THE TRAGEDY OF A COMMON MAN : ANALYSIS ON THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Essay by UDHAYAUniversity, Master's November 2014

download word file, 3 pages 0.0

THE TRAGEDY OF A COMMON MAN

Usually tragedies were written upon the Aristotelian society and they brought out the fall of princes. They were considered as classical tragedies. Some of the notable tragedies like Oedipus, Macbeth , King Lear, Hamlet were all tragedies of the people of royal lineage. Doesn't a common man of a modern society has no tragedies in his life? He has lot to face in his day to day life than the tragical princes. Arthur Miller believed that a common man and his life could evoke a tragic atmosphere and can be a center of dramatic interest. This made him sketch an extra ordinary tragedy of an ordinary salesman in Brooklyn. He made his idea come true through " Death of a Salesman"

Death of a Salesman , which opened on Broadway in 1949, won the Pulitzer prize and remains to this day one of America's key dramatic works, performed successfully around the world, the play paints a bleak portrait of capitalism and modern-day ruin.

In addition to its harsh social commentary, Death of a salesman is the story of a common man's thirst to leave a legacy, "What's the secret?" Willy Loman, the play's protagonist, asks in desperation, wishing for a clear route to success, yearning for accomplishment, and craving to be loved.

The Play ultimately captures the attention of the audience not because of its blistering attack on social injustice but because of its powerful portrayal of a timeless human dilemma. Simply put, Miller's play tells the story of a man who, on the verge of death, wants desperately to justify his life. As he struggles to fit the jagged pieces of his broken life together, Willy Loman discovers that to aasuage his guilt, he must face the consequences of past choices and...