Death of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme

Death of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme In looking at the characteristics of the tragic hero, it can be see that Willy Loman is not a tragic hero but a victim of a false idealistic pursuit of the â€Å"American Dream†. Willy strives to become and instill in his sons the success of the self made man that American society often advertises but ultimately falls short, and instead, escapes accepting his failure through lies and death. What many flaws Willy possesses, most do not correlate with the classic tragic hero. Willy Loman, was never really of noble stature, as was summed up by Linda, the person who knew him best. â€Å" Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the†¦show more content†¦It lets the reader gain a better understanding of the family’s conflict with being something they’re not in a place where they don’t belong. 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 â€Å"Requiem† as a Greek chorus. Among the main inconsistencies with the classic tragedy are the dialogue and character discrepancies. The dialogue creates a link in the play to everyday occurrences that happen in our own lives, separating it from the â€Å"larger than life† aspects of the classic tragedy. The dialogue used in the play is everyday language; it is independent of the poetic and high language used in classical tragedies. Instead of relying on high language to advance the theme the play uses its banal dialogue to bring up character interactions that speak of the past, present and future to further the theme. Willy and Biff are the play’s two central characters and it can be seen that they are the ones who Miller actively developed over the other â€Å"lesser characters†. Willy and Biff’s conflicting relationship effectively portrays the theme of appearance versus reality as well as the economic and family struggles through their dialogue in past and present events. Willy puts their situation into context when he exclaims, â€Å" I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff