Death of a Salesman and All My Sons as Optimistic TragediesThis essay is about Arthur Miller and his uniqueness as a tragic playwright. The research question this article attempted to answer was: Why were Miller's plays different from many other tragedies? Two of Arthur Miller's tragedies were used in this essay, Death of a Salesman and All My Sons. The thesis of this essay is that Arthur Miller departs from the standard perception of tragedy in his plays, Death of a Salesman and All My Sons, because unlike other tragedies, they are optimistic in that the character principal causes tragedy for what he perceives to be. the common good. The body of this essay begins with a discussion of tragedy and the commonly accepted perception of it, that of pessimism. It details several different definitions of tragedy given by literary critics. The "tragic flaw" is discussed and shown to be a major element of a tragedy, particularly Miller's. The death of a salesman is used to prove this statement. The idea that Miller's plays are optimistic is discussed in detail. Both plays are used to prove this concept, along with essays written by literary critics with opinions on this topic. One of the major points of this essay is Miller's use of love. Love is a dominant emotion throughout the tragedies. The important thing about love is that it is one of the main reasons why characters do what they do to bring about tragedy. The conclusion of this essay reinforces the idea that Arthur Miller's plays are unique from other tragedies. It reestablishes the thesis and the reason why it is true. The conclusion also summarizes the most important points of the essay and ends the article by tying everything together.Introd......middle of article......7. Carson, Neil. “A View from the Bridge and the Expansion of Vision.” Bloom, Harold, ed. Arthur Miller: Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. (1987) p 94.8. Hayman, Ronald. Arthur Miller. New York: Frederick Ungar Publiching Co. (1956); p 43.9. Miller, Arthur. Death of a seller. New York: The Viking Press (1958); p 133.10. Hayman, Ronald. Arthur Miller. New York: Frederick Ungar Publiching Co. (1956); p 55.11. Miller, Arthur. “Introduction to Collected Coins.” Weales, Gerald, ed. Death of a salesman: text and review. New York: Penguin Books (1996); p163.12. Miller, Arthur. Six large modern pieces: All my sons. New York: Dell Publishing Co. (1956); p 420.13. Disgusting, Barry. “All my sons and the wider context.” Martine, James J., ed. Critical Essays on Arthur Miller. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co. (1979); p 12.