ne between reality and idealism, which is so often distorted. It lets the reader gain a better understanding of the familys conflict with being something theyre not in a place where they dont belong. For the most part Death of a Salesman does not conform to the structure of the classic tragedy even though a few elements agree with the classic tragedy, namely Willys consistency and the Requiem as a Greek chorus. Among the main inconsistencies with the classic tragedy are the dialogue and character discrepancies.The dialogue creates a link in the play to everyday occurrences that happen in our own lives, separating it from the larger than life aspects of the classic tragedy. The dialogue used in the play is everyday language; it is independent of the poetic and high language used in classical tragedies. Instead of relying on high language to advance the theme the play uses its banal dialogue to bring up character interactions that speak of the past, present and future to further the theme. Willy and Biff are the plays two central characters and it can be seen that they are the ones who Miller actively developed over the other lesser characters. Willy and Biffs conflicting relationship effectively portrays the theme of appearance versus reality as well as the economic and family struggles through their dialogue in past and present events. Willy puts their situation into context when he exclaims, I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman! This statement reinforces the fact that they are lost within their phony lives yet they dont seem to accept it. The remaining characters act as support towards the conflict between Willy and Biff in their own secondary roles by providing insight with their often brief and rare dialogue. For example: Ben exemplifies Willys desires in his afterlife through Willys complete admiration of his success and confidence. Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate! Charley, a minor character who he...
