| Home |
 |
Drama |
|
Arthur Miller |
|
 |  |  |  |
With the exception of After the Fall, Miller's work is not overtly autobiographical in nature, yet clearly the all but obsessive nature of some of the basic themes in his work--such as ethical issues in the business world, clashes between grown brothers and between fathers and sons, and the need to come to terms with the consequences of one's choices--suggests that such concerns may very well be rooted in his own experiences, and that light may be thrown upon certain patterns and themes in his work through the BIOGRAPHICAL approach. Likewise, the nature of certain of those themes, especially in terms of the individual in relation to society, calls for a SOCIOLOGICAL treatment of Miller's social and political thinking, both independent of his creative work and as expressed through that work. Clearly, given its basis in an actual episode of the American past, The Crucible demands to be treated from a HISTORICAL perspective.
Despite sociological concerns in his work, Miller has always placed his primary emphasis upon the depiction of individual personalities. Some of these, like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge, are unreflective and assertive. Others, like Quentin in After the Fall and John Proctor in The Crucible, struggle, often tormentedly, with issues of self-awareness and moral responsibility. Thus, from the beginning, one of the most frequently employed and fruitful approaches to Miller's work has been the PSYCHOLOGICAL. There has also been a lively FORMALIST debate over the years on the issue of whether or not Death of a Salesman justifies Miller's claim for it as a modern tragedy, focusing particularly on the question of whether Willy himself attains true tragic stature.
|