Example Section C tragedy essay for A-Level English Literature B. This essay argues the extent to which men in tragedies are presented as destructive forces, using Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Keats' poetry. "Within tragedies, men are presented as destructive forces. To what extent do y...
Within tragedies, men are presented as destructive forces.
To what extent do you agree with this view in relation to two texts you have studied?
Remember to include in your answer relevant comment on the ways the writers have
shaped meanings.
If we take the term ‘destructive forces’ to mean ruining the lives of both themselves and those
around them, men are certainly presented as destructive forces within tragedies. In both Miller’s
Death of a Salesman (DOAS) and Keats’ poetry, the male characters are presented as such by
the writers. However, whilst this is true, perhaps the female characters can also be destructive
in some ways, so the extent to which the men are the only ones presented as destructive forces
can be debated.
Firstly, in DOAS, Miller certainly introduces the tragic hero, Willy Loman, as a destructive force
to both himself and those around him from the outset of the play. He introduces him with the
stage direction ‘his exhaustion is apparent’, which immediately highlights Willy’s mundane life
that is consumed by his desperation to achieve the American Dream. His ignorance to reality is
made evident throughout the play and he lives instead through flashbacks. Miller presents him
as dreaming of “that red Chevy” from “nineteen twenty-eight”, which highlights his inability to
face the true reality around him due to his lack of achieving the American Dream, ultimately
destructing his own mental health to the point of suicide. He even goes on to say “I coulda
sworn I was driving that Chevy today”, which further reinforces the negative effects of living so
much in the past. Willy lives in an illusion where everything is how it once was, which brings
comfort to him in the moments but ultimately leads to his downfall at the end of the play.
Moreover, Miller presents Willy as a destructive force to those around him through exploring his
affair with ‘The Woman’. The structural placing of this scene is significant - it is placed very early
on in the play, so Miller is immediately making Willy’s destructive behaviours clear to the
audience and instantly setting him up as a destructive force to those around him. Willy’s
destructive behaviours are further reinforced by Miller in the Requiem, when Linda speaks her
final words about her husband; “we’re free, we’re free”. This highlights the painful hold that Willy
had on his family and demonstrates how they are only free from his destructive forces now that
he is dead, thus presenting Willy Loman to be a destructive force as a male character.
Another male character in DOAS that Miller presents as a destructive force to both himself and
those around him is Happy. Happy destroying the lives of those around him can be seen
through his mistreatment of women. He first refers to the first woman he slept with as “big Betsy
something” before using animalistic language to describe her (“boy, there was a pig”). Here, his
misogynistic views are exposed which thus reinforces the fact that he doesn’t care too much for
other people’s feelings, especially those of women. In addition, he states “that girl Charlotte I
was with tonight is engaged to be married in five weeks”, followed by the stage direction ‘he
tries his new hat’. This further demonstrates Happy’s carelessness and destructiveness to those
around him as he doesn’t care about ruining other people’s relationships, and the juxtaposition
of the crude things he says and the casual stage direction highlights his lack of empathy.
Furthermore, not only is he a destructive force to those around him, but Miller also presents
Happy as being a destructive force to himself too. He is basically a clone of his father, inheriting
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