Arthur Miller
This book, and my Darwin and Literature, may be obtained from Amazon.com. For “The Two-way Tussle,” an essay on communication derived from Darwin’s thinking, click here.
Arthur Miller
Almost every critic believes that Arthur Miller deserves the title of “social dramatist,” a writer with a message. Apparently the only question is whether to call him a Marxist or a humanist. The purpose of this study is to view Miller in a different light. His plays do register protests against injustice; they do suggest a humanistic thesis on communal responsibility. In his best writing, however, that thesis is implied in the psychological consequences of fanatic self-assertion, not prescribed in moralist pronouncements on “the right way of living.” His technical shortcomings can be attributed to a self-conscious attempt to augment a work’s “social” or philosophical significance.
Arthur Miller
Almost every critic believes that Arthur Miller deserves the title of “social dramatist,” a writer with a message. Apparently the only question is whether to call him a Marxist or a humanist. The purpose of this study is to view Miller in a different light. His plays do register protests against injustice; they do suggest a humanistic thesis on communal responsibility. In his best writing, however, that thesis is implied in the psychological consequences of fanatic self-assertion, not prescribed in moralist pronouncements on “the right way of living.” His technical shortcomings can be attributed to a self-conscious attempt to augment a work’s “social” or philosophical significance.
