There can only be one.

In a story, there can only be one hero. In Millers Death of a Salesman, it follows that very rule,
and has only one hero. The titular salesman Willy Loman is not this storys hero in spite of
having heroic traits. Biff Loman is the hero of this tragedy. The three points that show he is the
tragic hero are his flaw, his comparative morality to the people around him, and the disaster that
befalls him.
Like all tragic heroes, Biff Loman has a flaw and his flaw is that he is indecisive and
refuses to do what the play requires; tell his father what he needs to hear. At the beginning, Biff
eludes his responsibility by bearing a mask of anger, acting if he never had an ounce of respect
for him. (40). As a fake mask, it simply cannot hold to close examination and so, he tries to
shirk his responsibility in the literal by planning on leaving before completing it, claiming Its
always been a fight that sent him out. (101). Fate still conspires against him, and he forced to
continue forward to an event that will end in disaster, orchestrated by the people surrounding
him.
As in all tragedy, the hero, Biff Loman, the hero, is of a higher moral character than any
other character in the story. His morality is not related to how he acts however, but how he feels
and expresses himself about how he acts. His brother, Happy has absolutely no regrets on any of
his own actions, thinking tiny gestures like Bringing some flowers (97) can completely smooth
over any social problem that he has in his own life. His father, Willy, is little better knowing that
he is doing the wrong thing while sleeping with the woman, but cannot bring himself to tell his
son about why he did this, making up excuses that She was nothing to him, he was just lonely
(95). It is not enough for a person to admit that they were wrong but to explain why they did this

as well. For example, when Biff steals a pen he admits that he did this and explains that he did
this To become something he doesnt want to be (105). This is something that Miller knew
while writing, and specifically designed to show that Biff was the hero of Death of a Salesman
despite what the disaster at the end would lead a reader to believe.
As a tragedy, Death of a Salesman ends with a disaster where Willy Loman dies. Biff
Loman is singlehandedly responsible for this disaster as all tragedy, and therefore is a tragic
hero. At the end of Biffs tirade towards the end of the play, Willy comes to a stark realization
that Biff loves him and always did (106). Willys realization of this brings him pushes him
through with his plan to stage his death for the insurance money, because now he knows Biff
wont call him a coward or hate him (101) for it. However, Biff wanted Willy to take that
phony dream and burn it (106) while Willy felt that his self-sacrifice would help make Biff
become magnificent and outstanding, with twenty thousand behind him (106) in the eyes of
that phony dream (106). Biffs failure to save Willy from his dream through what he told him
caused Willys death and the titular disaster of the play.
Biff Loman is the tragic hero of Death of a Salesman, making it impossible for Willy
Loman to be the hero. Biff is the hero because he has a tragic flaw, he is of greater moral
character than any other character, and he caused the disaster that befell him. Biff Loman is the
only hero despite Willy appearing to be a hero as well, but in a story, there can only be one.