"Death of A Salesman": A Tragedy or Not?

A Tragedy or Not a Tragedy? That is the Question.

Tragedy or not? That is the question. Is "Death of a Salesman" correctly labeled as a tragedy according to the Aristotelian view of a tragedy? To determine this, the Aristotelian views should be examined along with the play to determine whether or not the play fits the description of an Aristotelian view of a tragedy. Throughout the reading of "Death of a Salesman" it becomes clear that the author did not intend to create an Aristotelian tragedy because the play simply does not fit Aristotle's criteria.

There are several distinct characteristics that define a tragedy. The first is that the "tragedy tells a story based on a series of cause and effect events in the life of a person" (Tragedy according to Aristotle). Further, these events of the plot lead to a catastrophe, usually some sort of disaster that may have been expected or deserved.

Aristotle, a 4th-century-BCE philosopher, portraye...

Portrait of Aristoteles. Pentelic marble, copy of ...

Detail of The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio...

Another characteristic of a tragedy is that "the drama is one of great dignity or serious" (Tragedy according to Aristotle). In other words, the drama must be of serious magnitude which "allows the hero to pass by a series of probable necessary stages from happiness to misfortune, or vice versa" (Aristotle 16). And with the last characteristic of a tragedy, the protagonist "must be neither completely good nor completely bad" (Tragedy according to Aristotle).

Next the characteristics of a tragic hero should be examined. These should include "someone who is highly renowned or prosperous" (Tragedy according to Aristotle) or "of a persons better than the average man" (Aristotle 27), or a noble person. This protagonist must have a tragic flaw which leads to his misery. And finally, by the end of the play, the protagonist must recognize his own error and...