A tragic hero brings his own death upon himself due to a crippling character flaw. Willy Loman from Arthur Miller's “Death of a Salesman” meets the criteria of a tragic hero because his pride leads to his downfall. Despite not being a man of high status, Willy's willingness to "give his life" (criticism of the millers) makes him an excellent example of a modern tragic hero. Willy's pride inhibits his family's success by fueling his selfish nature, idealism, and false value system. Willy ultimately faces these negative traits that he possesses and sacrifices himself for his family, thus fulfilling Death of a Salesman as a tragic work. An overly inflated ego can quickly derail a person's success. Willy's tragic flaw in pride fuels his selfish nature which causes a tremendous amount of anguish in his family. To satisfy his ego, Willy finds a lover who has “chosen” him (38). By having a relationship with a woman who chose him, Willy manages to fuel his exaggerated ego. The need to constantly feed his ego is caused by the tragic flaw of pride that harms his son Biff's future. Biff is heartbroken that his idol and father commits such adultery. He runs away “crying his eyes out” (121) when he discovers the shocking truth of who he once thought was great. Due to Willy's selfish nature and the need to nurture him with a mistress, his downfall begins in Biff's eyes. Not only does Willy lose Biff's respect, which is demonstrated when Biff calls him a "little phony" (121), but Willy is also too proud to change his relationship. This causes Biff to lose his confidence and give up on his dreams of studying at the University of Virginia. As a result of his selfish nature derived from his pr...... middle of paper ......sees he gets the wrong things. This also leads to the ruin of Willy and his family, proving that Willy Loman is a tragic hero. To conclude, Arthur Miller's “Death of a Salesman” meets the criteria of a tragic work because Willy's pride is a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Eventually, Willy uncovers his false perception of life and realizes how it inhibits his family's success. This epiphany leads him to sacrifice himself for the well-being of his family. Throughout his life, Willy's pride caused him to have an inflated ego, a bizarre idealistic outlook on life, and a false value system. These negative traits ultimately lead to his downfall in which he sacrifices himself, proving himself to be a modern tragic hero. Willy Loman is an ordinary man driven to his death because of the one tragic flaw in pride he possesses.