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| Arthur Miller writing at a typewriter |
Arthur
Miller is great at portraying the authenticity of human nature. It’s hard not
to relate to any of his characters, because they all have believable struggles
and faults within themselves that make them actual characters, and not fictitious
bystanders in their stories.
For
instance, there is Elizabeth Proctor from The
Crucible who faces marital issues with her husband over an affair. Due to
the structure of their society, John and Elizabeth Proctor remained together,
but Elizabeth faced a believable struggle trying to let go of John’s cheating
on her. Likewise, John Proctor is also a relatable character. He struggles with
a huge mistake that he made in a heat of passion, drastically putting his
reputation and his marriage on the line. His choice to have an affair with
Abigail negatively affected the entire scope of his life, leading a young
teenager to cry witchcraft in order to get rid of his wife, but more
importantly distancing the love that the Proctor’s shared at the beginning of
their marriage. They struggle to find peace in their marriage through the
tumultuous events that surround them, but eventually put away such troubles
when Elizabeth faces death. The thought of losing Elizabeth outweighs the
bitterness they had between them, and it shows that even through John’s crucial
and seemingly unforgiveable mistake, that Elizabeth and John are still willing
and able to love each other in full.
In
another instance, you have Willy Loman from Death
of a Salesman. His slow, unsuccessful life contrasts the bright hopes and
dreams he had for himself as a child, all because of the way his father and
brother left him. His father leaving placed Willy in a horrible state of mind,
grasping for material things since a father figure wasn’t present. Then, when
his brother struck rich in Alaska, it furthered the idea that the ‘Get Rich
Quick Scheme’ was the way to win happiness, further deluding Willy. He was
hurting his family through these delusions, and ultimately decided to kill
himself for this very reason. Through his death, his family would receive
$20,000 in insurance money – enough for them to make it through their
struggling financial situation. While their stability came at a cost, Willy
used his “Get Rich Quick Scheme” ideals to help the family. However,
ultimately, his delusions and warped sense of materialistic ideals all stem
from a believable center, making the reader sympathize with Willy as opposed to
disliking him.
These
are the types of characters that has ‘meat’ to them, as opposed to just ‘bone’.
They aren’t just names on a page; they are characters in a story. Arthur Miller
writes not just about the shell of a man or woman, but about the human inside.
| Arthur Miller in his late 20s |
Alternatively,
however, Arthur Miller also peels back the layer of the human inside to reveal
and display to audiences the possible reasons for tragedy, beyond the classical
reasons. Normally, one would see a tragic character and think of simple reasons
for sadness: Death, Shame, or Embarrassment. No one would think about the more
complicated reasons for sadness or tragedy, like Jealousy, Self-Esteem, a Sense
of Inadequacy (to name a few). Miller looks into the true reasons behind
tragedy through contrasting what his characters have, as opposed to what they
want. He contrasts who they are, with who they want to be. He contrasts what
they do, as opposed to what they want to do. Such contrasting brings out the
true nature within characters that lets them relate to the audience more, and
provide answers to those who don’t understand the scope of the tragic
character. While most of his plays are sad, Miller’s writing can bring a lot of
satisfaction for those who are seeking truth within what most people would
overlook.
Miller’s
work brings to mind the mental side to writing, which takes effort, thought,
and time to evoke the right meaning. Every technique that he uses brings his
work to life, and enriches the pieces of literature in which he has written.
