1. Arthur Miller
( )

2. Childhood Harlem NY - Upper class
The Wall Street crash of 1929 and Depression of the 1930’s
Brooklyn NY

3. Adulthood University of Michigan
Military service: WWII? (football injury)
Writer: Playwright
Married 3 times: Most famous: Marilyn Monroe
2 sons and 2 daughters

4. Writer: Playwright The Man Who Had All the Luck All My Sons
ambivalent relationships of father and sons
the struggle to achieve the American dream through material success
conflict between strong social focus and individual integrity
All My Sons
conflict between material ambition and individual social responsibility

5. Cont. Death of a Salesman (Pulitzer) obsession of material success
disintegration of family

6. The Crucible
Puritans
Salem Witch Trials

7. 33rd President April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
Harry S. Truman
33rd President April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
General Historic Background of “McCarthyism”
After WWII: Alliance with Soviet Union quickly unravels
China and Eastern Europe: “lost” to the Soviets.
Soviet Union acquires atomic bomb: Communist spies in USA?
Political unrest of post-war, change in “American values” and fear of moral decadence, intolerance = The GREAT SCARE of communism

8. Joseph McCarthy, Republican Senator
Republican senator from Wisconsin, first three years: ineffective legislator
Sought fame and power
Looking for an issue to get reelected:
The major issue of the day: getting rid of communism out of American society

9. The Rise of a WITCH HUNT
Those who had connection to Communist Russia: summoned before House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Demanded to name names of communists.
Deny allegations? Refuse to name names? Punished.
Citizens were blacklisted, unemployed, and in some cases, isolated from this country for over thirty years

10. WHAT IS A WITCH HUNT? witch hunt: noun
1 : a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft.
2 : the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as political opponents) with unpopular views
3: a political campaign launched on the pretext of investigating activities subversive to the state.
(Merriam-Webster on line)

11. A Modern-Day Witch Hunt
“Are you now, or have you ever been,
a Communist?”
Joseph McCarthy asked that question to MANY American citizens. This question spurred a modern-day witch hunt. McCarthy – a member of the American government encouraged the cleansing of the community of one group by another – the vilification of one group to allay the irrational fears of another.

12. HUAC “I have a long list of Communists in the State Department!”
“Are you now, or have you ever been a communist?”
HUAC

13. Discussion question: What are some modern examples of this?
Many people were willing to believe McCarthy’s charges without evidence because people wanted to feel secure.
His focus on weeding out corruption made people feel that someone was doing something to keep them safe.
Discussion question: What are some modern examples of this?

14. For questioning the actions
Miller was targeted...
For questioning the actions
of HUAC and McCarthy and for refusing to “name names”

18. LIES!!

19. The Crucible’s Literary Merit: Important Concepts
PROTEST LITERATURE: (n) literature with a specific political or social aim, an intention to raise awareness or bring about change. (Merriam-Webster on-line)
Arthur Miller’s intention was to emphasize the injustice of the McCarthy trials by relating them to a time in history that everyone accepts as morally and legally unjust.
ALLEGORY: (n) the expression, by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions, of truths or generalizations about human existence.
(Merriam- Webster on-line)
Arthur Miller wrote the play as a political and social allegory for McCarthyism. His characters and events represent historical truths.