1. Willy Loman is presented as a modern tragic hero by Arthur Miller despite not being noble. He dreams of achieving the American Dream like his brother Ben but cannot accept his ordinary reality. 2. Willy's tragic flaw is his inability to be satisfied by reality and chasing fantasies of success. He believes everyone is entitled to success without working for it. 3. Willy's poor performance leads to his firing, a reversal of fortune. His excessive pride prevents him from accepting help from his neighbor Charley. 4. At the end, Biff tries to make Willy see the facts but Willy refuses recognition, dying without understanding his actions caused his downfall.

1. Presented to: Dr. Iqbal Butt
Presented by: Ayesha Afzal
Willy Loman As A Tragic Hero

2. A Tragic Hero:
 Defined by Aristotle a Classic Tragic Hero:
1. A literary character who makes an error of
judgment that inevitably leads to his/her own
destruction.
2. In classic tragedy, Fate is a dominant figure.
3. Conspicuous(noticeable) person is a hero. E.g.,
Oedipus Rex

3. A Tragic Hero:
 Defined by Arthur Miller a Modern Tragic Hero:
1. One who attempts to “gain his ‘rightful’ position in
his society” and in doing so, struggles for his dignity.
2. In modern tragedy, Society is the source of tragedy
of a hero.
3. Any common person is a hero in modern tragedy.
E.g., An ordinary salesman, Willy Loman.

4. Characteristics of a Tragic Hero:
 According to Aristotle:
1. Nobility or wisdom (by birth)
2. Hamartia (a tragic flaw or an error of judgement).
3. Peripeteia (a reversal of fortune brought about by tragic
hero’s flaw ).
4. Anagnorisis (Recognition of actions; Actions result in an
increase of self-awareness and self-knowledge).
5. Excessive pride
6. Fate greater than deserved
“A tragic hero must fall from a height or glorious position
(Born Noble).”

5. Characteristics of a Tragic Hero:
 According to Arthur Miller:
1. Not noble but a common man
2. Hamartia (a tragic flaw or an error of judgment)
3. Peripeteia (reversal of fortune)
4. Anagnorisis (recognition of actions)
5. Pride
6. Death for a character
“A tragic hero strives for a high position in society when
average – a common man (Low man).”

6. Willy Loman – A Tragic Hero:
 Willy Loman can be considered a tragic hero and was intended
by his author to be a tragic hero, in the sense that he isn't an
individual but a type.
 Willy Loman represents the millions of hardworking American
men who end up on the ash heap when they get too old to be of
value to their employers.
 Arthur Miller intends Willy to symbolize workers under
capitalism. They start off full of hopes, dreams when they are
young but most of them end up like Willy who are worn out,
defeated and despised by their own children, still struggling to
pay off their debts, still wondering what went wrong with their
plans.

7. Contd.,
 Willy Loman is regarded as a type rather than as an
individual. His tragic flaw is his belief in the American dreams.
Like millions of other men, he was not able to achieve his
dreams of success. So, he projected his dreams onto his son,
Biff. But Biff was beginning to see the reality and the
deception involved in the system.
 The difference between Death of a salesman and classic
tragedies seems to be that the hero of old tragedies were
“strong and dynamic individuals” while the hero of Death of a
salesman is a symbol of “millions of little people.”

8. 1: Willy Loman, not a Noble:
The first characteristic of being an Aristotelian
tragic hero is to be of noble birth. Willy definitely isn't noble but
he aspires to be noble and much like his brother, Ben who went
into jungle and came out rich.
Ben: “When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle and when I
was twenty one I walked out, and by God I was rich.”
Willy: “[to the boys]: you see what I been talking about? The
greatest thing can happen.”
Willy is under the impression that he is loved by all
of his buyers. He is way to proud to admit to himself that he isn't
as popular as he tells himself he is, even no one came to his
funeral.

9. 2: Willy Loman's Hamartia (Tragic flaw):
Willy's tragic flaw is his inability to be satisfied by
the reality of his life and instead chases fantasy.
Ben: “Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle,
and when I was twenty one I walked out, and by God I was rich.”
This represents the ‘fantasy’ that Willy strives to
achieve for himself. Willy believes that everyone is entitled to
success. The American dream, instead of working hard for it.
He remains in his fantasy, ignorant to reality, by believing that
his 'right status' will be achieved that leads to his downfall.

10. 3: Willy Loman's Peripeteia (Reversal of
fortune):
Willy's poor job performance, drastic reduction
in sales and his verbal outburst in the office was enough to
get fired. Willy is too proud to accept a job from his neighbor,
Charlie because accepting his offer would mean admitting to
be a failure.
Willy: “I can't work for you, that's all, don't ask me why.”
His reason for rejecting Charley's job offer is
unjustifiable. His excessive pride that caused to live in denial.

11. 4: Willy Loman's Anagnorisis (Recognition of
actions):
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero has a moment
of recognition. The tragic hero's moment of recognition is that
the reversal was caused by his own actions (his tragic flaw).
Biff: “I was never a salesman for Bill Oliver, let's hold on to the facts
tonight, Pop. We're not going to get anywhere bullin' around. I was a
shipping clerk.”
Willy: “I'm not interested in stories about the past or any crap of that
kind. So don't give me a lecture about facts and aspects. I'm not
interested.”
Biff tries to make his father see facts as facts but he
stubbornly refuses to accept reality and dies without a moment
of self-recognition.

12. Conclusion:
In the modern era, (beginning with industrialization late 19th
century and early 20th century) a new kind of tragic hero was
created out as a reaction to the English Renaissance, the
age of Enlightenment and Romanticism. The modern hero
doesn't have to be of a “high estate” but rather “an ordinary
person”. An ordinary man is mostly affected by materialistic
and capitalistic values as willy Loman in Death of a
salesman. This new hero of modernism can be called the
modern day tragic hero or the anti-hero.

13. Thank You