Literary Analysis: Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” – A Tragedy?

How can two people watch or read the same story and yet, interpret it completely differently? Does it have to do with the author’s intentions, or maybe it has to do with the viewers’ own backgrounds and ideologies? Whatever the case may be, viewing one piece of work can lead to a wide array of opinions and critiques. It is through the diversity of such lenses that Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller has become one of the most well-known plays in modern history. There are many different ways in which a play can be criticized, however, criticisms from the approaches of a Marxist and reader-response will be utilized to further dissect Death of a Salesman. Marxist criticism sees pieces of works as a struggle between different socioeconomic classes; what better way to see Miller’s play than for what it is at face value, the struggle of a middle-class man trying to achieve the American dream (1750). On the other hand, a reader-response criticism comes from either an objective or subjective view; in this case Death of a Salesman will be viewed with a subjective lens based on Willy’s deteriorating mental health (1746).

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman contains many themes of

Arthur Miller presents his play ‘Death of a Salesman’ in the ancient form of a tragedy. Aristotle has defined his idea of the ‘perfect’ tragedy in his text, ‘Poetics’ (350 BC).Here he suggests that the protagonist must fall from an elevated social standing as a result of a “fatal flaw” within the character; the fall from the main character creates resolution to the play which is seen as just; finally, Aristotle identified that the action of the drama should take place within a 24hour timeframe. An ancient play which is believed to be the perfect tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. ‘Death of a Salesman’ is definitely a tragic play, but is Willy

However, death of a salesman depicts events in a sequent that are unmatched with their chronological progression. The most notable chronological structure of a play has a linear structure characterized by a pyramid pattern in its game, i.e., Rising action, climax, crisis, falling action and result. In such a case the crisis scene, coming along late in the report is one able to redirect the drama by acting out a decisive causal event for which somebody is responsible. However, in death of a salesman the eventual dramatization of the Willy cheating that takes place in Boston comes later in scene two. This is not a new event every bit it does not turn the action in a new way and it is also not recently revealed the occurrence of any of the characters as both Willey and Biff are already aware it, it occurred when Biff was only seventeen, and Linda and Happy do not learn about it when it finally dramatized on stage (Bloom 144-156). On the other hand, Sophocles’ Oedipus has in its structure a pyramid shape. The crisis scene happens when it eventually dawns on Oedipus that indeed it could have been him who could have voted out his father following Jocasta's revelation about her oracle about her son killing his father and the mention about Laius murder at the cross road. This ring a bell in Oedipus mind as he had bolted down a human race in similar condition. Sophocles Oedipus is a Greek tragedy, whereas the Death of a Salesman is a problem play. The former passes for a Geek tragedy since Oedipus, the tragic hero suffers misfortunes which are predicted by an oracle and which lead to his eventual fall. He is fated to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Though   attempts to move away from it, it somehow catches up with him. He eventually blinds himself to break away from

The philosopher Aristotle's definition of a tragedy is the process leading to the downfall of a character in a play leading the audience to pity him or her. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is an example which follows Aristotle's definition of tragedy. A general named Macbeth attempts to seize control over the throne of Scotland. After hearing a prophecy by the three sisters, who claim that he will become King, Macbeth decides to make it come true. Macbeth develops paranoia afterwards, causing him to kill more innocent people who might stand in his way. His downfall occurs when he is later killed and loses his power. Macbeth’s choice to kill people simply to gain power should make the audience hate him. However, it is difficult to not sympathize

His defini-tion has almost always been taken to be the sine qua non and all the supposed tragic heroes are compared with Aristotle’s definition so as to prove their credibility as tragic heroes. Allan Lewis rightly says, “Aristotelian concepts weigh heavily on an altered world” (Lewis, 1970, 47) which Arthur Miller clearly understood and hence, deviated a little from this definition and provided a new one appropriate for modern dramas. In the essay ‘Tragedy and Common Man’, he says, “I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” This essay being the preface of Death of a Salesman, does justify the protagonist of the play and tragic nature of the plot, but does not justify the heroism of Willy Loman. The question here is not about the tragic nature of Willy Loman, but about the credi-bility of Willy Loman being called a

The fact that Biff then alienates the people closer to him in life reiterates the recurring point about Miller’s societies (both the one he lived in and the ‘fictitious’ world he created) in which the person would live their life in the way that they had been shown by authoritative figures before them. Although, it should be considered that Willy is a slight exception to this rule, as he doesn’t actually learn through others mistakes, he learns through the personal experience of being alienated himself. It is in this sense that we see how ‘Death of a Salesman’ fits into the traditional element of a tragic play – the theme of a person committing the same ‘sins as their father’ has been seen before in influential tragic plays such as Macbeth.

However, there are those who would debate that Arthur Miller’s play should instead be given a different title as there are elements of the piece which do not relate to other tragic literary pieces. For example, in plays fitting the classic tragic template, a degree of sympathy is felt on the audience’s part. For example, in Othello, his final speech leaves the audience feeling morose and sorry for the protagonist as we reflect on the play and how his involuntary flaws led him to downfall. However, in Death of a Salesman we struggle to conjure up any feelings as Willy drives off into the night towards his death. Throughout the play we are reminded of the lessons that he has taught his sons and how that has impacted on their lives: Biff is considered

In order to understand the play Death of a Salesman you have to understand how Arthur Miller wrote his plays, he used dramatic elements in all of his plays, such as stage settings, lighting, and sound. Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th 2005, during the seven decades he wrote some of the most profound plays known to literature. He wrote the plays Death of a Salesman, and also The Crucible. His writing style was one that showed societal problems which is what defined him as a genius. When he first began to write things for him were a bit rocky. The first play that he wrote was The Man Who Had All The Luck did not receive the recognition that he thought it would, it only performed four times. Only six years later he wrote All My Sons, which did receive high reviews, and was a great success on Broadway, it also earned him his first Tony Award. Soon after that he built a studio in Roxbury,

Death of a salesman is a literature play written by American author Arthur Miller. The play was first published in the year 1949 and premiered on Broadway in the same year. Since then, it has had several performances. It has also received a lot of accordances and won numerous awards for its literature merit including the coveted Pulitzer for drama. The play is regarded by many critics as the perfect representation of the failures of the American dream. It is considered as one of the greatest plays of all time. In the play, we see how the writer tries to illustrate the distance between; reality and illusion, understanding and lack of it, isolation and the thought of being so. The story in the play is not only intricate since it combines the past and the present but also grows from a lifetime of denial lies. The main character of the play Wily Lowman, is caught up in the ‘American Dream’ which consist of an actual and resolute belief that through hard work and determination you can achieve anything you want in The United States of America despite your background and wealth status. However, Arthur Miller differs and believes that the ‘American dream’ is a misguided notion and hence the death of a salesman is a moving destruction of the whole idea. (Carson, 10)

In both ancient and modern theater, tragedy is prevalent. Audiences everywhere enjoy watching these stories of tragic heroes unfold as they experience catharsis or purgation of the emotions, leaving them feeling better instead of worse. After observing many tragedies in the fourth century B.C., Aristotle created a now famous description of tragedy and its heroes. He recognized tragic heroes had a tragic flaw or hamartia, were of high estate, eventually came to recognize their flaw (anagnorisis), experience a fall or reversal of fortune, and affect the audience, purging them of their hidden emotions. Both Othello and Troy Maxson possess some of these characteristics, however Troy Maxson should not be classified as a tragic hero like Othello

Arthur Miller created stories that express the deepest meanings of struggle. Miller is the most prominent twentieth-century American playwrights. He based his works on his own life, and his observations of the American scene. Arthur Asher Miller was born 17 October 1915 in Manhattan, New York city. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. His parents had a prosperous clothing company. Unfortunately when the stock market crashed, because his family invested all of their money in the market, they lost everything. The family then moved to a small house in Brooklyn. This happened during miller’s teen years, and because of that miller was shaped by the poverty that surrounded him. Miller saw the fragility and vulnerability of humans, when they are faced with a great economic crisis. Miller graduated as an average student from Abraham Lincoln high school. And due to financial reasons, he worked in an auto part warehouse, and during this time he has come across anti-Semitism, which became a major theme of his later work (Marino). After getting rejected two times, Miller got enrolled into the University of Michigan, and he started his career as a playwright at Michigan. In his sophomore year miller wrote No Villain, which is his first play. This play earned him a scholarship money. In his college years, Miller won several awards for writing plays. He graduated from college in 1938, and returned to New York, where he worked as a

Tragedy first appeared in Athiens around 533BC with the actor Thespis, hence where the word ‘thespian’ came from. Tragedy appears every second of every day, recently a woman died tragically in a car accident in Wagga Wagga, even though one might not know this woman, there is an overwhelming flow of empathy and sympathy and we find ourselves having imagery of this woman’s un known and in complete life, automatically when we hear the words ‘tragic accident’, we see the one/s involved as a protagonists, heroes befallen of a tragic fate. This is what tragedy has come to, going from art to real life in a different context but with the same meaning. Tragedies don’t have to be performed in the context of a drama, they are effective when being told in the form of a plot, Aristotle is partly correct in saying that the plot is the most important aspect in tragedy, it can cause Catharsis which means it arouses a feeling of pity or fear in an audience, even without the need to see the play, just reading the plot will cause empathy and sympathy, but so can a horrific image.

Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman was a hit nearly from its debut, and its importance to American literature and theater has not diminished in the over half a century since its first performance in 1949. However, the specific areas of the play that have most intrigued critics have changed over time, as different historical, social, and literary concerns lead critics to come up with different interpretations. By analyzing three different critical responses to Death of a Salesman, it will be possible to not only understand the play better, but also actually see how the reception of the play has changed as society's standards of criticism and discourse changed over the intervening years. One is able to see how shifting views on patriarchy lead to a change in the play's reception, and particularly the characterization of Willy Loman, who transforms from a tragic, albeit flawed man into the contemptible lackey of a patriarchal, capitalist society that has little regard for human health or happiness.

The word tragedy finds its origin in Greek spirit,theory and mythology in the word tragedia. Tragedy tends to bring to mind the thoughts of pity and sympathy. According to Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher emotions of pity and fear are aroused while watching or listening to a tragedy. Tragedy is a play that represents a central action or plot that is serious and significant. These plays involve a main character that is a normal human being with his share of good and bad characteristics. The protagonist is socially active, intelligent and a learned man. A tragic play entails both verbal and dramatic irony. Dr. Faustus was perhaps the most well written tragedy of its times and