Tragedy of Denial

Arthur Miller is considered to be one of the greatest play writers of his times. After many years the themes of his plays can still be compared to our every day life. Miller has written his plays filled with drama, tragedy and leaving the reader feeling the emotion of his characters. Miller has used common themes that can be traced through some of his plays; the theme of family and the extent an individual will go to for their family. In three of his plays, Miller demonstrates tragedy wrapped within denial. The three families portrayed in Millers plays, All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and A View From The Bridge are families that are consumed with denial to cover up and protect against their own guilt and selfish needs. Each of these families have characters who display such strong denial believing they are doing what is best for their family. However, when taking a closer look, what is reviled is failure and justifications to protect what is best for them selves.
In All My Sons by Arthur Miller, the characters forming the Keller family are living in the 1940’s, a time where financial stability seemed out of reach. Joe Keller who is a father, husband, and business owner, is one of the main characters in this play. Joe is able to provide his family with the financial stability he has wanted but at a high cost. With one bad decision, Joe committed a crime that he never thought would affect his family directly. Joe allowed the defective airplane parts to be sent, causing the death of twenty-one men including his own son Larry. The guilt of his decision was too much to bare so Joe went into denial to cover up his guilt and protect himself. He knew admitting he made a wrong decision would mean going to jail, financially ruining his family and most of all confirming he had killed his own son.
Joe knew what he did was wrong, but he justifies his decision saying it was for his family, so he could continue to provide for them. He did this thinking it would never come back to haunt him. In act two of the play when his sons Chris confronts him about his role in what happen Joe replays, Keller: “ You’re a boy, what could I do! I’m in business, a man is in business; a hundred and twenty cracked, you’re out of business; you got a process, the process don’t work you’re out of business; you don’t know how to operate, your stuff is no good; they close you up, they tear you up your contracts, what the hell’s it to them? You lay forty years into a business and they knock you out in five minutes, what could I do, let them take forty years, let take my life away? I never thought they’d install them. I swear to God. I thought they’d stop’em before anybody took off ” (Miller 145-146). This response from Joe says it all, it explains why he denied his part in what happen but at the same time admitting he is the one who had made the bad call. It shows him being selfish but at the same time showing he wanted to protect his means of making money to providing for his family.
As the dialogue of questioning continues between Chris and Joe, Joe replays, Keller: “He never flew a P-40” (Miller 145), meaning before making his decision he thought about his son Larry and how it shouldn’t have a direct affect on his family. This replay from him makes him look even more selfish, thinking of only his son and not the fact that the other men are also sons. When Joe finely excepts his part in killing twenty-one men including his own son, Larry, he can’t live with himself, he can’t except that his family will not view him the same, Keller: “I’m asking you. What am I, a stranger? I thought I had a family here. What happen to my Family”(Miller 150). In the end it’s too much for him to live with so Joe shoots himself, another act of selfishness. Joe killing himself is a cowardly act because in the end he leaves his family suffering with even more loss and the one thing he didn’t want, financial struggle. The family portrayed in Death of a Salesman has similar issues to the family in All My Sons, displaying denial to cover up guilt. Willy Loman, husband to Linda and father of Biff and Happy is an older man who works as a salesman. Willy uses denial to cover up his failing throughout his life. When Willy even comes close to realizing he has failed, at his job as a salesman and as a father to his two sons the reality becomes to much causing him to slip into a state of depression, in the end killing himself. Willy, who also wanted financial stability for his family allows his many years of denial to let himself believe he’s succeeded at his life. Willy believed him self into success so much that he doesn’t see the truth even when it’s in his face. When Willy goes to his boss Howard to let him know he’s done traveling for work and he wants to stay local Howard ends up firing him and tells him, Howard: “Now, Willy you never averaged- Willy:” I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week back in the year of 1928” (Miller 213). Willy went to Howard for a different reason and here we see how Willy doesn’t want the truth of his failure, he seems so lots in his denial he doesn’t really hear what Howard has said to him. Even after loosing his job Willy’s denial is so deep that when Charley offers him a job Willy replays, Willy: “What’s a Matter with you? I’ve got a job” (Miller 224). At the end of the dialog between them Willy finally admits he was fired but still wont take a job from Charley. At first it seems Willy’s prided might be stopping him from taking the job but when he actually doesn’t take the job it shows how selfish he is and him believing he’s successful is more important them providing for his family. Willy has two sons Biff and Happy, like any father he wants his sons to be successful. Biff, the oldest is not successful and realizes he not but for his fathers sake, Biff lets Willy believe he is on his way to being successful. Biff, at one point in the play has to point it out to his father, Biff: “I’m no good, can’t you see what I am” (Miller 236), this being forced by Willy to hear from his own son. Willy is also a failure in his marriage. He has an on going affair and his son Biff finds out, causing Biff to see his father as a failure. When Willy see glimpses of the truth in his life it’s to much, his mind starts to get mixed up making him seem crazy. Willy ends up killing himself, he kills himself rather than face the truth of being a failure. He even allows himself to think his death will be a benefit to his son Biff, leading him to success, Willy: “Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket” (Miller 253). When Willy refers to his death as being a path of success for Biff this showing his denial is where he feels comfortable, where he stays even when ending his life. To Willy killing himself was his success. A View from the Bridge is also about family and providing the best for them. In this play providing or wanting the best come across slightly different, it’s more displayed in the over protective way of Eddie Carbone. Eddie is the uncle but father figure to Catherine and husband to Beatrice. The characters in this play are also in a state of denial and are also rather selfish. The denial and selfishness in this play is displayed more to cause others to feel guilty and stop them from wanting to ever know the truth.
In the beginning the Carbone family seems caring and all is well. Eddie, a hard working man took his niece in and cares for her as his own. Beatrice is a loving housewife, whom also allows family from Italy to come stay with them, so they can have a better life. In Act one Eddie show how he wants a better life for his niece Catherine, as she is wanting to take a job Eddie replays, Eddie: “I want you to be with a different kind of people. I want you to be in a nice office. I mean if your going to get outa here then get out: don’t go practically in the same kind of neighborhood” (Miller 578). Eddie is acting like a loving father, wanting the best for his niece but as the play goes on he starts to display questionable feelings for her. These feeling show as a love interest sparks between Rodolpho and Catherine. Eddie starts to show jealousy and it leaves a question of his true feelings for his niece.
When Eddie goes to Alfieri to inquire about what he can do to stop Catherine form being with Rodolpho, Alfieri tells him, Alfieri: “But, Eddie she’s a women now. She wants to get married, Eddie. She can’t marry you, can she?” Eddie: “What are you talkin’ about, marry me! I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about” (Miller 604). At this point in the play, with all the concerns Eddie has shown for his niece being with Rodolpho and the extent he has gone to, others can see his feelings might be more than a father caring for his daughter. Eddies actions do not match up with what he is saying to Alfieri, his denial is showing and Eddie is the one who can’t see it. Eddie knows it morally wrong to feel any other way for his niece so he feels guilty and uses denial to cover up his feelings of guilt so he sticks to he is doing what is beat for Catherine.
Eddie does everything he can to stop the two of them from being together he even goes as far to betray his own family and turns his wives cousins into immigration. The question by the end of the play is left does he do this to protect his niece because he wants a better life for her or does he do it out of his own selfishness of not wanting to let her go? These questions really never get an answer. In the end because of Eddie’s betrayal, which we are left thinking is because of his denial of true feelings for his niece Catherine, Eddie is killed by Marco.
These three plays display denial and how it can destroy a family but at the same time the justifications that are made for the actions of the characters leave the reader unsure whom to feel sorry for. These characters justifications of their denial are to provide a better life, to want success for the future of their children, and as a form of protection showing family is everything. When taking a closer look, guilt and selfishness lead to the characters state of denial, then when forced to see the truth they turn deeper into their denial this showing they want to protect them selves making them more important then their family. When being forced to accept the realness of their lives, all three plays end in the same way, with death.