Tragic Hero - Hagel

gel's theory was that by attempting to act ethically, the characters actions would inevitably become unethical. Willy Loman fits with this to an extent because he does try and act in an ethical way sometimes, e.g. providing for his family by working as a salesman, however this is self destructive because his real talents lie with working with his hands, so not only is he damaging his own life he is damaging the life of his family. He also tries to forge a positive relationship with his children which is ethical, however the results of his actions are destructive because it ends up that his children share the same distorted views as him, that being 'liked' is the most important trait to be successful. However it can be that Willy's actions are unethical but still destructive, for example he has an affair which leads to his guilt and dishonesty to Linda, which is self destructive. His negative attitude also is self destructive as it means he can never be as successful as he would like because he does not believe in himself.