Death of a Salesman, considered one of author Miller's most accomplished and successful plays, presents the life of Willy Loman, a delusional salesman with a grandiose plan to live the American dream. Following the tragic events in Willy Loman's life, beginning with his father's abandonment and ending with his suicide, Willy Loman never lives the life he always dreamed of. Although, arguably discredited as a tragic hero, Willy Loman acquires the essential qualities to consider him a modern-day tragic hero. Whether or not Willy Loman is a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman has been the subject of controversy since the play's opening. production. The traditional Aristotelian perception of a tragedy states that a tragic hero must be of noble descent by birth or soul (Nienhuis 2). However, author Miller's essay "Tragedy and the Common Man" appeals to the Aristotelian view and insists that "the flaw, or crack in the character, is actually nothing – and does not must be nothing except his inherent reluctance to remain passive in the face of what he sees as an attack on his dignity. Miller states that in all tragedies, a hero reflects a tragic flaw that must not only come from the nobility, but also from the struggle to stay in his place. Currently, traditional tragedy fails to arouse emotions based on the lack of direct experience with heroes of noble rank. Thus, a character's rank no longer “elevates our passions, nor our conceptions of justice,” as it once would have done because we do not live in an age ruled by kings and queens (Miller, Tragedy, and the Common Man 3). . Today, emotions are evoked through the pain and suffering of the common man, because as times change, so do the people people can relate to....... middle of paper ......considered pathetic. Nevertheless, Willy's suicide cuts deeply into the emotions, causing a feeling of sadness on his part because he vigorously tried to provide a good life for his family and never succeeded. In the final analysis, Willy Loman misses the mark and does not correspond to Aristotle's idea. strict definition of a tragic hero. Despite the old definition of the tragic hero, Willy Loman appeals to our emotions, has several tragic flaws, and partially realizes his wrongs. So, Willy Loman is a common tragic hero in today's time. Times have changed dramatically since Aristotle, and it is time to change the way a tragic hero is perceived. Arthur Miller provides a perfect justification for a common tragic hero: "I believe that the common man is a subject of tragedy in its highest sense, just as kings are" (Miller, Tragedy, and the Common Man). 3).