This can be seen through the different reactions to hope in prisoners. In extreme cases, hope can be twisted with desperation, such as when Marianne compromises her dignity and offers herself to a Kapo for a glimpse of survival in the symbolic prop of a “sausage” as form of nourishment and sustenance to maintain survival. Similarly, the orchestra offers hope for other characters in the play in order to prolong their lives.This is evident when，the orchestra’s barracks were described to have “ faint and few light bulbs” followed by the comment,”there is brightness here”. The structure of this- the props of the light bulbs and the comment of brightness- signifies the correlation between them. This stage direction, along with the setting, suggests how there is the possibility of hope. Miller thus uses an emblematic of hope to suggest a bright future for the prisoners instead of a dim and faint one. Thus underscoring the importance of hope in a seemingly bleak setting.

Within the camp, violence is displayed in response to rebellion, “smash[ing]her across the face”. Miller’s use of violent body language where the adjective “smash[ing]” creates an idea of physical mutilation disabling the characters’ autonomy of their own actions, where even their words are being censored through the act of violence,”I’m not a Jew shit!” And the rebellion is greeted with Schmidt “ chop[ping] Fania with a punch that sends her to the floor. ” The violent nature of punching and the effect it creates of disabling one’s ability to stand shows forced suppression into fear over the authority and power that Schmidt has over her. This jarring action led to her accepting how there is no hope for herself, and that she has to be subjected to the authority of those in power.  The submission to authority is driven from fear of violence and potential death, in a place that death is prominent and lives seem to mean little to the authorities. In a submissive position, one loses control of their actions and is seemed to be in the control of others, rendering one powerless against power, making one lose hope of potential survival and escape. Even through methodical escape, one is ultimately submitted towards death, where Mala and Edek’s failed escape is met with death where “the two of them were dropped and swung from the ropes”. The public execution amplifies the notion of fear within all the captives, implanting the idea of retaliation is faced with death.  Furthermore, the indifference of how the bodies are treated employing verbs of “dropped” and “swung” shows how little lives matter to the authority, yielding to power and thus death. Mala and Edek’s potential escape was presented as a symbol of freedom, survival and thus hope. By killing the characters, Miller presents the idea of hope being killed metaphorically, reinforcing the idea that despite overcoming the fear of authority, they are ultimately met with a tragic death.

In act one, Miller shows the audience Marianne's abandonment of morality through stage direction "Marianne , whose eyes show a barely-concealed challenge and defiance " Miller uses the body language of Marianne towards Fania to show her clear abandonment of morality in pursue of survival and to satiate her desires. Miller uses the character and actions of Marianne to give the audience a deeper understanding of Fania's path of losing her hope. Marianne proceeds to offer Fania the sausage after defiantly staring at Fania. "She sets the sausage on the keyboard" Miller uses the props of the sausage and keyboard to show the audience how Fania's perception of Marianne throwing away her morality is just a mirror of herself with the keyboard which she uses to entertain the Germans. Fania eventually gives in and eats the sausage. "She is tortured by hunger . She walks away from it, returns to it, and finally eats it" Miller uses the actions of Fania to show her final hesitation or her final hold on the hope of keeping her morals, but ultimately losing it as she gives into her desires by eating the sausage. Miller does this to give the audience a visual representation of the loss of hope in Fania.

Fania starting from holding onto her a to her morality to eventually losing it due loss of hope.