1. Arthur Miller

2.  Born in NYC, Jewish  Attended schools in Harlem, Brooklyn  Family devastated by Great Depression  Graduates University of Michigan  Turns down Hollywood (big$) job to stay in NYC: loves live theater  1949, Death of a Salesman, wins Pulitzer

3.  Brought to testify before House Un-American Activities Committee (McCarthy)  used Death of a Salesman as “proof” that he was “anti-American”  Pled the 1 st amendment as his defense  Sentenced to time in prison, later reduced to a $500 fine

4.  PAUL SOLMAN: So the dog-eat-dog competitive capitalism that you see in "Death of a Salesman," are you more resigned to it, sympathetic to it?  ARTHUR MILLER: I object to it, but formerly I thought that a socialist solution would resolve some of these problems. The only thing is, is that where we have had a socialist solution, it has raised up innumerable other problems that you stand and pause a bit before you really could go down that road.  PAUL SOLMAN: So you don't know what to do?  ARTHUR MILLER: So -- I don't know what to do.  Excerpted from PBS.org, 1999 interview with Arthur Miller

5.  1949, Death of a Salesman  1949, Tragedy and the Common Man: essay published in the New York Times*  1953, The Crucible: an allegory of McCarthyism, told as Salem witch trials  1955, A View from the Bridge  Prolific writer: essays, plays, short stories, movie scripts  *see full article on the web site handouts page

6.  Miller’s view of the failed American dream  Salesman represents American capitalism  Realistic characters, mixed with surreal elements (hallucinations, ghosts)  Hallucinations allow us to see inside Loman’s mind, focus on the past  Wife allows us to see the reality of the situation

7.  A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon….  Sound direction…specified, so it must be significant to the story…why?

8.  …We are aware of towering, angular shapes…surrounding area shows an angry glow of orange…small, fragile-seeming home. An air of the dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality.  Set directions: specifics are given in prose, carefully chosen language. Stage manager can interpret, but the message must match the text.

9.  Whenever the action is in the present the actors observe the imaginary wall- lines…in the scenes of the past these boundaries are broken.  Allows for immediate back and forth between present and past; extremely important for insight into the character’s mind.

10.  Linda…has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy’s behavior…  Characterization: insight into the wife’s character, brings her from static to dynamic before she even speaks.

11.  “…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.”  This statement has become the definitive trait of American modern tragedy.