Compare and Contrast Tennessee Williams' and Arthur Miller's plays in a social realist context.The plays' relation to social realism and modernism.

I think that works by both Williams and Miller pick up on
some general themes of modernism.  The most elemental is that their works depict
characters who are fighting against social orders that are either outwardly against them
or represent values that are antithetical to them.  For Williams, this comes out in a
variety of forms.  Characters like Blanche from "A Streetcar Named Desire" or Tom or
Amanda from "The Glass Menagerie" in Williams' work or Willy from "Death of a Salesman"
or John Proctor from "The Crucible" all represent individuals who are poised against the
social order. These characters connect to the modernist theme of alienation, or not
fitting in with one's social surroundings.  At the same time, I think that a strong case
can be made for these characters also being somewhat afraid of the world in which they
live, that the world has progressed and left them in the dust.  As social orders march
towards advancement, individuals, specific individuals, are left as casualties.  Works
by Miller and Williams focus on this modernist idea.  Blanche or Willy are prime
examples of individuals who cannot seem to not only find success but fail to understand
a modern setting's criteria for it.