Open Prompt 2 (2/9)

2003. According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman centers around the tragic figure, Willy, as he tries and fails to keep his family together. Willy’s actions throughout the play, that ultimately lead to his own death, most greatly affect his sons, Biff and Happy, and his wife, Linda. The tragedy of the story arises from Willy’s deterioration as well as the families. In Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the destruction of Willy’s family captures the destruction caused by the American society’s definition of success.

Willy’s understanding of his success versus his actual success is what truly makes him a tragic character. He believes that things will get better, when all evidence shows that he is only going down a path of destruction. His “sacrifice” in killing himself to get money for his family shows how far gone he is to the reality of the destruction he has caused to his family. In the end, he does not truly see that killing himself will cause his family to fall further apart, not help them.

Besides himself, Willy causes the most suffering for his eldest son Biff. Throughout the play, Willy always has other factors to blame for his lack of success in the selling business. He says it is because people just do not like him or that his height is holding him back. Biff seems to be the one he blames most for his failures, especially because Biff sees through Willy after he discovers Willy cheating on Linda. Biff does not want to become his father, and Willy’s unwillingness to understand that Biff is not going to ever be a salesman furthers his resentment towards Biff. For his part, Biff resents his father in return and is constantly being pulled between pleasing him and wanting to displease him. Their entire relationship is contradicting, as are Willy’s desires to be close to Biff and his desires to make Biff into a salesman. Willy cannot have both, which makes their relationship all the more tragic. Biff can only escapes suffering from Willy when he decides to leave the family and work out West, away from Willy and the pinnacle of American society, New York City. By leaving for a different idea of success than American society typically has, Biff escapes suffering the way his father and family did. The relationship Biff and Willy have is truly tragic and further shows that focusing on society’s idea of success only causes destruction as it does for Willy.

Happy and Linda are also victims of Willy’s actions, though they follow in his footsteps instead of abandoning society’s values. Linda sits idly by as she watches her husband try to kill himself throughout the play. Though she wants to stop it, Willy has fooled her into thinking that stopping him would shame him. In reality, Willy’s character is diminished in just trying to leave his family through suicide. His character is ruined even more when he treats Linda with such little respect. At times, he verbally abuses her to gain control at home when he does not have it in his job. Still, Linda is in her own alternate reality where she believes it is best to let Willy be and cater to his whims. For years she does not blink an eye as Willy lies to her about the money he is making, despite the fact that it is hurting their family and destroying every relationship Willy has. Happy also caters to his father. He wants his father to love him like he loves Biff, but Willy never gives him the attention he desires, instead he keeps Happy waiting for approval. In the end, both Happy and Linda prove how dedicated they are to catering to Willy. Happy continues his womanizing ways, believing it is okay to treat woman the way he does because his father did it. He decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and try to becomes a salesman the way society and his father wants him to. Linda still holds high respect for Willy and continues to put him on a pedestal that he does not deserve. In the end, Linda and Happy are starting the same unsatisfying cycle that Willy was in. They strive for society’s version of success despite Willy’s lack of success on the same path.

By the end of Death of a Salesman, Willy’s family is in shambles. They are torn apart and some are forced to fall into society’s clutches. Willy’s final act causes the most suffering for his family, making his death the most tragic act of all. His suicide only acts to create more suffering and cause his family to go down the same destructive path he chose originally in complying with society’s version of success, despite his desires to go West. Society takes Linda and Happy victim because of Willy’s suffering and suicide, displaying how wrong they are to believe that society will guide them down the correct path. There is only hope for Biff, who escapes society’s values and his family in the end.