Willy often attempts to act ethically which thereby causes him to not act ethically as he violates the comptementary ethical law whilst destroying himself. Through this self destruction, the original ethical unity of the polis is restored and affirmed.
Some examples of Willy's unintentional self destructive actions are:
- He lies about how much he earns which is shown when the amount he claimed he earned decreases throughout the conversation which he has with Linda. At first he claims that he did "five hundred gross...”, however soon after we are brought back to reality when we realise he had actually earned a considerably smaller amount of "seventy dollars and some pennies". The fact that he exaggerates the amount he earns and then eventually ends up admitting to what he actually earns will affect his self esteem and make him feel emotionally worse.
- When Willy cheats this also makes him feel guilt and shame which is shown when Linda starts complimenting him by calling him "the handsomest". This is when The Woman (who symbolises Willy's guilt) appears in his mind and therefore shows that the affair which he is having, due to the fact it makes him feel special as The Woman "picked" him, leads to him feeling self destructive emotions whenever Linda shows attraction towards him as the love he has for her is not enough for him to stay faithful.
- When Ben is first introduced to the audience in Willy's imagination it could be suggested that Willy believes he is a character which contrasts with his characteristics and that Ben is his interpretation of success. This is because Ben says that "when i was seventeen i walked into the jungle, and when i was twenty-one i walked out. And by God i was rich..." which suggests that Willy not only doesn't understand mechanics but also that he is envious of Ben, therefore this envy will lead to him feeling worse about himself and his unsuccessful career.
The philosopher Aristotle said in his work Poetics that tragedy is characterized by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune (Peripeteia). Aristotle's definition can include a change of fortune from bad to good, but he says that the change from good to bad is preferable because this effects pity and fear within the spectators. Tragedy results in a catharsis (emotional cleansing) or healing for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama. According to Aristotle, "the structure of the best tragedy should be not simple but complex and one that represents incidents arousing fear and pity--for that is peculiar to this form of art." This reversal of fortune must be caused by the tragic hero's hamartia, which is often mistranslated as a character flaw, but is more correctly translated as a mistake.
According to Aristotle, "The change to bad fortune which he undergoes is not due to any moral defect or flaw, but a mistake of some kind."The reversal is the inevitable but unforeseen result of some action taken by the hero. It is also a misconception that this reversal can be brought about by a higher power (e.g. the law, the gods, fate, or society), but if a characters downfall is brought about by an external cause, Aristotle describes this as a misadventure and not a tragedy.
