Death of a Salesman: Modern-Day Thesis

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That tragedies reflect life is one of Aristotle's requirements and this requires that dramas drift from the tales of great kings and princes. Arthur Miller writes, "Insistence upon the rank of the tragic hero, or the so-called nobility of his character, is really but a clinging to the outward form of tragedy" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132) and "I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132). "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... Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (Miller qtd. In Wilson 132). Wilson supports this perspective by pointing out that we have no kings or queens in our society, except in a few places like Great Britain and he asks is this means that no one else can "stand for other people, or symbolize a group or culture" (Wilson 132).

Wilson reminds us that when we are creating a modern tragedy, the "question is not whether we view the human condition the same way as did the French in the seventeenth century or the Greeks did in the fifth century B.C. - but whether our age allows for a tragic view on its own terms" (132). He adds, "Our dramatic heroes and heroines fight to the end" (132). Willy fits this description in that he does fight until the end. He is a hero because represents most individuals today.

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Since our society does not includes kings and princes, we must look at the play as a representation of real life and, when we do, the play generates pity for Willy and fear that we might not repeat the same mistake.

Aristotle might have a different view regarding the true definition of a tragedy but he might be willing to accept that societies change and for our dramas to remain true to life, they must change as well. He might look at Death of a Salesman and realize the tragedy is there. Robert Cohen observes that modern dramatists define a tragedy as a "serious play... with a topic of universal human import as its theme" (Cohen 35). In addition, he adds, "tragedy should ennoble, not sadden, us" (36). Aristotle understood this fact when he established the requirements of a tragedy. From a well-constructed plot the evoking fear and pity, the tragedy must reflect life above all else. From this perspective, we can see how Death of a Salesman not only conforms to most of the definitions that Aristotle set forth but it adheres to the most significant aspect of tragedy in that it imitates real life. The play becomes more significant to our society because we can relate to Willy more than we can relate to Hamlet or Oedipus. Willy might only be a king of excuses but he is a man that we know exists in the world today.

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