In ancient Greece, citizens hoped to go unnoticed by the gods. The gods played a huge role in what happened in a citizen's life. If a prophecy was decided by a God, then there was no possibility of changing it. Aristotle believes that this is what constitutes a true tragedy. He suggests that tragedy is driven by plot and that if plot is established, there is no way around it. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Oedipus pays for the sins of his father, King Laios. The gods gave Laios a horrible future for angering them when he raped another man. He was told that his son would murder him and marry his mother, Queen Jocasta. To prevent the prediction from coming true, Laius sent his shepherd to kill Oedipus, but entrusted him to a messenger from another kingdom to belong to another royal family. After many years, the prophecy came true: Oedipus killed Laius and married Jocasta, without anyone knowing who Oedipus really was. Aristotle states: “Thus the structure of events, the plot, is the aim of tragedy, and the aim is the greatest thing of all” (2196). He classifies tragedy into two categories: simple and complex. In a simple tragedy, the drama occurs without incident or recognition, and it continues throughout the tragedy. Aristotle's definition of a complex tragedy is when it has an twist and recognition within the drama. The twist is the moment when the character is convinced that happiness is near, but then realizes that the main plot was over but was not enjoyable. In Oedipus, he experiences the adventure when the messenger comes to tell him that he is the king of yet another kingdom. After the good news, the messenger and the shepherd inform Oedipus of what happened when he was a child, which gives Oedipus enough facts to...... middle of paper ...... well Whether readers get the two different definitions in Death of a Salesman, readers still get an Aristotelian tragic hero. One answer to the question might be that a tragedy can be plot driven, but also character/plot driven. But it would be difficult to have a purely character-driven tragedy in a drama. Works cited by Aristotle. “On tragedy. » Literature: reading fiction, poetry and theater. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. New York, 2007. 2196-2198. Print.Miller, author. “Death of a Salesman.” Literature: reading fiction, poetry and drama. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. New York, 2007. 1777-1847. Print.Miller, author. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” Literature: reading fiction, poetry and drama. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. New York, 2007. 2216-2218. Print.Sophocles. “Oedipus the King. » Literature: reading fiction, poetry and theater. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. New York, 2007. 1307-1347. Print.