The Death Of A Salesman And Oedipus The King - 797 Words

In order to gain a proper perspective on the concept of what a tragic hero is, we must synthesize information from the following play’s, â€Å"The Death Of A Salesman†, and â€Å"Oedipus The King†. Both plays takes the stance on the idea that validates the ultimate notion, â€Å"tragic hero. From Willy’s hubris personality to his questionable and mysterious death, to Oedipus dynamic and complex choices and kingly personality that determines his fate. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement that leads to his/her downfall. In other words, even though both characters made incredible contributions and left a very noble legacy, their choices and decisions determined their ultimate fate. In today’s world tragic heroes are commonly present,†¦show more content†¦Oedipus states, â€Å" My fate was to be yoked in marriage with my mother and kill my father, Polybus who begot me and had reared me.† (46) In other words, thos e surprising facts leads to his downfall because he can’t escape what he did. He can’t repress the memories of what he has done that corrupted his whole lifestyle. Willy, a 60 year old man who views himself as the greatest salesman of all time, sees himself as a hero and the man who provides for his family at all times. He goes on long roadtrips trying to bring in money for the household so they can achieve â€Å"The American Dream†, risking his mental health. As a result, others viewed him as a successful, and ambitious man that will risk any and everything to get to the top. Therefore, Willy tries to bring in as much money as be can, and he even tries to persuade his boss to give him better work, instead of traveling. Willy states, â€Å"I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928!.† In other words, Willy is insisting a salary raise, and a non-traveling schedule so he continue providing for his family. However, things begin to fall apart. From Willy having an affair on Linda, (his wife) to him denying a job, to his mysterious death. In other words, his constant mercurial sequences leads to him suffering from overwhelming depression. That until hisShow MoreRelatedDeath of a Salesman Oedipus the King1782 Words   |  8 PagesAn overwhelming desire for personal contentment and unprecedented reputation can often result in a sickly twisted distortion of reality. In Sophocles Oedipus the King, a man well-known for his intellect and wisdom finds himself blind to the truth of h life and his parentage. Arthur Millers play, The Death of a Salesman, tells of a tragic character so wrapped up in his delusional world that reality and illusion fuse causing an internal explosion that leads to his undoing. Each play enacts theRead MoreComparison of Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman Essay1025 Words   |  5 Pages which will be discussed in the essay. Oedipus the King opens in a Greek amphitheatre depicting the front of a Theban palace. Throughout the play, the setting remains constant. This changes to a more fast-paced play with different settings in different places in Death of a Salesman. Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters attempts to changeRead MoreOedipus The King, Death Of A Salesman, And The Glass Menagerie1555 Words   |  7 PagesIn unit two of the semester, the class focused our attention on drama. As a class we read three very good play’s Oedipus the King, Death of a Salesman, and The Glass Menagerie. While all three of these plays were well written and had their share of both dynamic and static characters, the reader can’t help but notice that the mothers in all three plays were secondary to their male counterparts. The question posed is whether or not the mothers were nurturing, the answer was not easy to come by sinceRead More Comparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman1023 Words   |  5 PagesComparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and D eath of a Salesman The tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have strikingly different plots and characters; however, each play shares common elements in its resolution. The events in the plays’ closings derive from a tragic flaw possessed by the protagonist in each play. The downfall of each protagonist is caused by his inability to effectively cope with his tragic flaw. The various similarities in the closingRead MoreComparing Shakespeare s Oedipus The King And Death Of A Salesman 1738 Words   |  7 Pagesdrama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as destiny, and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror. Two such examples of literary tragedies are â€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller. Although written over 2000 years apart, there are many similarities between the two literary works, but with varying degrees of differences as well. Some of the key areas to be examined when making thisRead MoreComparison Essay Between Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman1402 Words   |  6 Pagesgoes an old saying, â€Å"All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride.† Well, it seems that some people work with almost too much pride. In order to consider the extent to which pride applies to Sophocles Oedipus The King and Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, consider the following: Oedipus and Willy both take extreme pride in their professions, their pride blinds them from seeing the truth of their situations, and their pride ultimately leads to their own demise/downfall, all of these invokingRead MoreA Survey of Tragedy984 Words   |  4 Pagessense of personal dignity.† I feel Arthur Miller upheld his ideal in â€Å"Death of a Salesman†, where the protagonist Willie Loman commits suicide. Interestingly Willie Loman also meets a portion Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero, since he is not perfectly good, nor is he utterly depraved. Willie Loman’s misfortune is brought upon him by his wife’s refusal to allow him to seek out his dream and continuing to work as a salesman. Aristotle’s requirement that the ideal tragic hero must be one whoRead MoreComparing Oedipus Rex And Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1255 Words   |  6 Pagestwo works such as Oedipus Rex, which is a playwright written by the great Sophocles and another playwright named Death Of A Salesman written by Arthur Miller. c. Through out the years, there has been a lot of controversy on whether or not Death Of A Salesman is considered to be a tragedy, unlike Oedipus Rex which clearly is. d. I feel these two plays can compare in a multitude of ways despite being written in different historical times. II. Body Paragraphs a. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is the protagonistRead MoreArthur Miller s Death Of A Salesman1039 Words   |  5 Pagesplay Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, is about an old salesperson who returns early from a business trip. After crashing multiple times, he realizes he should stop driving. The other book, Oedipus the King narrates the story of Oedipus. He was a man who became the king of Thebes, while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would murder his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta. The above characteristics of tragedy are well highlighted. In the play Death of a Salesman, one flow hat contributesRead MoreComparing Aristotle and Miller ´s View on Tragedy1230 Words   |  5 Pagesis plot driven, and if the plot is set then there is no way around it. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is paying for the sins of his father King Laios. Laios was given horrible future by the Gods for angering them when he rapes another man. He was given a prediction that his son would murder him, and would marry his mother, Queen Jocaste. To prevent the prediction from happening Laios sent his shepherd to kill Oedipus, but gave him to a messenger from a different kingdom for another royal family