream. Therefor by trying to acheive his dream, that and the "american dream" are not the same. Charley and Bernard are different from Willy because their prioritys are in different places and are motiviated by doing well in accademics rather than being "well liked".
ReplyDelete-Sam Hankey
Willy Loman is, in my opinion, a very tragic character. He tries to fulfill all that society asks of him, even though it is unrealistic for him as an individual. The standards that his culture has created are his destruction. Although Willy is not completely blameless for his actions, it is important to recognize the pressures he was under that influenced his decisions and contributed to the deterioration of his mental state.
ReplyDelete“Another tragic element of the story is that there is no real good to come out of it. Nobody is really the better off from his death...No lesson was taught to the character” -Alison.
I disagree that “no real good” came from Willy's death. Although Biff did realize what a loser he was, he stopped trying to fit into the predetermined role his father had pushed towards him. Biff started to, unlike Willy, understand himself for what he was most suitable, instead of what was most suitable for others.
I totally agree with Julia.
ReplyDeleteWhile Willy Loman was alive, he pushed his false hopes onto his family, and they suffered for it. But, through this suffering, Biff seemed to travel on a journey of self-discovery; even though the way was rough and Biff was scarred along the way, it was all part of his journey. We really experience the inner turmoil that boils inside of Biff throughout the play; by the end, I had no sense of such emotion coming from Biff. All I felt was a sense of relief and peace.