This extract plays a significant role in the play, as it shows how Chris can become very defensive over the woman he loves, and how Joe is very paranoid, as he is troubled by the thoughts of his crime, and therefore begins to accuse Ann’s visit to be one of negative intentions. Miller creates dramatic tension between Chris and his father, as Chris begins to get very irate with Keller’s accusations and is aggressively protective and is very sure about his thoughts. The audience can sense this with the direct tone in Chris’ speech to his father.
Miller very effectively uses contrast between the tension in a scene with the skillful use of light hearted preludes or interludes. The contrast means the dramatic tension has increased. This is usually done with characters like Frank or Sue. This helps the audience distinguish the tension better. In this extract, Miller uses Keller’s overriding affection and graduated self confidence at the end of the extract to bring down the tension. Keller becomes very witty and cheerful: “There’s gonna be a wedding, kid, like there never was scene! Champagne, tuxedos-!” The tension is very abruptly brought down, as it directly follows Chris and Keller’s argument. The contrast in tension creates a morbid curiosity in the audience, where they can no longer predict what is to come, which makes the play even better. This increases the rate of anticipation.
The most obvious feature of drama is perhaps the dialogue. Miller uses the skill of using offensive speech to bring about the tension. He deliberately causes conflict between two characters to increase the tension. More over, Miller uses stage directions as a dramatic device to bring about the tension in a scene. Keller makes a ‘distracted’ entrance onto stage. This stage direction helps anticipate the tension, so the audience is therefore prepared for conflict. Both of these features are illustrated when Keller begins to accuse Ann:
“Keller (asking uncomfortably): Chris! You- you think you know her pretty good?”
Chris then replies to this very apprehensively, and is somewhat hurt. The stage directions show that Keller brings about his suspicion to cover his state of paranoia, and his speech shows how he is starting off a fight between him and Chris, which increases the tension. Keller’s speech includes words like ‘she’ and ‘they’ when referring to Ann and her family, which adds to Keller’s insignificant view of Ann’s family. This further aggravates Chris and Miller creates more tension with his anger.
Later, when Ann leaves to talk on the phone, Chris and Keller are left alone on stage. The audience can anticipate tension from the fact that they are alone on stage. So they are prepared for the typical disagreement between two characters when they are in solitude on stage. So the focus of the audience is now on Chris and Keller only, therefore they are expecting some sort of disagreement between them. More curiosity is driven from the audience when Miller brings about Ann’s voice to interrupt Chris and Keller’s conversation. Tension is increased here, as there is a feeling of mishap from what Ann is hearing over the telephone. Now, there are two forms of tension invading the features of this scene. Both the audience and Ann are anxious to know what is going on, when Ann says “But what did he say to you, for God’s sake?”
Miller’s authorial purpose in this scene is to create contrast in tension in order to make the audience prepared for the great conflict and negative tension yet to come later on in the play. He illustrates Ann’s delicate and fragile worries and feelings towards Chris’ family, which are created through her undoubted love for Chris; along with Chris’ courageous defense mechanism of aggressive and violent dialogue towards his own father in order to protect the women he loves. More over, he brings about more evidence to show that Joe Keller can be guilty because of is paranoid suspicions of Ann’s stay at the Keller’s. Miller also shows how Keller is trying to hide is irritability with his thoughts about the situation when he very quickly alleviates the atmosphere in the scene towards the end.
Overall, I feel Miller does a terrific job when creating dramatic tension in this extract and throughout the whole of the play, with the use of various dramatic devices like stage directions, dialogue, interesting features on the set (such as the tree), props used, and how George is a catalyst for the uncovering of Joe’s secret. I have noticed that whenever Joe hears of George’s presence he begins to get very uncomfortable, and compensates his guiltiness with the accusation of other people’s faults. I feel he is in some sort of denial as he keeps telling himself that he committed this crime for his family. However Chris is angry that the world has not been changed, that the selflessness of his fellow soldiers counts for nothing. He feels guilty to make money out of a business which does not value the men on whose labour it relies. So he keeps getting angry at his father.
This extract is a key to the turning point in the play, as the truth is to be unraveled very soon after. So its significance is in the fact that it prepares the audience for the disagreements and arguments where the truth is revealed in the play, with the constant rise and fall in tension.