arthur miller - 1937 Words

A In the period immediately following the end of World War II, American theater was transformed by the work of playwright Arthur Miller. Profoundly influenced by the Depression and the war that immediately followed it, Miller tapped into a sense of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American psyche. His probing dramas proved to be both the conscience and redemption of the times, allowing people an honest view of the direction the country had taken. Arthur Miller was born in Manhattan in 1915 to Jewish immigrant parents. By 1928, the family had moved to Brooklyn, after their garment manufacturing business began to fail. Witnessing the societal decay of the Depression and his father’s desperation due to business failures had an†¦show more content†¦His insight into the psychology of desperation and his ability to create stories that express the deepest meanings of struggle, have made him one of the most highly regarded and widely performed American playwrights. In his eighty-fifth year, Miller remains an active and important part of American theater. B. Before analysing Miller’s view of tragedy one must reconsider the traditional view, originally formulated by Aristotle and his critics, which Miller adapted and reinterpreted. Aristotelian tradition in the broadest terms defined tragedy as the imitation in prescribed dramatic form of a serious, complete human action, of great enough significance to be worthy of representation, which will strike the audience with pity and fear, two emotions far removed from sentimental tears. The hero of such a tragedy must be neither perfectly virtuous nor completely base but rather a man, great yet humanely fallible, who is preordained to suffer because of the fate of his inward character and a catastrophic series of events in the outward world. Also, he must never die ignorant of the circumstances of his fall, at somepoint, usually just before his death, he must undergo the painful process of discovery or revelation through which he will come to understand the reasons for and the signifi cance of his role(and may make ‘tragic reconciliation† with life). Aristotle specified that in Tragedy, the characters are portrayed as men far above theShow MoreRelated Arthur Miller Essay1170 Words   |  5 PagesArthur Miller Arthur Miller, in his plays, deals with the injustice of societys moral values and the characters who are vulnerable to its cruelty. A good majority of these plays were very successful and earned numerous awards. According to Brooks Atkinson, a critic for the New York Times, Millers play Death of a Salesman was successful because the play is so simple in style and so inevitable in theme that it scarcely seems like a thing that has been written and acted. For Mr. MillerRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1145 Words   |  5 PagesUnbalance Through The Centuries In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the author reflects the persecution of communists in America in the 1950’s through a recount of the Salem witch trials. It is often presumed that Miller based his drama directly off of events that were particularly prevalent in the years surrounding the publication of The Crucible- which was released in the year 1953, towards the conclusion of the Korean War. Although there was not a literal witch hunt occurring during this timeRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay1552 Words   |  7 Pages Honor and Faith is what is questioned in Arthur Miller â€Å"The Crucible†. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials. Several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft. The afflicted girls accuse people in the town of witchcraft, often choosing victims who they or their families dislike. The main antagonist Abigail Williams with the other girl’s accusations resulted in the arrests and death of many people in the community of Salem. Arthur Miller wrote this play during the time of the RedRead MoreThe Crucible by Arthur Miller 801 Words   |  3 PagesThe performance of Arthur Millers drama, The Crucible, put on by the WolfPack Players is one that has taken a fair bit of polishing to go from an average high school show, to a great show; the director, Patrica Scarborough, can certainly attest to such a bold claim. While we were held back by petty issues such as lines, we were, as a company, able to pull it together, just in time for opening. I can honestly say, in my heart, that this show could have gone better. In no way am I marking this a shamefulRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1064 Words   |  5 PagesLucifer, Satan or his common name, the devil. From an English perspective, he is the first antagonist. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the Devil is the main cause of conflict. He is the root of Evil. Now the reaction to devilish behavior varies from person to person, possibly even society to society. The Puritan society combats evil doing with actions that could be considered worse than the Devil s worst of deeds. This is demonstrated by Reverend Hale, whose importance starts initially as a figureheadRead MoreThe Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay714 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"What was the Arthur purpose for writing The Crucible†? Well let’s start of by saying Arthur Miller was a extremely American play writing. Miller born in 1915, but where was his childhood? He grew up in New York with a Jewish family. Arthur Millers’ play went on Broadway at the Martin Beck. This occurred in the year of 1953. The play was called The Crucible. Was The Crucible even one of his best places? Well it was yet one of his best second plays. What were the events of the play of Miller had doneRead MoreArthur Miller Research Essay1102 Words   |  5 Pages2012 Arthur Miller Research Essay Arthur Miller was an American playwright who wrote plays such as â€Å"The Crucible† and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† because he thought theatre could change the world. He wrote his works based on friends, his own life, and family. People believed he was a man of integrity and a hero because of the ways he portrayed himself. He was born in 1915 in Harlem, New York and raised in a very wealthy household by his parents, Isidore and Augusta Miller. After highRead MoreArthur Miller And Elia Kazan815 Words   |  4 Pagescrazy to think how two people’s lives could be so intertwined. Arthur Miller and Elia Kazan, two completely different people with clashing personalities and morals, have one of the most complicated relationships in Hollywood history. With the same childhood, the same love interest, and same event that would make or break their career, the lives of these men were more intertwined than they had ever hoped or planned to be. Before Miller and Kazan had even met, their childhood proved to be somewhatRead MoreArthur Miller: The Family Man1129 Words   |  5 Pagesthe right choices, and a need to provide for them. Arthur Miller a father of three children himself, has this deeply rooted into his mind and within his literary works. (Abbotson) Arthur Asher Miller a man of many very high esteemed novels was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. (Hadomi) A man who saw all the harshness of the Great Depression, and had many jobs including a clerk, and a delivery boy for a bakery before school. Arthur Miller began writing in 1934 while he attended MichiganRead MoreDeath of Salesman by Arthur Miller972 Words   |  4 PagesDeath of a Salesman by the playwright Arthur Miller, the use of names is significant to the characters themselves. Many playwrights and authors use names in their works to make a connection between the reader and the main idea of their work. Arthur Miller uses names in this play extraordinarily. Not only does Miller use the names to get readers to correlate them with the main idea of the play, but he also uses names to provide some irony to the play. Miller uses the meanings of some of the names