In Arthur Miller's essay “Tragedy and the Common Man”, the picture of a man “full of flaws”, known like the modern hero of tragedies. Miller describes what characteristics the modern tragic hero possesses and how he differs from the heroes depicted by classical Greek playwrights such as Sophocles and Aristotle. To understand how drastically the modern hero has evolved, it is necessary to first understand the basic characteristics that encompass the heroes created by Sophocles and Aristotle. The Greek tragic heroes, otherwise known as protagonists, illustrated by the Greek tragic playwrights, were never ordinary people. All the heroes were high-class citizens, like the princes. This was partly because theatrical performances were seen as a luxury for refined citizens. Aristocratic citizens did not want to pay to watch comedies about society peasants. They wanted to relate to the characters; thus, all the heroes of Greek tragedy were elite members of society. A further distinctive factor of the Greek heroes concerned their morality. A tragic hero of this period could not be someone morally unsympathetic, because the audience would not be able to identify with the character. If the protagonist were morally unsympathetic, viewers of the play would cheer during the character's moments of turmoil and be displeased when the character was lucky. Instead, the hero should be someone who is in the middle of the morality spectrum. The Midrange was identified as a fairly honest and good person, but who could make mistakes that would be considered wrong. A character painted in this light was easily recognisable; therefore, the audience would become attached to the character, allowing them to feel the hero's pain or joy. Most importantly... middle of paper...don't dream, boy. It comes with the territory. ”Willy's heroism in the face of the mediocrity of his life exemplified his reluctance to remain idle as his life slowly crumbled before him. Willy's death may not have secured him dignity or eternal admiration, but he died a salesman's death, and for that matter, what more could he have asked for? Works Cited Gioia, Dana and XJ Kennedy. Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print. Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. Ed. Giuseppe Terry. New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2007. 1764-1832. Print.Miller, Arthur. "Tragedy and the Common Man." Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. Ed. Giuseppe Terry. New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2007. 1833-1835. Press.