After a long 2-hour reading session done on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, my grade 9 literature class was instructed to compare the storyline to Aristotle's definition of tragedy. We were asked to find 6 evidences throughout the story that fits each line of Aristotle's definition of tragedy. The lines are:
A tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete in and of itself, and of a certain magnitude.
Written in appropriate and pleasurable language.
With incidents arousing pity and fear.
Wherewith to accomplish catharsis of such emotions.
The hero must exhibit a tragic flaw that gets out of hand.
A true tragedy must show a unity of plot.
With that in mind, please enjoy the analysis I made on each of these lines. Enjoy!
"A tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete in and of itself, and of a certain magnitude."
Evidence:
On page 109, the story dialog reveals how Willy has drove off with his car and that ended with his death. The dialog stated “As the car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of sound, which becomes the soft pulsation of a single cello string”.
Analysis:
This shows how serious the story is, at the end of the story, one of the main characters hallucinated and ended his life. Death is considered one of the most of serious things in life, it’s the end or the period for Willy’s story.
"Written in appropriate and pleasurable language."
Evidence:
On page 71, Willy compared his unanswered question of why Biff suddenly gave up after he failed his math test as a ghost that has been following for a long time. Willy stated, “Why? Why! Bernard, that question has been trailing me like a ghost for the last fifteen years”.
Analysis:
This shows how the story uses pleasurable language, in this case, the use of similes. Willy compared his long-time question of why Biff stopped working hard to a ghost.
"With incidents arousing pity and fear."
Evidence:
On page 30-34, Willy started hallucination about Ben, his brother, while he was sitting with Charley. Willy then starts talking to Ben about his journey and how he went to Africa and got rich. Willy told Ben, “I’m getting awfully tired, Ben”.
Analysis:
This shows how the audience would feel scared of Willy’s state of mind. His mental health is failing, he’s talking about a person who’s already dead, gone, and isn’t there. The audience would fear the consequences this might cause: Willy going crazy, suiciding, or depression.
"Wherewith to accomplish catharsis of such emotions."
Evidence:
On page 111 (requiem), Biff realizes that Willy had the wrong dream or the wrong idea of success. Biff stated, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong”.
Analysis:
This shows how Biff finally knew the truth about his family, they live under lies. Biff know was clean and was away for the loop of lies his father created. This was after Willy death; the audience would feel relieved because of how Biff finally understand life and the escape the loop of his father.
"The hero must exhibit a tragic flaw that gets out of hand."
Evidence:
On page 21, Willy shows care towards Biff and tried to teach him what he thinks is the key to success, being well-known. Willy stated, “Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead”.
Analysis:
This shows how Willy tragic flaw is the false vision on what is needed to success. Willy thought that the key to success is connections, being liked, and having a great characteristic. This later affects his path to success, he failed. Willy needed to borrow money from other people and finally killed himself for his family.
"A true tragedy must show a unity of plot."
Evidence:
On page 95, Willy finally knows the answer for his longed unanswered question from his flashback. When Biff went to see Willy he stated, “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake”.
Analysis:
This shows the unity of plot of why Biff stopped working hard and following his father’s path. Biff was sad seeing his father with another women, so Biff lost fate in Willy and that explains Biff’s past actions.
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