Morales 2341 Spring 2015 Class MW discussion

Is Death of a Salesman a tragedy and Willy Loman a tragic hero, or is his death merely the pathetic demise of a small man?

Note: Research a tragic hero and a modern tragic hero.

“The Death of a Salesman” is the pursuit of the “American Dream” in a format that is more realistic to the illusionary standards. This story is a tragedy, and Willy did have all the characteristics of a tragic hero, but I wouldn’t call him one. The Loman family seems to be living lies within lies, but the lies are in the open and yet they seem to buy into the idea that everything is going to be fine. The paternal characteristics plague the family, and are instilled more in the sons. He was secretly ashamed of himself and saw himself as a failure, as a man of house and a father. I suppose it strikes a chord in modern day American men, with the pressures of maintain a household. I picture Willy as a sad washed up man that saw no way out, and gave up a lot of his own dreams for his family. When Ben told him he could go out and gain a fortune out of Brooklyn, he hesitated and felt confortable with his salesman position. He admired an 86-year-old man for being able to still sale. He got complacent and that was his down fall. This story opens my eyes in a lot of ways. For a long time I thought it was a modern day phenomena, that thirty something year olds were still living with their parents, but it seems it has been happening for a very long time now. It’s mostly the parent’s fault, like in the story with Willy and Linda cradling the “men” as “boys”. So at the end of the story Willy dies as a bad father, husband, and man.

In the story “Death of a Salesman” I believe everything is expected to be perfect in a certain way according to Willy Loman’s way of perfection. The story in my opinion is full of tragedies because the main character, which is Willy himself, is not happy with his suppose lovely life so he is a tragic hero. Everyone in the family is living in a living hell pretending to be happy when in reality nobody in the family is. Willy was proud of what he had accomplished as a salesman and wanted his sons to follow his footsteps but in reality Willy himself did not even desire his life as much as he pretended he did. When Willy realized one of his sons was going a different direction and knew that maybe they would accomplish more than he had all his life he was in denial and decided to confront him, with negative comments and making him feel bad. But on the contrary his son was happy with his job and decided to go his own way. Willy maybe was disappointed at the end of his life because he felt he done so many things for his family and in reality nothing turned out as he had ounces dreamed.

In my opinion, I believe that the story "The Death of a Salesman" can be view as a tragic hero with the character Willy. A perfect example, of a tragic hero is Willy, he goes through out his life never realizing his own mistakes and the consequences that have come from them. Willy does not accept the truth that he is failure. Willy spends too much time pretending to be much more than what he is and ignores the reality of his life. Willy has been dishonest with himself his whole life and tries to live pretending through his unwilling son Biff. Willy's failure has lead him to his own downfall and death. I believe that Willy brought his own depression, and tragic end due to all his lies. Willy's main concern was his American Dream even though he never achieved it the correct way. Willy's life was just full of sadness.

I believe in “The Death of a Salesman” was a tragedy. Willy is destroyed by society, he faces difficulties to reach the “American dream.” Willy had dreams of being wealthy, but those dreams were never accomplished. Willy Loman can be seen as a tragic character in this play. A tragic character is defined as one "who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads his own destruction." When Willy was talking to his boss Howard to get him a different position he explained to him what inspired him to become a salesman. He was so caught up with the idea of making a living and being wealthy that in the end it turned out to be a bad decision.He made very little money and then got fired after their conversation. "...And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ’Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, ..." He lived his life as a lie, pretending to be more than what he actually was. He tried to ignore and not face the real world. His failure that gave him emotional strain and pressure lead him to his death.

Death of a Salesman is a tragedy drama, but in my opinion, I don’t believe that Willy Loman was a tragic hero. He is a sad small man who wants to do great things but never successfully achieved it. He wished to be truly liked and to love his job as salesman, so he created these visions of himself, by not facing reality. Willy could of have accomplish anything great only if he would have opened his eyes and been more reality, not lying and being faithful on his wife. Willy was only focusing on his dream he never saw the consequence of his mediocre attitude.

How is Willy a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman? verything that he did will be the actions of the villain of the story. His life is fill within lies and the fact that he judges his son Biff when he doesn't even havea perfect career himself, nor self-esteem. To me, his death is the pathetic demise of a small man because he took the easy way out. He didn't think of how his family would survive after killing himself, since he was the "head of the family", he took a cowardly decision to take his own life and not face his problems. In no way he is a tragic hero, he made his life into a living misery. He chose to die instead of to face that he was a failure in his job.

“Death of a Salesman”
Willy Loman was a tragic hero according in the Death of a Salesman because his flaws as a person drives him to believe that he emotionally, and physically stable when really Willy is a threat to his self-definition, and the people around him. Willy Loman’s self-definition is the failure of his son Biff Loman in life in general. Willy has always felt that life only has good things in store for Biff. Biff has even gotten to the point where the hot air that Willy is blowing in his head is making Biff feel really good and confident in himself. That is soon changed though when Biff decides to visit Willy on one of his business trips. Upon arriving Biff was going to tell Willy that he was failing math and that Willy needed to talk to his math teacher to pass the class. Instead Biff finds Willy and another woman having an affair, which makes the story unfold and made me wonder what would have been if Biff didn't find Willy with another women. A tragic hero according to Arthur Miller is someone whose is not perfect, yet is willing to take his or her life to secure his or her personal dignity.

Willy is so consumed with the American Dream but he is a failure as a salesman, a father and a husband. He does not have the tools to achieve the American Dream because he was abandoned by his father so he came up with his own plan to be successful. This thought was to to be well liked; not hard work this is not a formula for success. He portrayed to the public that he was this great man but in reality he was not and his wife knew this but she supported him along with his friend Charley. Willy in the end I feel knows he is a failure his child Biff went to work on a farm ;instead of being a salesman. Willy wants his child to be a salesman and be great because he wants to live vicarously through his child. So when Biff chooses to work on a farm Willy sees him as a failure, just like him. So in the end I feel this is a tragedy for I see Willy was failed as a child from his father and others as a society for he was not mentored. He wanted to be able to live the American Dream and obtain it but failed miserably.

I believe “Death of a Salesman” is merely a tragedy and Willy Loman is a tragic hero. His main and only focus is to reach the American dream. He is not focused on the realistic world and is so caught up on becoming something that at his age is almost impossible. He tries to push his sons into the Salesman career but he doesn’t stop to think that if he didn’t make it then what makes him think his sons will. He continually tried to escape reality by having flashbacks of his past and how successful he once was that he often had difficulty distinguishing the present from memories of his past. I feel that Willy dwelled on the past when times were going good for him and his family that he resorted to losing himself to that period. He placed so many hopes and dreams on his son Biff that Willy eventually felt that his destruction was his fault. Willy thought of himself as a failure that eventually it took part in his downfall. I believe that Willy Loman was just another case of, like so many of us tend to do, tried to hard to have what everyone else had only to realize that we have wasted our time creating illusions that don’t compare to the reality. The American dream he so badly wished for ultimately became a nightmare that directly affected many of his decisions. He saw his life slowly crashing for him and decided to end the war within him and decided to give up by committing suicide. Willy was just another man who chased after false dreams that were never able to be accomplished.


“All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have-to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.-”Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller

I do believe that Willy died a modern tragic hero. Because a modern tragic hero doesn't have to come from noble stature but can be just an ordinary person. For example Hercules is one who you can say is destined to be a hero, and spiderman is someone who became a hero by mistakenly getting bit. So yes Willy is many ways in a hero. He is just a normal man trying to make a living for him and his family throughout his life. Although throughout the play you find him unstable and unhappy; constantly nagging on his son Biff secretly afraid that he will end up just like him. As you can see in the play Willy isn't proud of his job therefor he keeps going back in past times thinking about the days he did feel like he succeeded. Willy wanted the American Dream so badly and because he couldn't make that life for himself, he decides to take his own life in exchange for his insurance money to go to his son Biff. Now that is what makes him a modern tragic hero trying to make a better life for his son. Heroes don't all have to be how they come out in the movies. In so many ways there are some things a person can do to make them a hero in the eyes of the people they love, and in my opinion that is exactly what Willy accomplished.

All death is tragic in one way or another, some more tragic than others. Do I think Willy Loman is a tragic hero? Not exactly. Maybe just another victim that has fallen due to the chase towards the “American Dream”. This man wanted everything to be perfect, but was it really worth the fight? Many are consumed with the idea of having the perfect family. Some parents put a lot of pressure on their own kids in hopes they achieve what they couldn’t. Many parents see their kids achievements as their own achievements and as an image they want to put out to the public. Willy wanted perfection from his life and especially the lives of his kids, but at the cost of something much more in the end. He tried to live out the successful life he always wanted though his son Biff.

I do not believe that the "Death of a Salesman" was tragedy. I believe the death of Willy was simply the demise of a small man. When Charley was offering Willy a job so he can have money to pay his bills, willy denied. "Willy: I don't want your god dam Job...I--I just cant work for you, charley." Then Charley replied: "You been Jealous of me all your life, you dammed fool." The fact that Willy didn't want to accept the job offer when he was given one makes the simple demise of a small man. Also, Willy never took advice from anyone. He would block out every word people had to say. "Willy: So don't lecture me about facts and aspects. I am not interested." Willy was a troubled man. When he knew he couldn't do anything with his life he started thinking about his own death. He was contradicting himself throughout the whole play. Willy fabricated his own tragedy because of his foolish pride.

After finishing the play of the “Death of a Salesman”, I realized the death of Willy Loman goes to show how ironic the whole play ended. I would of thought he would die of some natural cause but he ends up killing himself. I believe the death of Willy was the merely pathetic demise of a small man. I strongly believe his whole life was lived as a lie and this caught up to him at the end of his years when he wanted to blame his son Biff for returning home and not becoming successful as him. More than anything I think the fact that he was cheating to his wife and never asked Biff how he felt about catching him with that other woman or even said sorry to him, turned Willy delusional. Even though he was getting older, the fact that he tried to dumb down his son about this “representative”, which was a girl wearing his mother’s stockings, shows what a pathetic loser he was. He was cheating to his wife and didn’t even care that he was being caught; he only wanted to cover it up with a lie. There we can see that he would rather lie to others than confess what a demise of a small man he was. When Biff tries to reveal the lie they had been leaving by, Willy goes crazy and decides to kill himself. “I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like the rest of them! I’m one-dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it. A buck an hour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes anymore and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home!” That becomes the breaking point in the distortion life of Willy Loman.

In the play “A Death of a Salesman”, Willie is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes an error in judgement that leads to his own demise. Willie fits into this category. Willie makes several errors in judgement. His upbringing of his sons can be considered an error in judgement. Rather than teaching his sons a strong work ethic, he would insist that being well liked would bring more success. For example, when Linda found out that Biff would not be graduating from high school she stated, “Oh maybe Willie can talk to the teacher”. This suggested that he was too successful to be “failed” by a lowly math teacher. He would also lie to himself in believing he was an amazing salesman, well liked, surrounded by friends, and more successful than he actually was. It was only towards the end of act two when, he came to realize his errors. Charley told Willie, “Willie, when’re you gonna realize that them things don’t mean anything. You named him Howard, by you can’t sell that. The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that”. Willie thought that if he would be influential enough that everything would come his way. Once he realized his own insignificance in society, he ended committing suicide.

Angel wrote: "“The Death of a Salesman” is the pursuit of the “American Dream” in a format that is more realistic to the illusionary standards. This story is a tragedy, and Willy did have all the characteristics..." This story is a tragedy for Willie did not have the tools to succeed. He was left by his father and brother at young age he then had to navigate this world with what he thought were the right ways to get the American Dream. While I do believe he was a failure he did not give up his delusions even when he knew he was failing. He would tell Linda, but always had excuses as to why. It is tragic to think he did love his family but was unable to admit his flaws so he could truly help his family.

Kirsten wrote: "I do not believe that the "Death of a Salesman" was tragedy. I believe the death of Willy was simply the demise of a small man. When Charley was offering Willy a job so he can have money to pay his..." I also think of this as tragic he was left as a child not given the tools then what he thought would make him successful was not the way. He took his own life for insurance money for his son, still in a delusional state of mind to think Biff would ever have a business, or even a successful one at that. This man did not want to face reality and your right his pride as well got in the way.

I do not see Willy as a hero, I see him as a common, unhappy and depressed old man. In the play "Death of a Salesman", I consider Willy to be a man who was so unhappy with his life, yet so obsessed with living the American Dream. So obsessed thats all he did, dreamed. In a way he could be the tragic hero. Biffy, his son who once saw him as a hero than later discovers his father has been a liar, and after catching his father in an affair, he is also now a cheater. Now Biffy sees what his father really is, a human being who isn't perfect. After lying to his wife about false sales numbers, giving himself this illusion of the life he is living, and making sure his boys make something of themselves; Willy than commits suicide. The reason being so Biffy can have his life insurance. In my opinion, I feel that Willy just wanted Biffy to see him in that light again, the "My dad is perfect", light. Kind of trying to buy his love, and Biffy in the end doesn't like his father and in a way matures by thinking realistically.

Luis wrote: "In the play “A Death of a Salesman”, Willie is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes an error in judgement that leads to his own demise. Willie fits into this ..."

Luis I agree with you on that Willy could have done a better job in teaching his children and probably on himself as well. I also agree with you on that he made significant errors in his entire life with so many lies. He bought his own downfall and failure to himself.

Shanda wrote: "Willy is so consumed with the American Dream but he is a failure as a salesman, a father and a husband. He does not have the tools to achieve the American Dream because he was abandoned by his fath..."

I agree that the "failure trait" can be passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. It is not a genetic trait, instead it is a social trait. In other words, its a failure in upbringing. I also agree that growing up without a father and a separated successful older brother affected Willie as a father.

Hilda wrote: "I believe in “The Death of a Salesman” was a tragedy. Willy is destroyed by society, he faces difficulties to reach the “American dream.” Willy had dreams of being wealthy, but those dreams were ne..."

I agree with your post for the most part, but I do not believe that Willie was destroyed by society. I believe he was destroyed by his false views of how society interacted and how he viewed himself in society. Yes it was the realization the lived a lie and that he made his children believe in those lies that ultimately lead to his suicide.

I believe that Willy Loman in “The Death of a Salesman” is a modern tragic hero. He cannot be a tragic hero because a tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. A modern tragic hero is a common individual who does not need catharsis to bring the story to a close and he may die without an epiphany of his destiny. Willy Loman did not wanted to face reality that his family and he were ordinary people. He had a wrong perception of the American dream. And to make thing worst is that he also made his sons believe his perspicacity. Willy lies and contradictions made him be mentally devastated and all because of his ego or pride. Committing suicide made him a coward even if he thought that it was the solution to his problems. I felt sorry for his wife, Linda because she really loved him and at the end she feels confused, “Willy, dear, I can’t cry. Why did you do it? I search and search and I search, and I can’t understand it, Willy. I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home.”

Victoria wrote: "I do believe that Willy died a modern tragic hero. Because a modern tragic hero doesn't have to come from noble stature but can be just an ordinary person. For example Hercules is one who you can s..."

I agree with you, he was a modern tragic hero because he never was noble, he was just a common men. His ego did not let him see reality and not to be proven wrong he committed suicide.

Shanda wrote: "Willy is so consumed with the American Dream but he is a failure as a salesman, a father and a husband. He does not have the tools to achieve the American Dream because he was abandoned by his fath..."

I don't think that Willy's death was a tragic death because even though he was failed as a kid, that should of helped him to turn things around and become someone in life. He should of got that experience and made something out of himself. I think he was just making excuses for a free ride to success.

Kirsten wrote: "I do not believe that the "Death of a Salesman" was tragedy. I believe the death of Willy was simply the demise of a small man. When Charley was offering Willy a job so he can have money to pay his..."

I agree with you Kirsten. I definitely believe he was too prideful and didn't accept the fact that he was a failure and wanted to blame anything or anyone for his failures. I also agree that because he was seeing that he couldn't do anything with his life, he decided to kill himself.

Monique wrote: "All death is tragic in one way or another, some more tragic than others. Do I think Willy Loman is a tragic hero? Not exactly. Maybe just another victim that has fallen due to the chase towards the..."

I agree Willy was so into the idea of the "American dream." He wanted his son Biff to be successful since he wasn't able to accomplish that goal. He put pressure on him to become something he didnt want to be.

Rosie wrote: "In my opinion, I believe that the story "The Death of a Salesman" can be view as a tragic hero with the character Willy. A perfect example, of a tragic hero is Willy, he goes through out his life n..."

Willy was so caught up with his lies and didn't want to face reality. I agree that did lead him to failure.

Luis wrote: "In the play “A Death of a Salesman”, Willie is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes an error in judgement that leads to his own demise. Willie fits into this ..."

Luis, I agree with you that Willy fit the category or a tragic hero. He also had a false overview of himself as a good salesman when it was obvious he was not very good at it.

Marielena wrote: "In the story “Death of a Salesman” I believe everything is expected to be perfect in a certain way according to Willy Loman’s way of perfection. The story in my opinion is full of tragedies because..."

Marielena, I agree with you that Willy fit the category or a tragic hero. Even though he worked almost his entire life as a Salesman, it was obvious that he was not a very good one. He dwelled on his past because he was not happy with where he was at in his current life.

In the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s death, as sad as it is, was merely the pathetic demise of a small man. He was just an ordinary working man. Willy was tormented by his disappointment in himself and in his sons. He blamed himself for the shortcomings of his sons’ on himself. He was so depressed by the failures of his life. The life and death of Willy was absolutely tragic but to his death heroic is farfetched. His death was a selfish act. Before he died, all he could talk about was how many people would attend his funeral so his son could see how important and well liked he thought he was. I believe the 20,000 dollars was just a little bonus. He was more worried about his death proving his importance than the 20,000 dollars his family would receive. This play was a truly sad story of a delusional obsessive man.

"He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have — to come out number-one man." Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

In the play " Death of a Salesman" I cannot say Willy Loman's death was to prove he was a hero. Yes it was sad, it was a tragedy. He was leading to it and attempted several times to commit suicide. He didn't live up to societys standards, or to his mental American Dream. Although, he did commit suicide, i believe he committed suicide to provide for his family. He did it for his family, and also because depression drove him to do such. I cant say he saved his family in anywhere, but allowed for his life insurance to kick in and then slowly his son followed to become a business man.

Kirsten wrote: "I do not believe that the "Death of a Salesman" was tragedy. I believe the death of Willy was simply the demise of a small man. When Charley was offering Willy a job so he can have money to pay his..."

I agree about Willy's pride being the cause of his eventual demise. If he wasn't stubborn in his ways, he could have improved his life greatly.

Maritza wrote: "Death of a Salesman is a tragedy drama, but in my opinion, I don’t believe that Willy Loman was a tragic hero. He is a sad small man who wants to do great things but never successfully achieved i..."

Willy was in his own way in his quest for a better life. If he would have embraced reality and stopped putting pressure on others to fulfill his dream life rather than achieving it himself, life would be better for his family.

Yvonne wrote: "In the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s death, as sad as it is, was merely the pathetic demise of a small man. He was just an ordinary working man. Willy was tormented by ..."

I agree, he had so much pride that he couldn't admit to the fact that he was failing at life. He couldn't admit to what he was passing down to his sons. He took his life because he couldn't bare living with the fact that nothing was going his way.

Suzette wrote: "In the play " Death of a Salesman" I cannot say Willy Loman's death was to prove he was a hero. Yes it was sad, it was a tragedy. He was leading to it and attempted several times to commit suicide...."

I agree with him not being heroic, perhaps the opposite. He was to ashamed to admit that he was doing everything wrong, but instead put the mask of the american dreamer.

Suzette wrote: "In the play " Death of a Salesman" I cannot say Willy Loman's death was to prove he was a hero. Yes it was sad, it was a tragedy. He was leading to it and attempted several times to commit suicide...."
I agree that Willy was no hero. what a shame that he preferred to commit suicide than accepting reality. He might of done for his family but there is no guarantee that they were going to succeed with the money from the insurance.

Alicia wrote: "I believe that Willy Loman in “The Death of a Salesman” is a modern tragic hero. He cannot be a tragic hero because a tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualit..."

Alicia, I disagree with you. I don't think Willy is a hero. He never faced reality and he lied about everything. The last page of the story was sad.

Leslie wrote: "After finishing the play of the “Death of a Salesman”, I realized the death of Willy Loman goes to show how ironic the whole play ended. I would of thought he would die of some natural cause but he..."

I agree Leslie. Willy contradicted himself. He wanted Charley to give him money, when Charley offered him a job he denied. Willy should have realized that the only way to live the American Dream is if you work hard.

Scarlett wrote: "I do not see Willy as a hero, I see him as a common, unhappy and depressed old man. In the play "Death of a Salesman", I consider Willy to be a man who was so unhappy with his life, yet so obsessed..."
Scarlett I do agree with you on that Willy was so concerned about his American Dream. Which cause him to be so unhappy with his life.

Marielena wrote: "In the story “Death of a Salesman” I believe everything is expected to be perfect in a certain way according to Willy Loman’s way of perfection. The story in my opinion is full of tragedies because..."



I have to disagree with Marielena. In no way was Willy a tragic hero. There is nothing he heroic about him. His suicide was no even sacrificial. It was done with selfish reasons.

Luis wrote: "In the play “A Death of a Salesman”, Willie is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes an error in judgement that leads to his own demise. Willie fits into this ..."

I have to disagree with Luis. I can understand calling a person a hero if their heroic deed ended their life as a sacrifice for a good cause. But to end their life to prove how important they believe they are when many people show up to their funeral is far from heroic. I’m sorry but Willie was not a hero.