Analysing the Characters’ Metaphoric Price for their Choices in Arthur Miller’s The Price

Abstract

This study examines the Metaphoric Price paid by the characters for their choices in Arthur Miller's play "The Price." It studies their choices and the resulting price or emotional damage caused by various factors like the Great Depression, a father's failure, and the burden of money and personal sacrifice, as shown through the central figures. The analysis seeks to explain the characters’ choices by looking at their private conflicts and actual arguments, their ways of handling difficulty, and how their choices shape their relationships and their identities. Arthur Miller's "The Price" is not simply a tale about two brothers selling their diseased father's possessions. This article suggests that the payment for the furniture starts a more meaningful discussion about the unseen costs in each character's life. By observing the brothers, Victor and Walter, and the used furniture salesman, Gregory Solomon, the play reveals how every choice, sacrifice, and self-justification carries a high, long-lasting cost. "The Price" shows us that a life cannot be counted in dollars or by the situations encountered, but by the choices taken. Every choice has its own cost.