These common themes in all three plays stem from events that Miller had experienced in his own life as a young man. Miller’s father was a Jewish immigrant from Poland who was illiterate, but managed to run a successful coat manufacturing business in New York. This business helped Miller, his siblings and his mom continue to be financially stable. Due to the fact that Miller’s father, Isidore was illiterate, there was a stronger bond with his mother, Augusta because she enjoyed reading and was an educator herself. The family managed to live lavishly until the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which had led to The Depression caused them to lose practically everything. As a result of the Wall Street Crash, he had to move into a smaller home and struggled financially which shows that he experienced struggle firsthand. After that, Miller managed various odd jobs that helped him get by financially (Rachel Galvin).
However, the sudden change influenced him in the rest of his life. In his autobiography, he wrote, “This desire to move on, to metamorphose – or perhaps it is a talent for being contemporary – was given me as life's inevitable and rightful condition” (Miller, Timebends, a Life 2). He had then turned to playwriting. His 1944 first Broadway show was of his first play, …show more content…
In 1950, Arthur Miller was blacklisted. During the time he had been writing The Crucible, Miller was fearful that he would be labeled as a communist if he was protesting too strongly by publishing this play. He was overwhelmed with all of the paranoia of communism. Miller was called to testify for HUAC and was uncooperative and refused to name anyone that was affiliated with him. This time in his life was increasingly difficult for him, but nonetheless, he continued the production of his plays and was successful in doing so (Arthur Miller