The Tragic Hero
English Lit: AQA A Level Death of a Salesman, topic 9.2.1
The Tragic Hero
Some have queried the ability of a character like Willy to be classified as a tragic hero. Miller wrote an essay in defence of this, clearly signifying his intention for Willy to occupy this space.
Aristotle
- Aristotle argued that, for a tragedy to create the essential sense of pity and fear within the audience, the protagonist should be of a high rank or status in their society (e.g. king or governor).
- Most of the debate around Death of a Salesman as tragedy has centred around Willy as the tragic hero.
Willy
- As a burnt out travelling salesman at the end of his career, Willy has been viewed by some as too lowly and insignificant to be considered a proper subject for tragedy.
- Willy is the archetypal ‘low man’ (‘Loman’) whose failure affects no-one outside of the Loman household: as Linda asks in the closing funeral scene, “Why didn’t anybody come?”
Miller's essay
- Arthur Miller himself entered this debate, writing an essay, Tragedy & the Common Man (1949), which defended Willy as a tragic hero. Miller bluntly stated that “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were…”.
Miller's argument
- Miller argued that “the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity.”
Creating the Tragic Hero
Miller firmly believed Willy could be classified as a tragic hero and early audiences of Death of a Salesman agreed.
Miller's opinion
- For Miller, any individual who battles to preserve his or her sense of self, to stand up for their beliefs is capable of becoming a tragic hero.
- In the search for truth and justice, “the character gains ‘size’” and is able to powerfully affect audiences.
Audience response
- The first audiences of Death of a Salesman responded powerfully to Willy’s downfall.
- In elevating Willy to a heroic status, Miller had in some sense elevated or dignified the lives of all ordinary American citizens.
Emotional response
- For many in these audiences, Willy inspired fear and pity because he was such a universal figure: his fate could befall any of us.
Language
- Miller’s language in the play also helps to elevate his characters.
- Biff calls his father “a prince” while Willy romanticises his sons as mythic heroes (“thank Almighty God you're both built like Adonises”), even referring to Biff as “Like a young God, Hercules…”
Test yourself on The Tragic Hero
What did Aristotle say about protagonists in tragedies?
What was the title of Miller's essay defending Willy as a tragic hero?
Why did contemporary audiences respond powerfully to Willy?