Miller, Arthur (1915–2005)

Arthur Asher Miller, one of America's greatest political playwrights, was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. He grew up with one sister in a low-income Jewish family. His father was a clothing manufacturer, and his mother a housewife. Not a strong student in high school, Miller was initially rejected by the University of Michigan when he applied for college. He eventually was admitted a few years later. During this time, he experienced a great amount of anti-Semitism, which affected his later writings.

From the beginning of his career as a playwright, which began when he was a student at the University [Page 959]of Michigan, Miller's talent was noted and he enjoyed the fruits of success. Many of his early works won prizes. During his senior year of college, one of his plays was performed by the Federal Theatre Project in Detroit. In 1947, he produced his first great success, All My Sons. Only 2 years later, Miller wrote Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

The play was written and produced just as the Cold War and McCarthyism were taking shape. With Death of a Salesman, Miller took Broadway by storm and made Miller a national sensation. This play attacked the capitalist system without actually labeling it as such. Despite the fact that, at that time, some journals dismissed the play as Marxist propaganda, his play dramatically captured what it means to become a tragic part of the capitalist system. Not long after Death of a Salesman, Miller wrote The Crucible. The play is about the Salem Witch Hunt but is also an allegory of McCarthyism.

For nearly six decades, Miller was a prominent figure in American literature, cinema, and politics. Critics quickly labeled Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained a reputation as a man who understood the fundamental nature of the United States. He spoke about issues of war, peace, and social injustice. He would not bend to the pressures of McCarthyism.

Miller was married three times during his life, once to Marilyn Monroe for a brief time. He died in February 2005.