Death of a Salesman and Antigone (Essay Sample)

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Death of a Salesman and Antigone Tragedy is a genre that aims to invoke the audience's pity and fear. It can be traced from antiquity to the modern period. This essay analyzes how the plot, character, theme, language, music, and spectacle of Antigone and Death of a Salesman employ textual evidence to connect the plays to their respective cultural periods’ values and issues. Thus, Antigone's plot is a clash between Antigone and King Creon. Antigone does not obey Creon's command not to bury her brother Polynices, as she believes in the god's will. This results in a series of unfortunate events, with Antigone, Creon's son Haemon, and his wife Eurydice all being killed. The plot is developed in a classical manner often associated with Greek tragedies. It is linear, and events have a clear sense of cause and effect. In her words, "I will bury him; and if I must die, / I say that this crime is holy" (Sophocles 55). On the other hand, death of a Salesman uses the disrupted plot because of the modernist literary approach. There are frequent flashbacks to events Willy Loman recalls while simultaneously taking place in contemporary times, which provides a disjointed storyline that illustrates Willy's steadily worsening state of mind. Rather than a particular occurrence of insight, the plot's conclusion concentrates on Willy's failures, culminating in one moment of awareness. For example, Willy's statement, “I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!” (Miller 132) reflects the issue of insignificance, one of the main plot elements. Antigone and Creon are different in that Antigone stands for her principles while Creon stands for the governmental statutes. Hamartia is a term used to describe a tragic flaw that causes a hero's ruin; Antigone is an utterly righteous woman whose stubbornness brings her to ruin, and Creon is an over-ambitious man obsessed with power. Antigone's rebellion is evident as she says, “I dared. It was not God's proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws” (Sophocles 356). While ancient tragic heroes had to be noble in their origins for a tragedy to unfold for them, Willy is an ordinary man; the shift in the type of hero makes the tragedy more accessible to a modern audience. His tragic weakness is his unwavering American dream and idea of personal worth being bound up with career and professional achievement. That is clear when Willy claims, “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (Miller 33). The themes of Antigone revolve around state versus individual, divine law versus human law, and the consequences of pride. Antigone's act of burying her brother despite the king's edict emphasizes the theme of individual moral duty over state law. Creon's eventual realization of his hubris underscores the destructive nature of pride. Antigone asserts, “It was not God's proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws” (Sophocles 208), highlighting the theme of divine versus human law. The theme of Antigone represents the conflict between state and individual, divine and human laws, and finally, the results of arrogance. Watching Creon finally admit that he is facing the consequences of his pride emphasizes the negative effect of pride. Antigone claims, “It was not God's proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws” (Sophocles 208), highlighting the theme of divine versus human law. Willy's obsession with success and his failure to realize that he is merely an ordinary salesman who earns ordinary money form the tragic forces of the play. The theme of reality versus illusion is evident in Willy's delusions of grandeur and Biff's realization of their situation: "I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We have been talking in a dream for fifteen years" (Miller 81). The dialogue is rich with metaphors and classical references, emphasizing the themes and the characters' nobility. For example, Antigone’s speech, “O tomb, vaulted bride-bed in eternal rock” (Sophocles 62), highlights her fate's tragic and inevitable nature. Death of a Salesman uses non-standard grammar with frequent use of slang and disconnected sentences to represent the everyday speech of mid-20th century America. Miller employs this technique to highlight the deterioration of Willy's mind and the shattered sense of reality. Slang and casual expressions, such as Willy's, “The man is exhausted” (Miller 65), anchor the play to the modern world and highlight that the characters are natural persons. T...