1. THE PURITAN INFLUENCE
Arthur Miller’s
THE CRUCIBLE

2. THE CRUCIBLE Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE is a satire
on “The Red Scare.”
Arthur Miller
“The Red Scare” was a
fear of the spread of
communism in America
during the 1950’s.
THE CRUCIBLE
1953
Republican Senator
Joseph McCarthy
repeatedly charged
individuals opposed to his
investigation on
communism as being
communists
Arthur Miller was one of
the individuals charged.
Many Artists, Authors and Playwrights were
blacklisted after being accused.

3. CRUCIBLE – A container for melting and purifying metals.
A severe trial or test.

4. Important Literary Terms…
SATIRE –
criticism of an event, an
individual or a group in a
clever manner, usually
witty, and often very funny.
IRONY – a device used to puncture a reader’s expectation.
EX: A man who is afraid to fly takes a train to his
destination, and he is killed when the train
jumps the tracks.
DRAMATIC IRONY – The irony takes place within the story, play or movie itself.
EX: our expectations might not be punctured, but a character’s within
the story itself is.
VERBAL IRONY – The irony is spoken or put into words.
EX: An angry teacher tells a student “someone
needs to teach you a lesson!”

5. FORESHADOWING – Hints at an event that has not happened yet, but may
happen later in the story.
SYMBOL - an object, place or person takes on greater significance
and meaning than what it actually is.
EX: Roman prisoners were sometimes executed by being
hung on a cross. In Christianity, the cross stands for
something greater than an instrument of punishment,
it represents the sacrifice made by the founder of the
religion, Jesus Christ.
SYMBOLISM – When an object is being used as a symbol.
EX: In the Christian hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross,”
the cross is being used to represent salvation.
ALLUSION – a reference to another famous piece of literature, film,
character or event.