Death of a Salesman and Modern Tragedy: Revisited

Abstract

This paper explores how Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman depicts the protagonist as showing invincible spirit through his fight for personal dignity and guides the audience to a process of recognizing a right way of living. Modern playwrights often fail to show that tragedy is an expression of faith in man's greatness since they have lost confidence in human dignity at the confrontation with suppressive society. Miller refutes these critics, asserting that playwrights are still capable of presenting the spirit of human greatness. In doing so, Miller assigns Willy Loman an invincible spirit of human courage in his own play, Death of a Salesman. In the play, Willy is fired and sees his dignity threatened at the end of his salesman career. Most modern playwrights would depict Willy as doomed to frustration, unable to show a hope of possible victory. However, Miller offers Willy the power to fight for his dignity. Willy confronts a downfall in the course of fighting and invites the audience to recognize the false value embodied in his idea of attaining success through material gains. Willy might avoid his tragic ending if he were free from the wrong idea at the confrontation with his failure as a salesman. Willy's death thus enlightens the audience by exposing a right way of living that he might lead. In Millers view, tragedy is a mode of optimism that produces in the audience's mind a hope of possible victory.