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Thi Trinh
Munsell, G.
Theatre 1
21 January 2015
Arthur Miller
Known as one of Americas most well-known playwright author from the nineteenth
century, Arthur Miller was a gifted writer with the talents of being able to conduct meaningful
American Literature stage scene plays. Even though being raised during a time of poverty when
the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, Miller was a hardworking person who grew up through
hardship having to object his young life to get himself to where he became what hes known for
today. Being the vocalist he was also, Arthur Miller was a courageous, willing man that never
stopped himself from doing what he wanted to do and was great at. For example, during the era
when young America was in the phase of racial inequalities and communism, Miller was among
one of the people who stood out and fought as a vocalist for the labors and the unions (Steinback,
2013). He was defined as a political advocate against the inequalities of race in America, as
stated by Lori Steinbach, even though he was put on the spot as one of the prime target for
Joseph McCarthy and others who were on a mission to rid the country of Communism
(Steinbach, 2013). One of his play, The Crucible, based on the Salem witch trials, was also one
of the main reason he was called on for also. Being the person he was that fought for what he
believed though, his biting criticism of societal problems was what made him a genius
(Biography.com, 2015). As words said though, if it hadnt been for the life that Miller endured,
he wouldve never been inspired to write in the first place. In fact, most of the plays that Miller

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wrote were all mainly for one obvious reason, and it was the reason for wanting to tell his
personal story (Steinbach, 2013).
Born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York, Arthur Asher Miller, grew up under a
household of five: his father (Isidore), his mother (Augusta), his sister (Joan), and his brother
(Kermit); all a family of Jews. Before the incident of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Arthur and
his family lived a happy, wealthy life. His mother, Augusta Miller, also known as Barnett Miller,
was a Native New York public school teacher. As to his father, Isidore Miller, he was an Austrian
Jewish immigrant who was a productive shopkeeper and owned a successful women clothing
manufacture that employed 400 people. Millers father was a wealthy, respected man in their
community. Even his younger sister, Joan, owned her own summer house located in Far
Rockaway, Queens (Wikipedia, 2015). Unfortunately though, it was during the incident of the
Wall Street Crash when their fortune all flushed down the grain to began struggling financially.
Losing everything Millers family had, the whole family had to eventually move down to
Gravesend Brooklyn to continue with their life. As a young boy that time, Miller, too, had to start
working many jobs to help support his family and his education also. As stated from Wikipedia,
...Miller delivered bread every morning before school to help the family. After graduating in
1932 from Abraham Lincoln High School, he worked at several menial jobs to pay for his
college tuition. In addition, Miller often helped out his father with work too, such as working as
a clerk in an auto parts warehouse. In school, Miller wasnt very much a bookworm even though
he was very much into reading adventure stories. Miller was just one of the typical, average
student, that enjoyed playing sports more such as football and baseball, even though hes well
known as one of Americas famous nineteenth century playwright author. Growing into his
teenage life, Miller continued to strive on stressfully after graduating from high school in New

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York in 1933. Wanting to attend Cornell University or the University of Michigan, he had to
work extra hard to save up money to be able to attend, even though he was rejected at first.
Eventually being accepted into the University of Michigan, it was then in Millers college years
that he was inspired to compose plays, stories, and began his writing career. Specifically, it was
his college professor, Professor Kenneth Rowe, who initiated such an interest for Miller, since
the professor, himself too, was very much interested in playwrights and taught his students how
to construct a play in order to achieve an intended effect (biography.com, 2015). Miller was
involved with many opportunities that shined the light to the path of his career. He hosted a radio
program, even though this was before he was accepted into the University of Michigan, during
school, he studied journalism and became the night editor of the Michigan Daily (Cliffsnotes,
2014), and that was then he decided to experience himself in the art of theater. After leaving the
University of Michigan, Miller began the start of his career. He wrote plays for the Federal
Theatre during the year 1939, even though it was eventually shut off in the same year by the
Congress but that never stopped him from striving on with his dream.
Being married to Grace Slattery (1940- 1956), Marilyn Monroe (1956- 1961), and Inge
Morath (1962-2002), Miller later on had his own family with five kids: Rebecca Miller, Jane
Ellen Miller, Daniel Miller, and Robert A. Miller. With his first wife, Mary Slattery, things ended
badly, even though they had his first two children together, Jane and Robert Miller. Shortly after
though, he then divorced Grace to marry the famous actress Marilyn Monroe. She starred in a
screenplay supplied by him that was known as The Misfits. It was sadly during the same time
though, that the two had divorced. Within a couple months later again, Miller then lastly married
Austrian- born photographer, Inger Morath, where they then had their two children together,
Rebecca and Daniel. Between Rebecca and Daniel though, Miller favored Rebecca more, since

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he wanted to exclude Daniel out of the family he had down syndrome. By the end of his many
marriage and eventful life, Arthur Miller came to the end of his life dying on February 10 ten
years earlier in 2005 due to heart failure. He was able to live a strong, courageous life that gave
him most of his intelligence for, and ended his life with the age of 89 years. During his Millers
final years though, he continued to grapple with the weightiest of societal and personal matters
(Biography.com, 2015), even though writing his last play, The Price (1968), based on family
dynamics.
Millers most famous written play, The Death of a Salesman, that was the recipient of
his 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best play, is based on the visions of
American, Dreams, hopes, and plans, but at the same time, lies and deceit, success, respect and
reputation, pride, abandonment, freedom and confinement, and last but not least betrayal. It
conveyed many lessons to tell another story of Millers own life that he lived in at the
time.Starred in the play as the main characters were: Willy, Linda, Biff, Happy, and Ben Loman,
Bernard, Charley, Howard, and The Woman. Miller constructed this novel with the main idea
based on the waning days of a failing salesman, with the genre of a tragedy story that all took
place during the late 1940s located at Willy Loman;s house, New York City, Barnaby River, and
Boston. Millers play on this was also then premiered officially on February 10 of 1949 at the
Morosco Theatre.
Premiered on January 5th of 1993 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City,
Arthur Miller had also drafted the play, The Last Yankee, based on the transformation of two
couples love life. As the main characters played in the play, there is a forty- eight year old
carpenter and descendant of Alexander Hamilton named, Leroy Hamilton, who plays the banjo,
a sixty year old, arrogant, unhappy husband because of his wifes condition, name John Frick,

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and their two wives, Patricia Hamilton and Karen, who are all currently in a mental state
institution, because of the wives condition (The Last Yankee, 1994). Miller writes this play as a
drama to direct mainly on the idea of the complexities of marriage and personal life
transforming. In this play, two men are conversating together in the visitors room of the mental
hospital at first, while their wives are in the mental hospital. The two are unhappy with their
marriage life because of the disappointment they have towards their wives condition as to show
how they are both unhappy. Eventually throughout the play though, the two wives mutually
discover a wellspring of strength and hope inside themselves, as they then set out to enlighten
their husbands- transforming both their whole marriage. The whole plot takes place at a presentday state mental hospital, located in New England. In conclusion though, Miller drafted this play
as a short piece in length as a miniature masterpiece.
Despite facing the hardship he had to face in his life, Miller never gave up as he
continued on with his career for a period of over sixty years. Stated by Wade Bradford after
graduating, Miller continued with writing plays and radio dramas, and even after all the series
of events that our world went through, such as World War 2, Millers work became even more
popular as he voyaged through a more successful future. At first, his playwright career started
out rocky. For example, in 1940, Miller conducted a play called The Man Who Had All the
Luck, that went down the drain very quick, but it fortunate that after six years his next writing,
All My Sons, awarded him with his first tony Award (best author) (Biography.com, 2015).
During the period Miller had written for over 60 years, he had a total of twenty- six written
plays, a novel entitled as Focus (1945), collections of short stories, such as I Dont Need You
Anymore (1967), his traveling journals, including some he wrote while in war, even though he
did not fight due to a football injury, and his Timebends: A Life autobiography (1987). Writing

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his first play, No Villain, during his time in college had gave Miller his first award recognition
of all time though that led him to seriously get him to the point he was able to retrieve his title
today in America. Some of Millers other famous award that he also worked hard for were his
Pulitzer Prize for Drama award from 1949, his Kennedy Center Honors from 1984, his
Praemium Imperiale award from 2001, and his Jerusalem Prize from 2003. Arthur Miller had
many of his award winning novels/ play though, such as the Death of a Salesman, The
Crucible, A View From the Bridge, and All My Sons. Claimed by Biography.com, Millers
first act of Death of Salesman was written amazingly in less than a day then opening on February
10 of 1949 at the Morosco Theatre, as it was adored by nearly everyone. Salesman won Miller
the triple crown of theatrical artistry: The Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Circle
Award and a Tony.

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Bibliography
Bradford, W., (2015) Arthur miller- biography of an american playwright; Abouteducation; New
York City; About Inc.; (pp. 1-5); Retrieved on January 21, 2015 from:
http://plays.about.com/od/playwrights/p/arthurmiller.htm
Hillegass, C., (2014) Arthur miller biography; CliffsNotes; Boston; Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt; (pp. 1-2); Retrieved on January 21, 2015 from:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/arthur-miller-biography
Millay, E. (2015) Arthur miller biography; World Biography; New York; Advameg, Inc.,
(pp.1-4); Retrieved on January 21, 2015 from: http://www.notablebiographies.com/MaMo/Miller-Arthur.html
Miller, A., (2015). Arthur miller biography; Biography.com; A&E Television Networds, LLC;
Retrieved on January 21, 2015 from: http://www.biography.com/people/arthur-miller9408335.
Miller, A., (1994) The last yankee; New York; Penguin Group; (pp.7-9)
Miller, A., (1949) Death of a salesman; New York; Penquin Group
Steinbach, L., (2013) Why did arthur miller write the crucible; Enotes; Suite 301 Seattle;
eNotes.com, Inc., (pp. 3-6); Retrieved on January 21, 2015 from:
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-arthur-miller-write-crucible-10311