Arthur Miller October 17,1915- February 10, 2005

Picture of Arthur

Play’s Written by Arthur  In 1947 he wrote All My Son’s  In 1949 he wrote Death of A Salesman  In 1953 he wrote the Crucible  In 1955 he wrote A View from the bridge  In 1964 he wrote After the Fall

Miller’s life  He was born to fluent Jewish-American Parents.  Miller wrote both play’s and novels.  Several of the plays that he wrote were very criticized.

All My Sons  The action of the play is set in August 1947, in the mid-west of the U.S.A.  In the is play the lead character has committed an unlawful crime. He lost one son in war, on is missing, and the other son is looking at getting married to his bothers fiancée.  The wife plays as if Larry the son believed to be missing is still alive to cover up the crime her husband committed.

High School Play of All My Son’s 

Death of a Salesman  The play was written in 1949  Death of a Salesman was the first play to win three major awards, helping to establish Miller as an internationally-known playwright.  The play was considered a classic in the American theatre.

Themes for Death of a Salesman  Throughout the play the Lomans in general cannot distinguish between reality and illusion, particularly Willy. This is a major theme and source of conflict in the play.  This reality versus illusion problem eventually brings about Willy's downfall.  In the end, Willy believes that a man can be "worth more dead than alive." Charlie, always the voice of reality tells Willy, "A man isn't worth anything dead."

Small Viewing of Death of a Salesman  c c  The plays provide a good concept of acting and of what his works were about

The Crucible  Although the events of the play are based on the events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in  Miller was liberal in his fictionalization of those events.  For example, many of the accusations of witchcraft in the play are driven by the affair between farmer, husband, and father John Proctor and the Minister's teenage niece Abigail Williams.  However, in real life Williams was probably about eleven at the time of the accusations and Proctor was over sixty, which makes it most unlikely that there was ever any such relationship.

Theme of the Crucible  The play was written in response to Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee's crusade against supposed communist sympathizers.  Despite the obvious political criticisms contained within the play, most critics felt that "The Crucible" was "a self contained play about a terrible period in American history."

What is it based on?  The Crucible is based on the Salem Witchcraft trials.  The trials took place in Andover a providence of Massachusetts Bay Essex County.  The trials took place in 1692.

CAPA High School Slideshow   CAPA High School Presented The Crucible in 2006  This is a great representation on the costumes and the setting.

A View from the Bridge  The play, a one-act verse drama, was a mild failure on Broadway in  Miller had wanted to create a play that would simply tell the tale he himself has heard, with no attempt to gain audience sympathy for Eddie's - or anyone else's – dilemma.  Consequently, nothing was allowed onstage that did not directly contribute to the action.  But Miller ultimately found that he had created a cold play, rather than a fascinating and suspenseful one.

After The Fall  This was one of Miller’s most personal plays.  It was a thinly veiled personal critique centered around Miller's recently failed marriage with Marilyn Monroe.  The play remains one of Miller's less popular works, often attributed in part to the non- linear, often surreal nature of the plot and setting.