John Warren Mrs. Thomas English III - 6 20 October 2012
Miller’s Unfortunate Influences Many negative actions during the history of America such as the Salem witch-hunts and World War II brought upon a common psychology of desperation and deep meanings of struggle to many of Arthur Miller’s poems. “The Crucible” deals with extraordinary tragedy in lives of normal people due to the witch-hunts. “All My Sons” probes with the idea of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American population, influenced from the desperation and paternal responsibility put on people. Lastly, “Death of a Salesman” a work based on the American dream and national values, was influenced greatly by his hatred relationship with his uncle. The historical and personal events that occurred during Arthur Miller’s early life greatly influenced his writings of “The Crucible”, “Death of a Salesman”, and “All My Sons”. “The Crucible” was historically influenced by those trying to cleanse American culture of anyone who persisted in seeing the Soviet Union as a source of good in the world. This disgusted Miller so much that he based “The Crucible” on the anti-communist hysteria that pervaded the 1950s America, and the witch-hunts of the late 17th century He hated the idea of tragedy in ordinary lives and had much concern for the physical wellbeing of the working class. The outburst of these ideas caused him to be called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and was convicted of contempt of Congress for not cooperating (this conviction however was later appealed). The unraveling of his troubled and turbulent marriage with Marilyn Monroe was the main personal event that influenced Miller’s writing of this play. Miller reflected that the meaning of “The Crucible” was somewhat different in different places and moments. It was said that the political situation of a country was very distinguishable depending on whether or not the play was a hit there. “Death of a Salesman” was historically influenced by the capitalist materialism economy that ruled the postwar era. This materialism obscured the personal truth and moral vision of the original American dream described by our founding fathers. In result, Miller opened the eyes of many people conveying the cost of blind faith in the American dream and fundamental American values. Miller talks about painful conflicts within a family in this piece of work, this was personally influenced from this relationship with his uncle Manny Newman. Newman refused to accept failure, and this prompted Miller to revive and abandoned manuscript about an unsuccessful salesman. This story turned out to be one of the greatest dramas in American history, and managed to touch deep chords within national psyche. Miller’s “All My Sons” was historically influenced profoundly on the depression and the war. It’s based on a remarkable sense of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American culture, and allowed people an honest view of the direction the country had taken. Personal events that influenced Miller’s writing of “All My Sons” was his own personal witness of the Great Depression, and furthermore his father’s desperate measures taken due to his business failures. These personal accounts influenced the story to be written about a struggling manufacturer who sells faulty parts to the military in order to save his own business, and in the process ends up killing twenty one pilots due to these bad parts. Concerned with morality in the face of desperation, “All My Sons” appealed to a nation having recently gone through both a war and a depression. Throughout his life and work, Miller remained socially engaged and wrote with much conscience, clarity, and compassion. His work has been infused with a great sense of responsibility to humanity and to his audience. More than any other play writer, Arthur Miller dedicated himself to the investigation of moral plight of the white American working class. With a sense of realism and a strong ear for the American culture, he created characters whose voices are an important part of the American landscape. Miller’s 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 highly regarded and widely performed American playwrights of all time. Arthur Miller’s writings of “The Crucible”, “Death of a Salesman”, and “All My Sons” were drastically influenced by many personal and historical events that happened during his life time, without those events the plays wouldn’t be near the same as they are today.