tragedy13

VCCS Litonline Introduction to Literature
English 112 (English Composition II)

page 13 of 20

Objective for this Page: To analyze Willy as a tragic hero.

As you no doubt are aware by now, literature is not an exact science. Ask a question about a literary work, and you'll get as many answers as there are people to respond . . . and most of them will be right (or, at least, partly, right). So let's look at the arguments on both sides of the questions posed on the previous page:

YES	NO
Willy's greatness lies in his struggle to claim some shred of dignity. He fights back against a system that is bigger than he is, that destroys "little men" like him. He demonstrates a capacity for self-sacrifice. Like Oedipus, he continues to struggle, even when faced with certain defeat and, in the end, offers his life as compensation for his failure as a husband and father. He dies as a father, not as a salesman.	Willy is petty and immature, a self-pitying whiner. His values are shallow. His struggle is for material success and recognition, not for real dignity, not for truth, not for honor. He refuses to accept the blame for his downfall and, instead, projects it onto others. While Hamlet, too, has some of these faults in the beginning of the play, he--Hamlet--ougrows them. Willy never does.
Willy is far from perfect. He is a flawed human being, and his flaws are very much like our own. He wants what WE want--dignity, success, respect, and a decent standard of living.	Certainly, no one would argue that Willy is perfect. Far from it. The argument, rather, is that, rather than coming across as a great but flawed man, someone to look up to and pity for his faults, he comes across as the sort of person we are justified in feeling contempt for.
Willy's hubris is not of the classic Greek variety; it's a specifically American version. Willy thinks he knows what it takes to beat the system, but he is sadly mistaken. He fails to realize that the system has no use for him, that he is simply a disposable cog in a wheel that grinds inexorably on. Nevertheless, Willy doesn't give up. His death is an effort to continue the struggle through his son, Biff. Because he lacks that awareness, he brings about his own downfall, conforming to Aristotle's dictum that the tragic hero's fate must be partly his or her own fault.	Hubris is the arrogance that leads a tragic hero to challenge Fate and the gods. We see nothing resembling that quality in Willy Loman. Instead, we see someone who wants to be a bigshot. If greed and materialism constitue "a specifically American version" of hubris, then we've suffered a long, sad fall since Aristotle's time. Also, Arthur Miller sets everything against Willy so that we don't feel he has a chance. He doesn't bring about his own downfall. The society he lives in brings it about. So do his genes; he's reenacting his father's mistakes.
Willy's misfortune is NOT deserved. He is simply demanding a place in a materialistic society that doesn't care a bit what happens to him. Yes, he has faults, but are they so serious that he deserves to have the last shred of his human dignity ripped away?.	Okay, no one deserves to be driven to suicide, but Willy's downfall is stupid and motivated by his inability to get his priorities straight. He isn't punished by "the gods" or "divine justice" or even "the state." His death is so isignificant that no one shows up at the funeral.
Willy's decision to kill himself in order for Biff to benefit represents an awareness of how futile his own struggle has become. His new knowledge is evident in the BEGINNING of the play, unlike most tragedies.	Willy dies just as disillusioned as ever. He never realizes that his values are skewed. He has blindly accepted a vision of success and goes to his death without questioning that vision in the least. His hopes for Biff are all centered around the same values that have proved so empty for him (Willy).
This is a highly subjective area. Our response to the play depends upon a number of different factors, including the performers' and director's interpretation, our own mood when we see or read the play, our own value system, etc. However, if we tend to agree with the "yes" answers in this table, we are probably going to feel a sense of compassion, if not awe, over Willy's downfall. If we agree predominately with the "no" answers, we probably tend to see the play as depressing.

Directions for further research:

Arthur Miller addressed the question of Willy's stature as a tragic hero in an essay published in the New York Times in 1949. The essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," can be read by clicking here.

Suggested Writing Assignment:

The table above simply sketches a line of argument for each of Aristotle's criteria. Decide how you feel about this play. Is Willy a tragic hero or not? Write an essay defending your answer.

The URL for this page is http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/tragedy/miller3.htm