Death Of a Salesman- Willy Loman as a modern tragic hero
English 102
4/14/14
Death of a Salesman Tragic dramas have been around for years, but the tragic hero has changed drastically. The classic tragic hero is someone of royalty or high status, and He is famous or adored for doing something great. The biggest trait of a classic tragic hero is that he has a character flaw. This flaw doesn’t make him evil, but it strongly affects his decisions, and eventually leads to his downfall. While modern tragedies have very similar qualities to the classics, there are a few differences. In Arthur Miller’s drama Death of a Salesman, emphasizes these differences with his main character Willy Loman and the struggles he goes through as an aging man trying to support his family. Many different dramas have been turned into films, including the Death of a Salesman. The hardest part of turning a drama into a movie is portraying the thoughts and reasons behind the main character’s actions. Without the written words of to describe each character’s thoughts and feelings, it is easy to make the modern tragic hero come across as someone that is losing his mind. But Fredric March does a very good job of portraying Willy Loman with most of the qualities of a tragic hero up until the very end. In the reading, Willy’s family, house, and career make him a “common man” as described in Arthur Miller’s “Tragedy and the Common Man”. Miller describes the common man as “being a typical American man who is searching for the American Dream”. Willy has the average family with a wife and two sons. His job as a salesman has supported him and his family for years, and his goal to achieve the “American dream” is just like any other man’s goal at that time. Willy has worked hard for everything he achieved, and he has raised his sons to do the same. In the film, Fredrick March is seen pushing his son Biff to get a job and start a life for himself. He tries encouraging Biff to be the best guy he can be, and he enforces the fact that he will have to work
4/14/14
Death of a Salesman Tragic dramas have been around for years, but the tragic hero has changed drastically. The classic tragic hero is someone of royalty or high status, and He is famous or adored for doing something great. The biggest trait of a classic tragic hero is that he has a character flaw. This flaw doesn’t make him evil, but it strongly affects his decisions, and eventually leads to his downfall. While modern tragedies have very similar qualities to the classics, there are a few differences. In Arthur Miller’s drama Death of a Salesman, emphasizes these differences with his main character Willy Loman and the struggles he goes through as an aging man trying to support his family. Many different dramas have been turned into films, including the Death of a Salesman. The hardest part of turning a drama into a movie is portraying the thoughts and reasons behind the main character’s actions. Without the written words of to describe each character’s thoughts and feelings, it is easy to make the modern tragic hero come across as someone that is losing his mind. But Fredric March does a very good job of portraying Willy Loman with most of the qualities of a tragic hero up until the very end. In the reading, Willy’s family, house, and career make him a “common man” as described in Arthur Miller’s “Tragedy and the Common Man”. Miller describes the common man as “being a typical American man who is searching for the American Dream”. Willy has the average family with a wife and two sons. His job as a salesman has supported him and his family for years, and his goal to achieve the “American dream” is just like any other man’s goal at that time. Willy has worked hard for everything he achieved, and he has raised his sons to do the same. In the film, Fredrick March is seen pushing his son Biff to get a job and start a life for himself. He tries encouraging Biff to be the best guy he can be, and he enforces the fact that he will have to work