#2) Discuss Willy Loman as a tragic hero: Based your understanding of what being a hero means. You are, of course, free to differ with the designation.
No one has a perfect life. Everyone has conflicts that they must
face sooner or later. The ways in which people deal with these personal
conflicts can differ as much as the people themselves. Some insist on
ignoring the problem as long as possible, while some attack the problem to
get it out of the way. Willy Lowman's technique in Arthur Miller's play
Death of a Salesman, leads to very severe consequences. Willy never really
does anything to help the situation, he just escapes into the past, whether
intentionally or not, to happier times were problems were scarce. He uses
this escape as if it were a narcotic, and as the play progresses, the reader
learns that it can be a dangerous drug, because of it's addictiveness and
it's deadliness.
Arthur Miller, American playwright
Biff Fowler and Linda Glover Marry December 26, 19...
Actor Dustin Hoffman with Lee J. Cobb, who origina...The first time Willy is seen lapsing off into the past is when he
encounters Biff after arriving home. The conversation between Willy and
Linda reflects Willy's disappointment in Biff and what he has become, which
is, for the most part, a bum. After failing to deal adequately with his
feelings, he escapes into a time when things were better for his family. It
is not uncommon for one to think of better times at low points in their life
in order to cheer themselves up so that they are able to deal with the
problems they encounter, but Willy Lowman takes it one step further. His
refusal to accept reality is so strong that in his mind he is transported
back in time to relive one of the happier days of his life. It was a time
when no one argued, Willy...