Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was a playwright born in America to Polish-Jewish immigrants. He is renowned for many plays, some of which include Death of a Salesman, the Crucible, and A View from the Bridge. His plays usually had a few themes in common: law and justice, community, naming names, and betrayal, among others. In Death of a Salesman, the main character (Willy Loman) values relationship with the community more than actual skills or personality, something that eventually leads to his downfall. He has little regard for law and justice and even encourages his sons to steal items for their own gain. The Crucible focuses on the Salem witch trials in the 17th century and is a mirror Miller uses to show the ruthlessness of the McCarthy trials during the mid-20th century, as the Salem community points fingers at their own neighbors in a haze of hysteria. These two themes are evident in A View from the Bridge as well – law and justice in the legalness of the cousins’ arrival to America, and community in the Red Hook neighborhood. Miller based the main themes of his plays from his own experiences. During that time, the McCarthy era was strong and fear of the Communist party high; Miller himself had been jailed for supposed involvement with the Communist Party. His struggle with the law and society is reflected in his plays. Miller wrote A View from the Bridge for a variety of reasons. For one, A View from the Bridge is about a family descended from immigrants,