Among contemporary writers, perhaps dramatists perceive most clearly the possibility for tragedy in American character and American life. The heroes and antiheroes of fiction seem to disappear, or take tragic dimensions, in the work of Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire) and Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman). Describe carefully one character from each play as a tragic hero (tie them together in the essay), paying particular attention to the way the dramatic form enhances or frustrates such a reading.

An effective essay could be based on comparing Blanche Du Bois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Both characters become tragic heroes in large part because the way of life in which they grew up has become archaic. Blanche was raised with wealth and privilege, but her family estate cannot sustain her. She has few marketable skills and did not fulfill societal expectations. She is tenacious but impractical, hoping for salvation through marriage. Willy Loman is a hardworking man who did not have a wealthy childhood. He has devoted himself to his sales career but achieved only limited success. Now he fears replacement by younger men. Blanche and Willy are similar in being overcome by their situations and developing mental problems as they try to cope. Their tragic endings are different. Blanche is the victim of rape, and the experience causes a complete breakdown; we assume she will be committed to a public institution. Willy initiates his tragic finish, as he takes his own life.