Redefinition of Tragedy in Modern Age： The Case of Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman， a classic of modern American drama， produced in 1949. It is a tragic play about an aging and struggling salesman， Willy Loman， and his familys illusion of success to be rich and “well-liked by people”. In the Aristotles eyes， tragedy should arouse pity and terror with a tragic hero， a man “who neither is superior in virtue and justice， nor undergoes a change of misfortune because of vice and wickedness， but because of some error， and who is one of those people with a great reputation and a good fortune.” （Ch XIII， 42） Obviously， Willy Loman is not the hero described in the classical tragedy.

The downfall of Willy Loman is not like the downfall of the protagonist in the classical theatre which would bring on numerous damages or threatens the whole city， like Sophocless Oedipus in Oedipus the King. His failure is due to his facial understanding of success. His influences are limited in a single family. Arthur Miller here plays more attention on the needs of the average people who should learn to adapt themselves to the changes of society. Not only has he shifted the focus on the form but also to the content of the tragedy.

The 1930s Great Depression turned the American Dream into a nightmare. What once was the land of opportunity and hope became a land of desperation. The major problem for the common people is survival. Soon after came the World War II， which deteriorated the situation and influenced the lives of ordinary people in a negative way. One should consider the alteration of the society and way to adopt it. Miller in his play is just describing how the family of Willy lives and survives. It is a kind of epitome represents a member of an ordinary American family with an American Dream/Nightmare.

“I don't say hes a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. Hes not the finest character that ever lived. But hes a human being， and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. Hes not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention， attention must be finally paid to such a person. ” （Act 1， 44） This quotation speaks for the ordinary people. Willy is the victim of the American Dream and he spends his life running after Uncle Ben， a successful representative of American Dream. Willy Loman， a victim of the social system， like a scapegoat of the capitalist society and the illusions of the American Dream.

As Miller states in his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” that， “it is time that we who are without kings， took up this bright thread of our history and followed it to the only place it can possibly lead in our time—heart and spirit of the average man” （1974）. In the post-war era， the domestic life became a disappointing matter and disintegration. Millers play raises the focus on the individual and family to find a place for his tragic fictive characters of his era.

In contrast to the classical tragedy which focuses more on the plot of the tragedy， Miller pays more attention in the content or the theme of the tragedy. For Aristotle， plays of tragedy had to revolve around kings， gods， or people of high class. Miller explains that “the common man is apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” （1974）. Willy Loman， a product of society， becomes the tragic hero in the play crying out the social injustice in a shattered dream. His tragedy lies in the cruel Capitalist system between the age of the great American Depression and the post-WWII.

Writers or readers may often become one-sided on a particular topic and failed to consider other possibilities. Today， tragedy still associates with the highborn. Arthur Miller inspires our minds that a tragic hero can and should include the common man and single family. He redefines a tragic hero as one who attempts to “gain his ‘rightful position in his society” and in doing so， struggles for his dignity. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman gives a successful example of tragedy in the common man with the character Willy Loman. Whatever the tragedy or literature form it may take， is should arouse the aesthetic pleasure and reflection of the reality and social condition.

References：

[1]Aristotle.（1974）.Poetics in Dramatic Theory and Criticism： Greeks to Grotowski.Bernard F.Dukore.New York： Holt，Rinehart and Winston.

[2]Miller，A.（1949）.Death of a Salesman.Middlesex： Penguin.

[3]Miller，A.（1974）.“Tragedy and the Common Man” in Dramatic Theory and Criticism： Greeks to Grotowski.Bernard Dukore.New York： Holt，Rinehart and Winston，pp.894-97.

作者简介：郑艺华（1991.8-），女，西安电子科技大学外国语学院研究生，研究方向：外国文学、外语教学。