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Tragic hero

            According to our text (Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. Seventh Edition, 1997,) the characteristics of a tragic hero are that he is usually a man of a respected position; he is responsible for his own downfall (tragic flaw), he believes his downfall will serve a greater good, and that the viewers feel pity and sympathy for him after his death. Willy Loman is a tragic hero because he falls from a height of respect due to his own flaws.
             Yes, Willy has a height of respect from which he falls. Willy falls from his height of respect as both a businessman and a father throughout his life. When Willy was younger and Biff and Happy were still kids Willy was given the utmost respect from them then as they begin to get older they continually lose a little respect for him each day. This is true for him as a businessman as well. He was once respected in his line of work then he eventually became the joke of his business. In flashbacks from the past it is obvious to the viewers that Biff has a great deal of respect for Willy because of his reputation as a salesman and therefore makes him his role model. This is very important to Willy because he thinks of himself as both a great salesman and father who is at the top of his game in both aspects. Another reason that it is so important to him that Biff respect him is because Willy sees a lot of himself, as he wanted to be in Biff. He wants Biff to be great at everything that he wasn't as a kid such as a star athlete, popular and a leader. Due to this Willy makes up excuses for everything that Biff does wrong such as stealing the football or the materials from the construction site next door to their house. He blows them off as Biff taking initiative or that he is just being a kid. Willy wants Biff to great and to make sure that he does succeed in life Willy begins to tell him how great he is, that he is his own man, not to take orders from anyone and most importantly to be his own boss and not to sell himself short.


Essays Related to Tragic hero

1. Othello as the Quintessencial Tragic Hero

... than Shakespeare and his classic work Othello. Othello embodies the very essence of what has come to be known as the tragic hero. To often is the tragic hero looked upon as a stereotype. The bulging, brawny, gutsy action star has been glamorized by the media for decades. The ... is a cast of characters if the leading role does not have the necessary characteristics? Some of the major ideal traits of any hero, never mind a tragic hero, are strength, courage and assertiveness. Without these, what point does the aforementioned battle between good and evil do? These traits help ... of what...

  • Word Count: 2635
  • Approx Pages: 11
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2. Tragic Heroes in Oedipus the K

... proves his loyalty to the state: I"ll prize that man in death as well as life" (l 232-235). Creon puts country above all else, and for this, he personifies the tragic hero's characteristic of nobility. He is, moreover, a man of strength and formidability. As a man who values his country, he punishes all those who threaten his country, exemplifying strong convictions ... a point of enlightenment, from which the audience also learns. By embodying nobility, fallibility, downfall through flaw, and catharsis, Creon undoubtedly serves as a perfect example of the tragic hero's essence. In Ibsen...

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3. A Differentiation of Tragic Heroes

... with retribution toward Agamemnon. Clytaemestra believes her actions are right and justified, and she insists that Agamemnon deserved to die for her suffering pain. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes is a tragic hero, who believes his act of vengeance in murdering Clytaemestra and Aegisthus for the death of his father, is justifiable. Orestes is successful in avenging the murderer of his father, by ... she dies for her husband. Her act of utter selflessness, her complete lack of arrogance, bravado, or scheming definitively sets her apart from Clytaemestra, Orestes, and Medea, yet she remai...

  • Word Count: 2363
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4. Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

... , it seems that the evidence points more in the direction of Hamlet, indeed, being a tragic hero. Prince Hamlet has all the good characteristics typical of a tragic hero and, like all other tragic heroes, even carries with him a certain flaw that leads to a tragic ending. In fact, Hamlet fills the part of the tragic hero almost perfectly. According to Aristotle, there is a set criteria for one to follow in ... certainty. His reasoning and observant behavior throughout the play also displays aspects of his intelligence. Also, the audience was able to feel sympathy for Hamlet, as is key in...

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5. Antigone-Protagonist/Tragic Hero

... tragedy indicates that the protagonist should also be the tragic hero. Since Creon is the tragic hero of the play, he clearly plays a more vital role in the drama than Antigone. We can recognize Creon as the tragic hero rather than Antigone upon examining the definition of a tragic hero. A tragic hero must have a tragic flaw, a realization of his flaw, and ... By the time he realized what he had done (sentenced his sister to die) it was too late. It is also customary for the tragic hero to have lost everything and to be reduced to nothing by the end of the story. This is known as the dow...

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6. Macbeth as an Aristotilean tragic hero

... relief for the audience. Aristotle believed that the audience is able to relate to the central character and the feeling of hatred for the tragic hero is replaced by sympathy and pity. This is shown in Shakespeare's Macbeth when the audience sees a truly great man succumb to the forces ... killed the king. This leaves the audience feeling cleansed of all those initial emotions. Another component Aristotle believed a tragic hero should possess is a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is not a defect in the tragic hero's character; it is an error in the characters judgement. This generates fear with...

  • Word Count: 1371
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7. Macbeth as a Tragic Hero

... he wins. Macbeth fought bravely and through unbeatable odds against Macdonwald's army and for that, the king makes him as the Thane of Cawdor. The second way that makes Macbeth a tragic hero is through his heroic attributes. Macbeth is not known because he is the cousin of the king but because of his ability to fight on a war with great bravery and ... long as he sees the enemy's men still alive on his grounds, he will continue fighting. Macbeth is a very brave character The third way that makes Macbeth a tragic hero is through his tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is that of his ambit...

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8. Antigone and Creon - Two Tragic Heroes

... counter-productive, for Teiresias did speak the truth and Creon is only further drawn into his false reality dictated by hubris. One critic states "[a tragic hero is] not eminently good and just, not completely under the guidance of true reason, but as falling through some great error or flaw of ... due to his loyalty to the State makes the reader "melt with pity at what takes place" " (Poetics 212). Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero seems to have been created for a vulnerable Creon who has lost his family and his condemned to hell due to a mistake he makes but does ... of the peo...

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9. Hamlet As A Tragic Hero

... birth. He is the Prince of Denmark, and he is next in line to be crowned king after the death of his father. Secondly, a tragic hero undergoes a transformation from a state of contentment to one of sadness and melancholy. In Hamlet's circumstances, however, this characteristic is slightly altered. At ... peace would be brought to Denmark. Because of Hamlet's flaw, and ultimately his delay, many innocent people will perish. Fourth, in most instances the tragic hero almost always goes on a journey, whether literal or symbolic. In the play, Hamlet takes two journeys. In the literal sense, he...

  • Word Count: 814
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

10. Willy Loman is too nave to be to be the hero of a tragedy

... changes, so do the causes of it. Perhaps it is because of the modern setting, that people understand the tragedy more. Many of Shakespeare's "tragic hero's- displayed qualities which are held against Willy as being ignoble. For instance, Iago uses Othello's superficial goodness to strip him of all his self respect and ... confidence and Macbeth was nave in thinking that he could take over Scotland unchallenged. One of the major arguments against modern tragic hero's was that all previous characters were kings or nobles. Willy Loman is in no way a regal, kingly figure, as classical trage...

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