『세일즈맨의 죽음』: 비극적 주인공의 자격으로서 ‘자아발견’ = Death of a Salesman: Self-Discovery as a Tragic Hero’s Qualification

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Arthur Miller emphasizes some characteristics of a tragic hero in his essay ‘Tragedy and the Common Man.’ He says that the common man in our society is as apt for a subject for tragedy as kings were. Also he argues that the tragic flaw is nothing but the hero’s inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of a challenge to his dignity and the possibility of victory must be there in tragedy. Willy Loman, a protagonist in Death of a Salesman has cherished American Dream and chooses to be a salesman, a job which is against his inner disposition. Even though he has worked for 36 years, he is finally fired in his company. At the end of the play Willy kills himself. According to Miller’s criteria of a tragic hero, Willy can be almost accepted as a tragic hero in the modern society. Willy is a common man and struggles to protect his dignity. However, he does not experience self-discovery, which is an important qualification of a tragic hero, even before he commits suicide. Also it is difficult to say that there exists the possibility of victory in Willy’s death. Therefore we can not call Willy a perfect tragic hero. Whereas Willy lacks the quality of self-discovery, Biff, Willy’s first son realizes his situation and his disposition. He experiences a moment of self-discovery. Biff is a complementary character for Willy and both characters share the qualities of one tragic hero. Miller is interested in writing social plays but he is not a propagandist. He is an artist who is interested in writing a modern tragedy. (Kongju National University)

참고문헌 (Reference)

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