Essay Comparing The Great Gatsby And Death Of A Salesman

Willy Loman Hero or pitiful

I do not see Willy as a tragic hero at all. I do not view him as pathetic either. He is a man who has visions of grandeur and who desperately wanted to be much more of a success than he was. He also longed to be truly liked and greatly respected. He envisioned himself as being more popular and liked than he was. He longed for the acceptance and love he never got from his occupation, so he created this false vision of himself. I felt sorry for Willy, actually. He struggled with so much and did not have the tools to deal with those struggles, so the only way out was to kill himself, which is never a good option. Arthur Miller succeeds in demonstrating incredibly well in Death of a Salesman that not only is tragic heroism
still possible in the modern world, but that it is also an affliction to which both king and commoner are equally susceptible. However, Wily Loman is not a tragic hero because he is pathetic, not heroic, in his personal "tragedy" that comes from his inability to admit his mistakes and learn from them. Instead, he fits Miller's description of pathos and the pathetic character, one who "by virtue of his witlessness, his insensitivity, or the very air he gives off, [is] incapable of grappling with a much superior force," (Miller 1728). A tragic hero is tragic because he has all the elements of greatness. He could be something great and grand and memorable, but through his own failings, all that greatness is turned to horror. Here, Willy doesn't ever have the elements of greatness. He's a sad small man who wants to do great things, but he never has. Is Willy Loman a tragic hero? There seemed to be one key factor which decided if Willy was or was not a tragic hero, this was if the person believed that there were external factors and fate controlling the outcome of Willy's life or if it was up to Willy to change his destiny but was unable to due to a tragic flaw. In my opinion I feel that both of these factors need to be taken into consideration, yes Willy does have a tragic flaw, he is living in a reality world believing that himself and his sons have greater success then what they are really living in. The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman Comparison Essay In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is the main character that believes in American Dream.
This characteristic is also identical to the characteristic of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman because he carries the same belief; however, they hold the same belief tightly for different purposes: Gatsby strives to gain his first love back where as Willy just wants his family to live happier from success. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby repeatedly looks upon the “green light”(p.90), at the end of the dock across the water, as his hope towards his love, Daisy. The “green light” is always there, representing the “unreachable” Daisy. Later, when Gatsby finally meets Daisy who is not the same person anymore. He knew Daisy is now married and could not give up her family, he is disappointed and the “green light” becomes unreal like their relationship and evokes to an “enchanted object” he cannot attain because it is a false hope. Gatsby believes in the American Dream so greatly because he believes he can get everything (including Daisy) if he succeeds. In Death of a Salesman, Willy also looks upon Dave Singleman (p.81), who is a salesman he met
before. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, respective protagonists Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman are blinded by the pursuit of the American Dream, and both meet their downfalls at the hands of their own ignorance. These two authors both criticize the human tendency for self-delusion through the flawed moral characters of Gatsby and Loman. Jay Gatsby is a popular millionaire in New York, yet no one knows how he came about his wealth. Truthfully, Gatsby is a criminal – bootlegging alcohol and making an impressive fortune. Nevertheless, he worked hard to earn his fortune, as was his dream. As most men of the time did, Gatsby went to war and, during his time in Louisville, fell in love with a woman named Daisy. The two vowed to love each other and wed as soon as Gatsby returned from war. Unfortunately, Daisy did not wait, and married a rich man named Tom Buchanan. With this betrayal, Daisy secured a position as Gatsby’s only desire. What Gatsby doesn’t realize; however, is that Daisy, by marrying another man and enjoying his riches, stands for everything that Gatsby despises: inheritance of wealth without any hard work. Gatsby’s love for Daisy blinds him from his honest pursuit of riches and leads him instead down a path of underground crime. Gatsby’s love for Daisy forces him to take the blame for the death of Myrtle Wilson, whose husband kills Gatsby, ending the road to his American Dream.