Arthur Miller is a highly distinguished author and is considered by many to be one of America s greatest writers As distinguished a writer he is Miller deserves to be selected for a spot in the prestigious American Author Hall of Fame His works meet the criteria for the American Authors Hall of Fame since the themes are important to society are unique and have universal appeal Arthur Miller’s works meet the American Author Hall of Fame s first criteria by dealing with themes highly important to society Some serious themes prevalent in his works were antisemitism and economic inequity Christenbury 187 Jewish himself Miler had faced antisemitism first hand In the workforce his bosses and coworkers often discriminated against him Arthur Miller Having personal experience with this form of discrimination a number of Miller works dealt with antisemitism such as his novel Focus which is about the irrationality of discrimination Arthur Miller His major work dealing with economic inequity is Death of a Salesman Like his works about antisemitism Death of a Salesman has a basis in real-life Miller based part of the play on his own experiences during the Great Depression Christenbury 188
In addition to meeting the American Author Hall of Fame s criteria for important themes Arthur Miller s works also meet the criteria of being unique An aspect in many of his works that displays this was his tendency to write about ordinary people Unlike many others though he often portrayed average people as tragic characters Miller strongly believed that the common man is the new tragic hero Zeff Death of a Salesman Displaying this belief Miller wrote in Death of a Salesman A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man Christenbury 191 A specific unique work of Miller s was Death of a Salesman The structure of the play can be considered odd Instead of scenes happening in consecutive order the play alternates between chronological order flashbacks and dream sequences Christenbury 191 Additionally much of the play takes place within the mind of its main character Willy Zeff Death of a Salesman A second unique aspect of Death of a Salesman was its depiction of the American Dream In place of the success story often associated with the American Dream Miller instead displayed how it actually fails Moss and Wilson 111 Miller s The Crucible also is unique The Crucible s plot is not what makes it unique Instead it is the symbolism within The Crucible that differentiates it Miller wrote The Crucible during a rather hostile time in America when innocent people were persecuted after being accused of being communists This metaphorical witch hunt called the Red Scare closely parallels the plot of The Crucible Zeff Crucible The The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials Zeff Crucible The Like the people accused of communism those accused of witchcraft in Salem often were accused with flimsy proof if there was even proof at all Christenbury 192 Going even farther into the Red Scare allegory the man that started the Red Scare Joseph McCarthy can be compared to The Crucible’s Abigail the girl who was the one who started accusing others of witchcraft Christenbury 192 Abigail s mindless accusations of people being witches quite obviously parallels McCarthy's accusations of people being communists
Universal appeal the third criteria for the American Author Hall of Fame is met by Arthur Miller s works as well A number of Miller s works have universal appeal but the most universal work of his is Death of a Salesman Beloved by audiences Death of a Salesman is considered by many to be a masterpiece one of Miller s greatest creations Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman appeals to more than just an American audience though Appealing to audiences around the world Death of a Salesman is praised both nationally and internationally Zeff Death of a Salesman A second work of Miller s that has universal appeal is The Crucible Another well received play The Crucible is also considered one of his masterworks Zeff Crucible The While it is not as revered as Death of a Salesman The Crucible acquires some universal appeal by dealing with themes still relevant in modern times Some of these themes that modern audiences can relate to are greed and envy Christenbury 192 The Crucible may be about the Salem witch trials and hysteria but nonetheless greed and envy play a large role in the play Abigail s motivation for accusing people of witchcraft is simple To continue her affair with the protagonist John Proctor Christenbury 192 Abigail still harboring feelings for John despite the end of their affair was overcome with jealousy at John’s wife In an attempt to keep John for herself Abigail accused John s wife of witchcraft Christenbury 192 Many of Abigail s actions and decisions throughout the play stem from the envy and the greed that had overcome her Arthur Miller deserves a spot in the esteemed American Author Hall of Fame As shown above his works meet all the criteria The criteria of themes important to society are met by his works dealing with serious social issues such as discrimination especially antisemitism and economic inequity The criteria for unique works is met as well Miller s belief in ordinary people being the modern tragic hero the structure of Death of a Salesman and the symbolism in The Crucible demonstrate the uniqueness of his works Miller s works also display appeal universally Death of a Salesman s international success helps demonstrate the universal appeal of his works The Crucible also displays universal appeal by dealing with themes that remain relevant to this day Arthur Miller should be honored as the great American writer he was
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