Failure of American dream in Arthur Miller's plays

The purpose of this study is to portray the failure of the American dream as represented in Arthur Miller?s plays. The promises of the American dream render it attractive for many people. Throughout history, the United States has been conceived as a country that provides economic, social and political welfare to all her citizens. Accordingly, people living in the United States would reach high economic, social and political standards by working hard and making use of proper opportunities. While the reality of that dream is far more complicated, expectations and hopes have attracted immigrants from all over the world. However, people who chase after this dream mostly witnessed its illusory side. Economically they have perished in the capitalist system; socially they have lost their identity; and politically they have witnessed the lack of freedom of opinion and speech. For that reason, the failure of the American dream has been criticized and discussed by many historians and writers. Arthur Miller is one of the passionate advocates who depicts the failure of the American dream in his plays. This thesis attempts to trace Arthur Miller?s engagement with the American dream in his plays, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and A View from the Bridge. Although economic, political and social dimensions of the problem are necessarily intermingled, the thesis will concentrate on the economic dimension in Death of a Salesman, political dimension in The Crucible, and social dimension in A View from the Bridge.