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 thru Stock Market Crash Activist & playwright Transformed American theater

Arthur Miller cont. Struggled financially & faced anti-semitism (hatred of Jews) 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 HUAC: House Un-American Activities Committee Miller convicted of Contempt of Congress Hollywood Blacklist

The Crucible & the Salem Witch Trials The Crucible = metaphor Salem Town Mass, 1692 Cautionary tale Religious extremism - no due process False accusations - individual liberties 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

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 & 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.