Erasing Minorities in Post-War American Society and the Possibility of Alternative Community: Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge

This paper examines the alienation of minorities, which emerged from rapid economic prosperity after World War II, in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. The characters in A View from the Bridge represent individuals who are socially marginalized due to their sexuality, ethnicity, and class. The protagonist, a homosexual dock worker descended from Italian immigrants, is depicted as a completely excluded individual within the social context of postwar American identity. His homosexuality, the primary cause of the tragedy, is rejected in a capitalist society because it does not conform to the production of the nuclear family, which is deemed ‘normal.’ The protagonist is excluded from sexual norms and accuses other minorities of being illegal immigrants, which leads to their deportation. This intransigence propels all minorities, including the protagonist, towards a tragic end. In contemporary society, regaining human dignity is not achieved through uncompromising resistance to social norms. Miller’s characters’ stubbornness acts as hamartia, reinforcing the tragic elements of the narrative. Nonetheless, Miller advocates for optimism in restoring human solidarity, even in the face of tragedy. Thus, this paper proposes an ideal community as envisioned by Miller, where compassion and inclusion are paramount. The realization of such an alternative community is contingent not on rigid intolerance but on the acceptance, acknowledgment, and support of flawed individuals by others. This perspective allows for an understanding of the socially tragic dimensions of Miller’s drama, while also highlighting the hope for community restoration.