A Tragic Hero of a Salesman - Tragic Heroism in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman is the tragic story of one man and his struggle to fulfill the American dream and take his family along with him. Since the story is tragic, what would a tragedy be without the title character, himself, dying? Well, probably just a sad story. So, it happens, but we have to wonder, is Willy Loman a tragic hero? Arthur Miller says a tragic hero is "The tragic feeling...invoked whenever we …

…the best for each of them, or at least what he believed was the best. That is the only flaw, is that through Willy's eyes and from the audience's perspective and through our pity for him, we can see him as the tragic hero, and he can see himself that way if he chose to; unfortunately, however, his family, through their eclectic lifestyles may not have viewed his life and death in the same light.