INTRODUCTION
Arthur Miller has emerged as one of the most successful andenduring
playwrights of the postwar era in America, no doubtbecause his focusing
on middle-class anxieties brought on by a society that emphasizes the
hollow values of material success hasstruck such a responsive chord.
The recurring theme of anxietyand insecurity reflects much of
Arthur Miller’s own past. Born the son of a well-to-do Jewish
manufacturer in New York City in 1915,Miller had to experience the
social disintegration of his family when his father’s business failed
during the Great Depression of the 1930s. By taking on such odd jobs as
waiter, truck driver, and factory worker, Miller was able to complete
his studies at the University of Michigan in 1938. These formative years
gave Miller the chance to come in close contact with those who suffered
the most from the Depression and instilled in him a strong sense of
personal achievement necessary to rise above the situation. He began
writing plays in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until Death of a Salesman
was performed in 1949 that Miller established himself as a major
American dramatist.
Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1949, Death of a Salesman has to
this day remained a classic. The play’s intellectual appeal lies in
Miller’s refusal to portray his characters as two-dimensional — his
refusal to involve himself in a one-sided polemic attack on capitalism.
Even critics cannot agree as to whether Death of a Salesman
is to be categorized as social criticism, a tragedy, or simply a psychological
study. Of necessity, each person will have to draw his or
her own individual conclusions.
The fact that performances of Death of a Salesman have met
with acclaim throughout the world testifies to its universality: the
play’s conflicts and themes appear not to be uniquely American.
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