Willy Loman, was never really of noble stature, as was summed up by Linda, the person who knew him best. “ Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived.” Willy’s harmartia was his obsession with the false American Dream that caused him to become delusional and totally blind of his actual situation. If this is so, then he cannot he commit a true and calculated error of judgment and then his downfall is due to an overriding irrepressible mental condition which cancels his own fault in his downfall. His delusional state of mind blurs reality and causes him to never accept or understand who he is or his downfall erasing any notion that he experienced an epiphany of any sort. In f

A “what if” metaphor addresses the idealistic lives of the Lomans. Dreams are constantly brought up by Biff who uses them to bring light to the fictitious and “dreamy” lives the family is living. When talking to Willy Biff says, “We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years.” and later pleads with him to accept reality. “ Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” Seeds are associated with Willy’s desire to create something, especially out of youth (Biff and Happy) and he often comments on planting them. Willy contemplates planting beet seeds in the garden. “Maybe beets would grow out there.” This creates an insightful response from Linda. “But you tried so many times.” The seeds are representative of Willy’s desire to grow his family into something; Linda’s remark paints the fact that he has failed. Right before his suicide, which brought the family much needed money, Willy goes out to the backyard and begins to plant a garden.

For the most part Death of a Salesman does not conform to the structure of the classic tragedy even though a few elements agree with the classic tragedy, namely Willy’s consistency and the “Requiem” as a Greek chorus. Among the main inconsistencies with the classic tragedy are the dialogue and character discrepancies.

Some topics in this essay:
Willy Loman, Death Salesman, Biff Happy, Willy Biff, American Dream, David Singleman, Dream” Willy, Willy Ben, Willy Biff’s, Oedipus Rex, classic tragedy, willy loman, tragic hero, death salesman, noble stature, willy biff, loman noble stature, versus reality, metaphoric language, win him”, advance theme, human greatness potential, gonna win him”, willy loman noble, classic tragedy dialogue,