Miller's Moral Dilemmas in the Reflection of Illusions and Disillusionment

Varga, Rita (2018) Miller's Moral Dilemmas in the Reflection of Illusions and Disillusionment. Masters, Szegedi Tudományegyetem.

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Abstract

This paper gives an insight into Arthur Miller’s, the American playwright’s dramas on the basis of a recurring, typical motif in them. I intend to analyse the moral dilemmas in the reflections of illusions and disillusionment, which play a crucial part in each of them In order to prove my statement, I am going to examine the Death of a Salesman, All my Sons, A View from the Bridge and The Crucible in the light of it. It is obvious that the protagonists create a false dream world based on illusions therefore they are unable to face their past acts, and failures or to take responsibility for them. The paper emphasises the causes and factors that contributed to forming this phoney idealism. The central theme of the paper focuses on the self whose identity and existence is defined by its role in larger and in smaller communities as well. By representing each figure and his relationships, it becomes evident that the main driving force is the faith in false ideas. Insisting firmly on their point of view is manifested as the main source of their conflicts. They cannot escape from their obsessions and sins in the past, their lives are drifted towards total destruction. The relation between the individual and the community highlights the fact that the protagonists always stand by their ideas even if they are unacceptable for the rest of the community members. Their morals and beliefs do not allow them to change their perspectives, they would rather die than abandon them. Miller’s central figures fail as they have to face reality surrounding them, though they are incapable of accepting them. In effect, the symbols in the plays foreshadow the outcome of the events, as well as the failures of the heroes. The weakening of the myth of the ’American Dream’ is presented in the characters’ acts, as they have to realise that their individualism and identities are already parts of their past.

Institution

Szegedi Tudományegyetem

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

Department

Angol Tanszék

Discipline

Humanities

Institute

Angol-Amerikai Intézet

Specialization

angol

Supervisor(s)

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	06. Humanities
Depositing User:	szerkesztő BTK
Date Deposited:	2019. May. 02. 10:58
Last Modified:	2019. May. 03. 07:11
URI:	https://diploma.bibl.u-szeged.hu/id/eprint/74780

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