In 1949, soon-to-be-blacklisted playwright Arthur Miller penned an essay called "Tragedy and the Common Man." In it he remarked that the 20th century thus far had not seen very many tragedies written, but disagreed with the hypothesis that it was due to "a paucity of heroes." He claimed that the common man could be just as useful a hero in tragic drama as could nobility and demigods. He emphasized personal dignity as the key to tragedy, and that the tragic hero seeks to attain or retain his or her "rightful" place in society, which for the common man probably is a basic level of dignity.