The Crucible by Arthur Miller Background & Pre-Reading Information

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller: 1915-2005 Raised in Harlem & Brooklyn, New York Child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Loss of wealth through Stock Market Crash Activist & playwright Transformed American theater

Arthur Miller cont. Struggled financially & faced anti-semitism (hatred of Jews) B.A. English Literature, University of Michigan Worked odd jobs/suffered through the Great Depression Decay of the American Dream Death of a Salesman Plays dealt with reality of America instead of its idealization, particularly working class America

Miller & McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy Communist Paranoia: 1940s-1950s “McCarthyism” Red Scare: period of anti-Communist suspicion) HUAC: House Un-American Activities Committee Miller convicted of Contempt of Congress Hollywood Blacklist

The Crucible & the Salem Witch Trials The Crucible = metaphor/allegory Salem Town, Massachusetts, 1692 Cautionary tale -religious extremism - no due process -- false accusations - individual liberties Both Salem & McCarthy trials used fear to control, accused innocents, created mass hysteria All tried were convicted Capital punishment Power of accusation: just being accused enough to destroy a life: (guilty until proven innocent) Aligns w/Puritan faith

The Stats Before the court was discredited, 19 adults (14 women & 5 men) and 2 dogs were hanged Another man was pressed to death The girls in Salem originally accused 24 people, but over 150 were placed in jail More than 55 escaped by confessing The jury was 12 men

Historical Significance & Effects Relatively historically accurate, save some ages Still a piece of fiction Fallout of Salem Witch Trials: Beginnings of the crumbling of Theocracy in America & precursor to separation of church and state in U.S. Constitution

How it all begins… Tituba & Caribbean religions The girls… Naked dancing!

The Players John Proctor Elizabeth Proctor Abigail Williams Reverend Parris Reverend Hale Judge Hathorne Rebecca & Francis Nurse

Overview The Crucible is both a Puritan & Modern/Post-Modern text Reveals Colonial/Puritan values but also challenges a 1950s American society plagued by Cold War fears The Crucible as act of protest Miller vs. Kazan FACT: Miller could not attend the opening of his play in London because the US would not allow him a passport due to his “communist threat” Miller: wrote article entitled, “Why I Wrote The Crucible” after he was convicted of contempt of Congress A thoughtful, educated, & scholarly response to the loss of individual liberties