"Oedipus Rex" as a Tragedy in Comparison to "Death of a Salesman”

Tragic heroes are literary characters (mainly protagonists) who are always destined for a downfall, suffering, or defeat. Examples of tragic heroes are shown in both “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles and “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. Despite the main character’s best efforts, they both possess a fatal flaw which ultimately leads to their downfall in the end. In terms with today’s society, Death of a Salesman was the true tragedy here. Willy Loman’s tragic flaw isn’t uncommon today, since he struggles to see beyond the ideals he has created about himself in his mind, up to the point where those fantasies turned fatal. Both 'Oedipus Rex' and 'Death of a Salesman' are explored as a tragedy in this essay. 

Both authors had different views of tragedy. According to Aristotle, “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is admirable, complete, and possesses magnitude…” In hindsight, Aristotle is saying that tragedy has a form and function as. The form of the tragedy involves certain standards that are widely common to any story, involving the function of a plot driven tragedy embedded with emotional responses and aspects. 'Oedipus Rex' is a perfect example of this, as Aristotle emphasized emotional responses as a unique aspect of tragedy, along with emphasizing the need for the tragic hero’s reversal of fortune as a result of the character’s hamartia. Aristotle also believes that the tragic hero shouldn’t just be an average Joe. He/she should be a (great) man/woman who is well-known and respected, who eventually succumbs to his or her own failure. Arthur Miller opposes this theory, as he stated in his essay titled “Tragedy and the Common Man,” that “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” Miller’s idea is more powerful, as it breaks the traditional notion of tragedy and makes it more relatable to modern day readers. Because of this, I agree with Miller’s theory over Aristotle’s, due to the fact that it is more appealing to its readers and in some aspects it hits home. Tragic heroes do not have to be individuals of a higher position, like Oedipus.

Revealing 'Oedipus Rex' as a Tradegy Story

Oedipus was born to the king and queen of Thebes. At a young age, they disowned him and inhumanly drove metal pins through his ankles; handing Oedipus to a shepherd. The job of the shepherd was to put him at the top of Cithaeron so he could be stranded and to eventually perish alone. Moreover, the shepherd gave the baby to another fellow shepherd he met on the mountain from the city-state of Corinth. Soon enough, Oedipus ended up in the presence of the king and queen of Corinth, who so happen to have no children. As he became a young man, he soon learned of his fate to murder his father in cold blood and (oddly) marry his mother. Fleeing his family and seeking an escape from his terrible future in a distant city-state of Thebes only brought the actualization of his tragic fate. Being oblivious to Oedipus, he had killed his father on his journey and entered the bed of his mother. He lived in his relationship and as King of Thebes for many years until at last he painfully revealed the blinding truth over the course of one shocking day. Realizing what he had done, he blinds himself with the golden pins of his wardrobe and has himself banished to a far away land where he will cause nobody harm.

Another Way to Depict Tragedy: 'Death of a Salesman'

In comparison, 'Death of a Salesman' is a modern day tragedy based on the life of Willy Loman, a New England traveling salesman in the mid 1900’s. Willy, the average man, is married to Linda Loman, a loving and caring woman, who he had two sons with; Biff and Happy. The play starts out when Biff and Happy are in their twenties, and Willy’s sales career is on a downward spiral, with his whole family there to spectate. Willy never really had a great relationship with either of his sons, leading to him feeling like he is failing his family. This led to Willy living his life in a series of illusions made up in his fantasy world inside of him. All of these fantasies are of what his ideal life is like, over his actual life he is blind to. Willy reinforces himself in these illusions because he’s scared; afraid to live in a reality where he would be forced to own up to his flaws. He would have to examine his affair in Boston, his philosophy, and all of his family and financial debts. Eventually, Willy loses his job and is on the brink of suicide and forever failing his attempts to make his family better than just average. Later, he commits suicide in an effort for his family to receive an insurance check, in addition for Biff to live a successful life without any worries.

Conclusion

It is clear that both of these characters' lives came crashing down on them, and readers certainly feel for each man and each play, but in my perspective, Willy and 'Death of a Salesman' had the best impact and the better interpretation of a tragic hero. Willy had his reason to fall, but even in the end his plan didn’t work as expected. Willy came from nothing, and he worked so hard to accomplish so little. In 'Oedipus Rex', as can be noticed in the above analysis essay, the depiction of tragedy is less stronger than in 'Death of Salesman'. Readers relate to Willy more since his life is very common, unlike the life of Oedipus. He was an ordinary working man with a family and wife to support. As any man, Willy had big dreams, but to see them come crashing down upon him left readers with a sense of pity. He seemed like an unusual individual who had lost his mind. However, we all know Willy was just a man who’d had it all rough throughout the plot and fell to his demise, exactly like a tragic hero.