Arthur Miller's Dissatisfaction with the American People Expressed in Three of His Major Works

The main point of the essay is to show that there are not many written tragedies in our time, mainly because there is not enough heroes around us. Arthur Miller's thesis statement is, "the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly place, the kings or the kingly, and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied.” What he is saying is that tragedies are outdated because they are only fit for kings.

Arthur Miller wrote plays as a way of showing people the real picture of what life was really like during the Great Depression and after World War II. Before the Great Depression many Americans were living in a significant time period, the Roaring Twenties. People had radios, automobiles, and movies with sounds. Then it all suddenly came to an end with the Stock Market Crash, leading to the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, Americans faced poverty, and had no income because jobs weren’t available. Throughout his life Miller influenced many people with his plays, and his contributions to this day because people want to read and understand what was truly happening in past history. For example, “The Crucible” is a play about the

But, most specifically the isolation of Willy Loman. Each family member takes unlike routes in building barriers between them an Willy. As aforementioned, Linda does nothing, leaving Willy to his own devices; instincts that are severely hindered. Anger, follows Biff and Willy’s conversations, severing all ties between the two. Happy, to busy trying to impress his father, misses out on his father’s problems. Finally, self-isolation. Willy chose to refuse help, chose not to speak of it, and took his life because of

“As a general rule . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (“Tragedy”). Miller, the author of the Crucible and the Tragedy and the Common Man, said these words to prove that a tragic play is not meant to be pessimistic, but more optimistic. In The Crucible, John Proctor, a farmer that proves to be the protagonist, goes through a dramatic change throughout the play; learning to forgive himself for his flaws, and in the end to have pride and stand up for what is right.

6. Given Miller’s earlier definition of tragedy, what is illuminated by the tragic figure’s destruction? What comments does Miller make about the “condition of life” and the “wrong”? How does he mean each of these terms?

Arthur Miller was born in Harlem in 1915. He went to University of Michigan, as he was aiming his career to be a playwright. After he graduated he went back home and married three: Marry Slattery “I love her too, but our neuroses just don't match” he loved his first wife too much but there were too many problems so they had to divorce, Marilyn Monroe his second marriage, and his third wife was Inge Morath, almost four if he didn’t die unexpectedly Agnes Barley. He wrote The Crucible as his response to the Red Scare and the McCarthy trials However, the play itself focuses on the inconsistency of the witch trials.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the apparent protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, because he exhibits qualities of both types of characters, is what is known as a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters within stories that due to a judgment error, is the cause of his/her own demise. In Proctor’s case, his error was made when he refuses to give up the names of other alleged witches, and refuses to allow the court to hang his confession in the center of town. John Proctor embodies three major signs of tragic heroism. Proctor, even through the rest of the village perceives him as great, knows deep down inside that because of past sins, he will never be able to live up to his reputation. As well, John Proctor is a tragic hero because he had the power to stop his own execution, therefore his downfall was no one 's’ fault but his own. This reluctance to forfeit the names of other “witches” could be seen as a character flaw. The final criteria that Proctor meets for a tragic hero is that the punishment received is way too severe for the “crime” committed.

“I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” ( Tragedy and the Common Man). Arthur Miller follows his Millerian conventions of tragedy in the writing of The Crucible. Often literature uses tragedy to display a depressing theme represented by the tragic hero.

Willy Loman’s family and few friends are affected by his mental breakdowns brought on by his career and disappointment with Biff. In high school Biff was the star of the football team until he failed his mathematics course which led to Willy’s anger, frustration and disappointment towards Biff. His wife is especially concerned with Willy’s relationship with Biff, saying “There is no time for false pride, Willy. You go to your sons and you tell them that you’re tired. You’ve got two great boys, haven’t you?” (Miller 83). Willy, however, has other things on his mind. He is upset about the current industrial atmosphere. This is seen when he comments:

Arthur Asher Miller was born in Harlem, New York City on October 17th, 1915. He was an amazing author who had written many things such as: Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, A View From the Bridge and The Crucible. The Crucible has gone on to be one of the most popular screen play and stage play of all time due to the large impact it had on many people. The Crucible was written during World War 2 and stuck out because it mirrored the fear the United States had of the Soviet Union and the increasing power of communism. Miller was the son of immigrants who were of Jewish and Polish heritage so when the crackdown to find communist supporters began Miller was constantly questioned. He was even called into trial in 1956 by the HUAC (House Un-American

The playwright Arthur Miller gained critical acclaim in the 1950s. His work exists today on broadway and stages throughout the world. Arthur Miller was able to take the modern social world and turn it into a drama that his audiences could easily understand. Arthur Miller is a son of Jewish immigrants and was born in Harlem, New York. His father name was Isadore Miller, he was a jewish immigrant from Poland(source 2).

“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way." This was a quote from the prominent American playwright Arthur Miller. This quote summed up Millers approach towards life and how others should live. Arthur Miller, by mirroring the issues of their time in a new light through his plays, sought to better America as he tackled political issues of his time in a way that his vast audiences would understand. Arthur Miller could be considered one of the most radical thinkers of the twentieth century through his bold messages. Arthur Miller exposed the flaws in the pursuit of the American dream and more specifically how society’s evil nature would lead to the corruption of the average American and lead to an unjust America. This was shown in his plays and most commonly known in his works Death of a Salesman and the Crucible. Being alive from 1915 to 2005 Miller experienced both important high and low points in American history.

Since the beginning of theatre, there have been numerous playwrights who have made their attempt at greatness. Most have failed, some have had minor success, and a slim few have succeeded. Arthur Miller was an inventive, determined playwright who made a lasting impression on theatre in the 20th century. He was a head-strong, willful individual who conquered obstacles when they presented themselves. Through a brief examination of Arthur Miller’s personal life, career as a playwright, and influence on theatre, it is clear to see that he was a very innovative and impactful individual whose effects can still be seen today.

have been many tragic heroes which can relate to Arthur Miller’s essay “Tragedy and the

Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York. When he graduated from the University of Michigan, Arthur Miller went back east and began his career in playwriting. After The Man Who Has All the Luck, his play with no success, Arthur Miller finally had a breakthrough with the play, All My Sons. He continued to write Death of a Salesman, which got him his first Tony for “Best Play” and has won awards for “Best Revival on the Broadway stage”. Death of a Salesman shined a light on the American Dream as a false myth constructed around materialism. In addition to his other plays, The Crucible became subject to government criticism because it supposedly was an allegory to McCarthyism. The government intervened, however