Oedipus the King vs Willy in Death of a Salesman
Oedipus, the King, and Willy Lowman are two characters from different plays. Despite being from different plays authored during different historical times, the protagonists of the plays compare in a number of ways. One aspect that remains explicit to all the readers of the two plays is the fact that Oedipus and Willy Lowman have lives that end up tragically (Haque and Chowdhury 112). Considering the events and decisions that led to the tragic end in the two plays, this discussion explores the aspects of similarity between Oedipus and the Willy Lowman.
Primarily, Oedipus and Willy fail in the fulfillment of their duties as leaders. Evidently, their lives are surrounded by individual conflicts, which affect their loved ones in negative ways because they are arrogant and proud which blurs their decision-making. In the “Death of a Salesman,” Lowman’s problems are because of his narrow-mindedness and pride. Willy fails to pursue the right path to achieving the American Dream. He considers himself a successful salesman yet he has financial problems and does not allow himself to let his sons know of his failures. Similar to Willy, Oedipus is an individual who thinks highly of himself while putting blame on others for the curse upon his territory of rule, Thebes (Zachrisson, 322). Being the main cause of the problems befalling Thebes, he gives promises he would not keep, similar to Willy.
While Willy’s family wows are because of his lack of leadership qualities and chaotic life, the downfall of Oedipus’ family is caused by his inability to rule in the right way, and this ends up bringing infamy to Thebes. A close examination of the two characters reveals that both Oedipus and Willy Lowman consider keeping their pride and dignity as the most significant aspects of their lives (Karim 55). The two characters fail to consider the welfare of their families and the significance the family members have for them fails to be manifested in their actions.
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