A Tragedy of the Self, Essay Example

Oedipus the King vs. Death of a Salesman: A Tragedy of the Self

Introduction

That tragedies exemplify an effective literary form of representation cannot be denied. Throughout the development of world literature, tragedies had been an excellent way to explore characters’ inner world and the reasons of their personal and collective failure to achieve happiness. Aristotle and Arthur Miller are confident that tragedies always depict a noble hero, who is willing to lay down his life for the sake of dignity, nobility, and justice. However, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King create a different picture of tragedy. I believe that tragedy is the description of the tragic hero’s failure to resolve the ongoing conflict between his self and the reality in which he lives.

In the history of world literature, tragedies had been one of the most sophisticated and effective literary forms of representation. Since Aristotle and Sophocles, tragedies had served an excellent means to explore literary characters’ inner world and the reasons of their failure to achieve happiness. Aristotle claims that “tragedy is an imitation of a noble and complete action, having the proper magnitude (Brown). According to Aristotle, tragedy as a literary form of representation employs artistically enhanced language, uses dramatic forms of delivery, depicts fearful and pitiable events, and their catharsis (Brown). Put simply, Aristotle believes that tragedy is always about depicting a character of high moral standing in the middle of a serious conflict, which this character successfully resolves. The moment of catharsis is the culmination of tragedy, which requires that the character sacrifice himself for the sake of dignity, morality, and nobility. Arthur Miller follows the basic tenets of Aristotelian theory of tragedy: Miller and Aristotle believe that a tragic hero always has and displays some flaw in character, which finally leads him to a tragic end (Miller 1). In distinction from Aristotle, Miller is confident that tragedy is the process and consequence of one’s striving to evaluate himself justly – the process, which must lead to the discovery of a moral law, result in moral enlightenment, and create new metaphysical reality (Miller 2). I believe that all tragedies lead their heroes to some kind of moral enlightenment, but not always do tragedies give their heroes a chance to resolve the conflict between their self and the reality they live in. Rather, tragedy is the literary representation of the tragic hero’s failure to resolve the conflict between his self and the surrounding reality.

Oedipus the King is fairly regarded as one of the best works of ancient literature. Written in the best traditions of tragedy, Oedipus the King describes an ideal ruler, who always seeks to meet his subjects’ needs. “Ah, my poor children, known, ah, known too well, / The quest that brings you hither and your need” (Sophocles). The character of Oedipus reflects the basic principles of Aristotelian tragedy: he is noble, employs artistically enhanced language, and is the direct participant of the events and incidents that are equally fearful and pitiable. The moment of Jocasta’s hanging herself and Oedipus’s stabbing out his eyes is the moment of catharsis. This is the moment the protagonist discovers the truth about himself. By stabbing his eyes out and leaving Thebes, Oedipus seems to resolve his inner conflict and starts his journey toward peace. Yet, the reality is quite different. The moment Oedipus stabs out his eyes resembles a scream of weakness and the sign of his failure to change the situation. By leaving Thebes, Oedipus will hardly be able to run away from his self; nor will he succeed in reconciling with the surrounding reality. The tragedy of Oedipus is in that he fails to resolve this conflict between himself and the reality in which he lives, and this conflict does not leave him a chance to achieve happiness.

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is equally similar to and different from Oedipus the King. That Death of a Salesmandepicts the tragedy of a common man adds gloom and sorrow to the events Miller describes in his book. Like his predecessor Oedipus, Willy Loman spends his life surrounded by lies, myths, and moral confusion. His work and the striving to catch “the American dream” turn Willy Loman into a person, who is desperately trying to find his own self. “I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want” (Miller). Unfortunately, selling and being a successful merchant is nothing but a moral mirage. Willy Loman spends his life in the conflict with his self, because he no longer believes in his own happiness and the happiness of his family. He is a noble character who lacks capacity to reconcile with the realities of contemporary America, its material values and unbelievable consumerism. His suicide is the catharsis – a failure to resolve the conflict between Willy’s self and the surrounding reality. It is the failure to achieve the highest point of self-realization. It is the ultimate point of Willy Loman’s moral struggle with his inner world, values, and dreams. The suicide does not help Willy Loman to resolve his inner conflict – like Oedipus, he ends his way “worth more dead than alive” (Miller). This suicide, as well as Oedipus’s escape from Thebes, is just another failure to resolve the conflict between one’s self and the objective reality. This failure once again confirms the infinity and omnipotence of tragedy in the modern world.

Conclusion

Throughout the development of world literature, tragedy had been one of the most sophisticated and effective literary forms of presentation. Tragedies are, probably, the best way to explore the characters’ individual and collective failure to achieve happiness. Aristotle and Arthur Miller claim that tragedy is the reflection of one’s striving to evaluate oneself justly; this process invariably leads to catharsis or the logical resolution of the moral conflict. In reality, however, tragedy is a literary representation of one’s failure to resolve the conflict between one’s self and the surrounding reality. Oedipus and Willy Loman are surrounded by deception, confusion, and lies. The moment they discover the truth about themselves and the reality they live in signifies the culmination in their striving to self-actualization. Unfortunately, in no way does the moment of truth help the characters to find their way to happiness. On the contrary, they fail to resolve the conflict between their self and the objective reality and confirm the overall infinity and omnipotence of tragedy in the modern world.

Works Cited

Brown, L.A. “Aristotle on Greek Tragedy”, Larry Brown. 2005. Web. 09 September 2010.

Miller, A. Death of a Salesman. Penguin, 1996.

Miller, A. “Tragedy and the Common Man”, Montgomery Bell, 2005. Web. 09 September 2010.

Sophocles. “Oedipus the King”, The Internet Classics Archive. n.d. Web. 09 September 2010.