Death of a Salesman on Tragedy
While Willy Loman may not be the first character that comes to mind when considering the definition of the American hero, he does fit most of the stereotype: he's chasing an ideal and attempting to succeed at the American Experience, and is idealistic-bordering-on-delusional in the way he views reality—definitely, that is something that has been seen in American heroes before. And he is more than determined in achieving his goal of being a well-loved, successful salesman, so much so that it reaches the verge of desperation at times. Willy Loman is simply a more "extreme" version of the classic American hero—one that is harder to root for, to be sure, but one who fits the archetype nonetheless.
In conjunction with this is the fact that he is most definitely a tragic hero, as well; his entire inner conflict is focused on, "achieving his rightful place in society," and, "evaluating himself justly." Willy Loman believes he is capable of more—more than what is offered to him, and more than what is expected of him. This is symbolized in the presence of his brother Ben; Ben seems a rather flat character, even for a hallucination, but that is because Ben is more of an idea than a person to Willy. He represents success, riches, and glory—all of the things Willy wants, all of the ideals Willy is chasing. He constantly hallucinates Ben because he is constantly tempted to achieve these things, and trying to convince himself that it is possible to achieve them.
More than that, "attaining his rightful place in society," to Willy, also has to do with his family's status and well-being. He believes that his children are destined for even greater things than he is, saying things of them such as, "They're going to go places," and, "A star like that, magnificent, can never really fade away." Much of what Willy does is related to creating opportunities for his sons, like encouraging Biff's interview, and begging to keep his job for their sake. He believes that he and his sons can achieve more than they currently have, and are destined for greatness, in a way; that is their "rightful place in society."
Most certainly, Willy is ready to "lay down his life to secure his personal sense of dignity"; his suicide at the end of the play is proof enough of that. It can even be argued that his personal sense of dignity is more important to him than his mental state, and this is a reason that he continues to work as he slowly goes insane: it is more important to him to achieve his rightful place and secure his personal sense of dignity as a salesman than is his mental well-being.
So, Willy Loman is both an American and tragic hero, and here is where the traits can be seen overlapping and interconnecting. His delusional idealism is what makes him think that he must reach his rightful place in society, and also what makes him think that it is possible for him to do so, and that Biff's high school boss will remember him ten or twenty years later. His rightful place in society that makes his character so tragic is also the ideal that he is reaching for, which is what makes his character so American. Because he is an American hero, and has all of the idealistic and "rebellious" traits that come along with that, he is also a tragic one, as attempting to apply idealism to reality has virtually no other outcome but failure. The two go hand-in-hand for Willy Loman, and so, as an American hero, he never truly had a chance at achieving his American Dream, because he was inevitably a tragic one, as well.
In conjunction with this is the fact that he is most definitely a tragic hero, as well; his entire inner conflict is focused on, "achieving his rightful place in society," and, "evaluating himself justly." Willy Loman believes he is capable of more—more than what is offered to him, and more than what is expected of him. This is symbolized in the presence of his brother Ben; Ben seems a rather flat character, even for a hallucination, but that is because Ben is more of an idea than a person to Willy. He represents success, riches, and glory—all of the things Willy wants, all of the ideals Willy is chasing. He constantly hallucinates Ben because he is constantly tempted to achieve these things, and trying to convince himself that it is possible to achieve them.
More than that, "attaining his rightful place in society," to Willy, also has to do with his family's status and well-being. He believes that his children are destined for even greater things than he is, saying things of them such as, "They're going to go places," and, "A star like that, magnificent, can never really fade away." Much of what Willy does is related to creating opportunities for his sons, like encouraging Biff's interview, and begging to keep his job for their sake. He believes that he and his sons can achieve more than they currently have, and are destined for greatness, in a way; that is their "rightful place in society."
Most certainly, Willy is ready to "lay down his life to secure his personal sense of dignity"; his suicide at the end of the play is proof enough of that. It can even be argued that his personal sense of dignity is more important to him than his mental state, and this is a reason that he continues to work as he slowly goes insane: it is more important to him to achieve his rightful place and secure his personal sense of dignity as a salesman than is his mental well-being.
So, Willy Loman is both an American and tragic hero, and here is where the traits can be seen overlapping and interconnecting. His delusional idealism is what makes him think that he must reach his rightful place in society, and also what makes him think that it is possible for him to do so, and that Biff's high school boss will remember him ten or twenty years later. His rightful place in society that makes his character so tragic is also the ideal that he is reaching for, which is what makes his character so American. Because he is an American hero, and has all of the idealistic and "rebellious" traits that come along with that, he is also a tragic one, as attempting to apply idealism to reality has virtually no other outcome but failure. The two go hand-in-hand for Willy Loman, and so, as an American hero, he never truly had a chance at achieving his American Dream, because he was inevitably a tragic one, as well.