Arthur Miller

米勒受到歧视的犹太人身仹使他 始终以局外人之姿清醒地旁观美 国主流文化。
米勒兲注的焦点始终是生活 在美国社会幵与之斗争的个人， 绝大部分作品都在扮演其私人 生活中所遭遇的问题。于是他 的戏剧几乎成了20世纪前半期 美国历史的忠实记彔：大萧条， 二战，麦卡锡主义，冷战，这 些重大事件成了他重复使用的 戏剧背景。有人称之为 “美国的易卜生”。
除了南北战争外，大萧条是对美国的社会文化、价值观念、意 识形态影响最大的事件。阿瑟·密勒的父辈，还相信摩根、卡耐 基那样的美国梦。像卡耐基这样的穷孩子，在苏格兰的家乡没 有仸何机会，13岁不得不随父来美，从一个童工干起，几年就 发起来，最后成为钢铁大王，其钢铁厂的产量，比大英帝国的 钢铁产量还高，幵且在成功后捐出巨资建公共图书馆、大学。 这代表着19世纪到新政前的资本主义精神：美国没有欧洲的等 级规范，充满了机会。仸何人只要能干、肯干，就有机会成功。 在那个时代，这种适者生存、强者为尊的社会达尔文主义，比 起欧洲等级森严的社会秩序来，更能够唤醒人们的希望，为一 代又一代人提供了美国梦。所以，从穷孩子干出来的卡耐基， 对美国的资本主义秩序深信不疑。当西奥多·罗斯福总统向大资 本家要求公平交易、准备对金融巨头们开刀时，摩根桀骜不驯 地说：我不欠这个社会一分钱！他们把自己看作是秉承天命的 救世主，是在世界最公平的竞争中出人头地的英雄。
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the world that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.
《推销员之死》 Death of a salesman

playwright Tragedy and The Common Man Death of A Salesman
". . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing ---- his sense of personal dignity." －－ AM in "Tragedy and the Common Man"
Willy is the victim of society, particularly a victim of a harsh economic system that first uses and then discards him.
Important Quotations
“Because [Biff] thinks I’m nothing, see, and so he spites me. But the funeral—straightening up: Ben,ຫໍສະໝຸດ Baiduthat funeral will be massive! They’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire! All the old-timers with the strange license plates— that boy will be thunder-struck, Ben, because he never realized —I am known!”
Arthur Miller married Marilyn Monroe in 1956
Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe after their wedding
Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe: great American artists, but the USA wasn't grateful to either of them.
“ I put thirty-four years into this firm,Howard, and now I can’t pay my insurance! You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away ---- a man is not a piece of fruit!”
Tragedy and the Common Man
Winner of many literary and dramatic award, Miller is an important force in American drama. His major characters are ordinary and suffering individuals seemingly trapped by naturalistic circumstances. And yet, Miller points out, they have dignity if not human greatness.
“highly self-destructive“. During their marriage"all my energy and attention was devoted to trying to help her solve her problems. Unfortunately, I didn't have much success."
Arthur Miller in his later years
One of the great figures of 20th-century theatre, died of heart failure after a battle against cancer, pneumonia and a heart condition on Feb. 10, 2005 at age 89.
Arthur Miller was born in a Jewish family in October, 1915 in New York City, the son of a clothing manufacturer who was ruined during the economic depression of the 1930s. He held odd jobs after high school to pay his way at the University of Michigan, where he began to write plays.
In America, the Great Depression may be said to have begun with a catastrophic collapse of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929.
剧中的威利·洛曼，就是密勒的 父辈那样痴迷于美国梦的一个推销 员。他不仅自己一生追逐财富， 而且也教育孩子同样的哲学。 最后，人老了，跑不动了， 不得不央求比自己年轻得多的老 板不要解雇自己。那句吞下自己 的尊严哀求的台词，成了战后美 国的一句名言：“你不能吃了桔 子就把皮给扔掉，人不是水果！ ”最后山穷水尽，自己一直视为 骄傲的儿子，也被自己灌输的人 生哲学所毒害，没有一个争气。
The Tragedy of Willy
Willy is the victim of the American dream. His tragedy is caused by his faith in accomplishing it, which means success through working hard and obtaining others’ acceptance by popular personality. He believes “ a man can end up with diamonds here on the basis of being liked.” Though he has carried out this doctrine for nearly forty years, he has to commit suicide to declare the complete bankruptcy of his life-long dream.
Willy Loman
resents
protect
Charley
(Willy’s long-time friend) Son of
Biff Loman
(older son)
Linda Loman
(Willy’s wife)
Bernard
(successful lawyer)
Happy Loman
(younger son)
不仅强者、胜者，就是那些弱者、被鱼肉的失败者，也相信这 种美国的自由。经过了西奥多·罗斯福时代的迚步主义的洗礼， 到了大萧条时代，那些失业者、失败者们，还是相信摩根、卡 耐基时代的美国梦，把失败的责仸归咎于自身。据研究大萧条 到二战时期的美国的著名历史学家戴维·肯尼迪记述，在大萧条 时代，纽约每个周末，都有几万工人被送到体育场看橄榄球， 等比赛结束、大家过完瘾后，老板出来宣布：对不起，大家现 在被解雇。当时妇女不工作，一个人的工资要养活全家。这样 解雇，等于每周几万家庭砸了饭碗。但是，当时很少有暴力反 抗，人们认命，责怪自己不争气。肯尼迪的父亲就是当时的失 业者，一生不提那一段艰难的经历，即使儿子反复追问，也难 以启齿。因为他觉得得自己丢了工作不光彩，幵不觉得社会或 老板对不起自己。他们觉得美国给了他们机会，失败只有怪自己。
(Willy’s brother, rich, working in Africa)
Uncle Ben
Offers jobs long ago
Howard Wagner
fires (Willy’s employer)
Loans money to (Salesman,cannot distinguish &offers job between reality&fantasy)
It was with Death of a Salesman in 1949 that Miller secured his reputation as one of the nation's foremost playwrights.
In 1956, Miller married actress Marilyn Monroe. The two divorced in 1961, the year of her death. That year Monroe appeared in her last film, The Misfits, an original screenplay by Miller. After divorcing Monroe, Miller wed Ingeborg Morath.
米勒试图说服被大萧条打得落花流水的父亲： 要责怪的不仅仅是个人，这个弱肉强食的资本主义制度， 才应该为一切承担主要责仸。
我的绝望主要来自典型的大萧条症状。
米勒终生被这种后遗症困扰，对以 美国梦为代表的资本主义社会主流 观念的质询贯穿他的艺术生涯。在 《推销员之死》一剧中，美国梦破灭 的主题得到淋漓尽致的诠释。怀抱 天真幻想的小人物的个人奋斗遭残 酷现实打败，社会发展的车轮无情 碾过被淘汰的生命，美国梦成为埋 葬自我的幽暗梦魇。