His fall comes not from evil but from false beliefs He says A man is not a bird to come and go with the springtime This shows his wish for stability His pain though small in life becomes great in feeling and meaning Willy s Tragic Flaw Every tragic hero has a weakness or tragic flaw Willy s flaw is his blind faith in the American Dream He believes that charm and popularity bring success He says It s not what you do It s who you know and the smile on your face He values being well liked more than being skilled or honest This belief ruins his life and his sons future He fails to see that success needs hard work not false pride His wrong ideals lead him to despair and downfall Conflict Between Dream and Reality Willy lives in two worlds dream and truth He cannot accept failure so he escapes into memory and illusion He talks to his dead brother Ben and says The jungle is dark but full of diamonds His dream of quick success makes him blind to real life He cannot face that he is an average man This conflict between what he wants and what he has creates his tragedy Miller shows how false dreams destroy the mind and lead to final ruin Suffering and Awareness Willy suffers both inside and outside He loses his job his peace and his self-respect But the greatest pain comes from losing his son s love When Biff calls him a fake Willy s heart breaks He says After all the highways you end up worth more dead than alive These sad words show his hopelessness In the end he gains some awareness He realizes that his death can bring money to his family His suffering and self-realization make him a true tragic hero Death as Final Choice Willy kills himself to give his family a better life He believes his insurance money will bring them success He dies thinking that Biff will honor him after his death But the truth is painful His funeral is small and empty Linda says We re free We re free Her words show the irony of his death He achieves peace only through loss His sacrifice is noble but meaningless His death completes the circle of tragedy hope turns to despair and dream ends in silence In conclusion Willy Loman is a tragic hero of modern times His flaw is false pride and blind faith in the American Dream He is neither evil nor weak but human His suffering and death show the tragedy of every man who dreams beyond his limits Arthur Miller proves that even a simple salesman can have the dignity and depth of a classical tragic hero