Willy Loman, the protagonist of Arthur Miller’s classic play Death of a Salesman, is a tragic figure whose life ultimately ends in tragedy and despair. While he shares many similarities with the tragic heroes of Ancient Greek theatre, there are also some major differences between him and those figures.
Fatal Flaw: Both Willy and the Greek tragic heroes have a fatal flaw that leads to their downfall. In Willy’s case, it is his blind faith in the American Dream and his refusal to accept reality.
He believes that hard work and determination will lead to success, but his efforts are ultimately in vain. By contrast, the Greek tragic heroes typically have a moral weakness or hubris that leads to their downfall.
Fate: Although both Willy and the Greek tragic heroes are ultimately doomed by their flaws, their fates are quite different. In Ancient Greek tragedies, fate is an important factor in determining how things turn out for the hero.
The gods often intervene in order to bring about their downfall, while human choices are secondary or even powerless when it comes to determining one’s destiny. Willy, on the other hand, has much more control over his own destiny than do the traditional Greek tragic heroes. He is able to make decisions that could potentially alter his fate for better or for worse; however, his own flawed thinking prevents him from making wise choices that could benefit him in the long run.
Sympathy: Another difference between Willy Loman and traditional Greek tragic figures is how much sympathy each evokes from an audience. While both characters can be seen as sympathetic figures due to their flaws and misfortunes, Willy is able to elicit more empathy from modern audiences than do ancient heroes because he has more dimensions than they do; he has a family that loves him despite all his shortcomings as well as dreams of achieving greatness despite knowing deep down he will never reach it. The ancient hero often lacks such complexity and thus fails to connect with audiences in quite the same way as Willy does.
Conclusion: In conclusion, while Willy Loman shares many similarities with traditional Ancient Greek tragic figures such as a fatal flaw leading to tragedy and suffering, there are also several key differences between them such as fate being determined differently for each one and how much sympathy each character elicits from an audience. Despite these differences though, both characters can still be seen as sympathetic figures whose stories serve as cautionary tales about how ambition can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how one approaches life’s challenges.
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