Arthur Miller’s writing was greatly influenced by the environment that he was raised in. Miller grew up during the Great Depression, a time of financial distress and loss for America as a whole. Miller’s family owned a successful clothing store, but when the depression struck, money was low, and no one could afford the luxury clothing. The Miller’s store went out of business in early 1930, just months after the stock market crashed in October of 1929. The circumstances that he was faced with because of the economical depression greatly influenced many of his plays. The most popular being The Death of a Salesman , a play written about the struggles and pressures regarding financial success. The play also speaks on the importance of a relationship …show more content…
Other themes that can be found in Miller’s work are the american dream and the importance of a good name. Miller also was known to use instances of suicide in his writing to express his strong feelings regarding social injustices. “Arthur often combined social awareness with a searching concern for his characters’ inner lives.” (Arthur Miller Britannica)
Before he was an author, Miller had multiple jobs. He started as a newspaper writer for his college. Although this wasn’t a necessarily creative field, Miller enjoyed writing on the events and opinions surrounding him. After this, Miller took on a job as a shoe maker, then a radio story narrator, which became one of his favorite experiences. Miller’s last job before he was an Author was in the retail department. Miller sold car auto-parts for two years to save up for his schooling.
Miller attended classes at the University of Michigan, where his love for writing really began to become apparent. He studied English for four years, earning his bachelor’s degree. While at the University, he won the Hopwood award for creative writing twice. Before he went to college, Arthur attended Lincoln High School in