Joseph Hirsch "The New Masses", following the July 1946 lynching of two black men and their wives in Monroe, Georgia. "The Burden" (1947) depicts a hollow-eyed American GI installing white cross gravemarkers in a military cemetery, while in the background a second GI unloads yet another jeep-full. Hirsch's poster for the original 1949 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" depicts a beaten-down Willy Loman trudging onward with his heavy suitcases. Hirsch was of German-Jewish heritage, but occasionally explored Christian themes. In "The Crucifixion" (1945), we see a close-up of the cross from behind, and the thick timbers block any
The Two-Character Play to delude themselves, escape from the reality of their deteriorating mental states. Consequently, the viewers themselves are confronted with the darker truths of what it is to be human. It was very experimental for its time. The language is heightened. There are slabs of verbosity juxtaposed with pauses and stunted sentences. "The Two-Character Play" is partially autobiographical. The actor Clare and especially the character Clare are loosely based on Williams’ sister, Rose, and the actor Felice and the character Felice on Williams himself. The "confining nature of human existence" was a major theme throughout his work and this play is