Arthur Miller was one of the most celebrated American playwrights of the 20th century. His works explore the human condition and often deal with issues of morality and justice. Many of his plays are considered to be modern classics, including “The Crucible” and “Death of a Salesman.”
While Arthur Miller is best known for his dramas, he also wrote several essays on film, literature, and politics. In his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man,” Miller makes the case that tragedy can occur in the lives of ordinary people, not just great kings or heroes. He argues that tragic protagonists are not necessarily noble or heroic, but rather they are people who are flawed and human.
This idea is explored in “Death of a Salesman,” which tells the story of Willy Loman, a man who is struggling to maintain his family’s lifestyle. Willy is not a great man, but he is a good man who is trying to do his best. However, his flaws and human frailties eventually lead to his downfall.
While Arthur Miller’s works are often sad and tragic, they also offer hope. They remind us that we are all human beings, capable of both greatness and failure. And in the end, it is our humanity that makes us so compelling and relatable.
In today’s age, few tragedies are written. It is commonly believed that the reason for this lack is due to either a deficiency of heroes among us, or else that modern man has had his belief siphoned out by science’s skepticism; making a heroic attack on life impossible.
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. “The price of dignity is sometimes death,” Arthur Miller has written.
There are not many Arthur Millers in our time. His was a personality larger than life, a man who possessed an unshakable belief in the common man and his ability to triumph over adversity. Arthur Miller was a tragedy waiting to happen.
He was born in New York City in 1915, the son of a Jewish immigrant father and an American-born mother. His father, Isidore, had been a successful tailor in Poland before emigrating to the United States, where he struggled to make ends meet. Arthur’s mother, Augusta, was a woman of strong opinions and rigid morals. She instilled in her son a respect for education and a love of learning.
Arthur Miller was a bright student and did well in school, but he was more interested in sports than academics. He excelled at baseball and basketball, and dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. His dreams were dashed when he contracted polio at the age of 18. The disease left him with a lifelong limp.
Arthur Miller turned to writing as a way to express his innermost thoughts and feelings. His first play, “No Villain”, was produced on Broadway in 1936. It was not a success, but it did not deter Arthur Miller from pursuing his dream of being a successful playwright.
In Arthur Miller’s “Tragedy and the Common Man,” he argues that it is in fact the common people, as well as anti-heroes, who may produce “the most powerful tragic theater.” He continues, “It is the common man who understands fear best.” This viewpoint I wholeheartedly agree with to a certain extent; nevertheless, I do not believe that one must choose between them.
Arthur Miller was an American playwright and essayist, many of his works were based on social and political issues in the United States during the twentieth century. Arthur Miller’s most well-known work is The Crucible, which is a story about the Salem witch trials. In this play Arthur Miller addresses the issue of McCarthyism, which was a time where many people were blacklisted or accused of being communist. Arthur Miller was himself accused of being a communist sympathizer, and he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
When a tragic stage employs a common man, as in “Death of a Salesman,” there are certain elements that entice the audience to be more connected to the narrative and characters, thus encouraging them to engage with tragedy. One of the most significant ones is that we can connect with anti-heroes, therefore we project our own problems on them and perhaps begin to examine them within ourselves, with theatre then serving as a catalyst for this self-discovery. It does not imply that issues are any less real because they are more realistic.
Arthur Miller was a writer during the time of The Great Depression, which made Arthur question the American dream, and if it really was possible for anyone to achieve it. This is what Arthur Miller wanted to express in his play “Death of a Salesman”.
The title character, Willy Loman, is a travelling salesman who is in his 60s. He is starting to lose his grip on reality, and he lives in a world of illusions. Arthur Miller uses Willy Loman to show the tragic flaws that can occur in the “common man”. The play is set up to look at the problems that can happen when someone tries to live the American dream and does not achieve it.
Willy Loman is a man who is past his prime and is struggling to keep up with the changing world around him. He is a man who has always been a hard worker, but he is now starting to realize that his best years are behind him. Willy is a man who lives in a world of illusions and has trouble accepting reality.
We comprehend Willy’s difficulties, his concerns about losing his job and not being able to support his family, even though he loves his wife, and the betrayal of which he was a victim. His worry over his son not accomplishing as well. And feeling insignificant are all things that come to mind.
Arthur Miller took a story about a man facing his impending death and turned it into a window through which we could all see ourselves. We are not always successful, we do not always make the best choices and sometimes we feel like giving up. But Arthur Miller reminds us that we are all human beings worthy of sympathy and compassion.
He is considered one of the greatest American dramatists of the 20th century. Arthur Miller’s plays deal with social and psychological issues that are relevant even today.