As the old saying goes, not all heroes wear capes. This is especially true for Willy Loman in the Death of a Salesman. Death of a Salesman is a rather tragic tale depicting the fall of Willy Loman and, to some degree, the fall of his son Biff Loman. There are two ways in which one could interpret Death of a Salesman, with Willy as the protagonist, or with Biff as the protagonist. Either way, the story is not made a tragedy by its plot, but rather, it is made a tragedy by its characters. The Death of a Salesman should be classified as a tragedy since it depicts the fall of Willy Loman as respectable figure.. The Death of the Salesman is a tragedy when Willy is considered the protagonist because it depicts Willy’s fall from respectability -and his sad attempts at gaining it- in both his professional and personal life. It is implied that Willy, at least in his mind, held the respect of Howard’s father, the previous owner of the firm when Willy states “Your father came to me the day you were born and asked me what I thought of the name of Howard…”. This indicates that Howard’s father respected Willy because one would generally only ask friends about potential baby names and one has to respect someone if they are their friend, therefore, it is implied that Howard’s father respected Willy. Willy’s fall from respectability is illustrated by how Howard, Willy’s boss, treats him. When Willy goes in to Howard’s office to try to get a job that doesn’t travel, Howard interrupts him