Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a work that has been interpreted in many different ways in recent decades. As main character Willy Loman's mental health falls apart, audiences have trouble understanding whether this classic is a tragedy or simply a man with psychological problems and a possible identity crisis. The death of a salesman is a tragedy, but unlike others the audience has seen or read about before, but ultimately Willy meets all the criteria for what a tragedy is. Willy's personal psychological problems create a major flaw in him as a main character, along with social pressures brought forth from outside sources and moral weakness within Willy. The unhappy ending is foretold but it is still a tragedy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first issue that contributes to Death of a Salesman being a tragedy is the issue of the social pressures Willy experiences as he sees his brother Ben's success and seeing the world around him industrialize, as does Bernard who pressured him about how Biff had to do well in school to be successful. Willy is depicted as wanting to achieve the American dream, but in reality he is simply falling under the pressures that society put in place during that time period. The world around Willy was starting to really industrialise, which would understandably put insecurity and pressure on a man with a family at that time who wasn't really making progress in his career. Willy even goes so far as to blame the growing population for ruining the country. Stating that “the population is spiraling out of control. The competition is maddening” (Miller 12). Apparently Willy is making up an excuse for not achieving success in his life due to the fact that many people try to achieve the same goal. Other social pressure includes Willy's brother Ben, who has found success in Alaska. Willy repeatedly mentions how it should have gone: “If I had gone with him to Alaska that time, everything would have been completely different” (Miller 35). Showing how he regrets not achieving the American Dream like Ben did. Bernard trying to help Biff at school by reminding him to study also adds social pressure for Willy because he wants Biff to succeed, but he plays games and jokes about how Bernard won. it's worth nothing just to do well in school because it's not popular. He repeatedly dismisses Bernard by saying "Don't be a parasite!" and calling him anemic towards his children (Miller 25). Willy does this because he doesn't want to be reminded of how his son Biff is failing at something in his life. Even when his wife tries to speak up for her son and agree with Bernard, Willy freaks out and exclaims, “There's nothing wrong with him! Do you want him to be a creep like Bernard? He has spirit, personality,” (Miller 31). Another issue that helps identify this play as a tragedy would be the moral weakness of the main character Willy, which is his dream of success for himself and his family. This is a weakness because he is not achieving success and is not the great salesman he sees and portrays himself as. When talking to Happy, he states “'I have friends. I can park my car on any street in New England and the cops protect it like their own" (Miller 24). He goes to his boss and asks for a different position in his company, but gets fired because his irrationality surfaces and the truth comes out about his few career successes He keeps telling his boss that he just needs to.