Arthur Millers The Crucible Connecting Current Affairs History

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible Connecting Current Affairs & History

Playwright’s Bio o o Arthur Miller was born in 1915 in New York City He was the son of a coat manufacturer ruined by the Great Depression Attended college at the University of Michigan Married several times (Second wife was Marilyn Monroe)

Famous Works o o 1938 - The Grass Still Grows 1944 - The Man Who Had All the Luck 1945 - Focus 1947 - All My Sons o 1949 - Death of a Salesman (Pulitzer Prize winner and considered one of the greatest contemporary dramas) o 1953 - The Crucible (Tony Award)

Themes & Style o o Writer with a social conscience Focused on those vulnerable to false values imposed on them by society The effect of opportunism on family relationships Realism

The Crucible o Supposed to be about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 n n n o Used trial documents but fictionalized Combined, created or changed characters Major trial events are relatively accurate Really a criticism of the House Committee on Un-American Activities

Makings of a Salem Witch Hunt o Salem was a village divided n n n o People in Salem had little freedom n n o Land ownership fights Fight about reverend position & compensation People stubborn about deeply held beliefs Expression of individual thoughts and desires frowned upon Children were to be seen not heard Spark n n n A group of girls were caught playing at magic and pressured into naming those who “bewitched” them A special court was set up Spectral (“magical”) evidence was used

Makings of a Communist Hunt o Joseph Raymond Mc. Carthy (1908 -1957) n n o Mc. Carthy was elected a Republican Senator in 1946. He claimed the Department of State had been infiltrated (taken over) by Communists He led the House of Un-American Activities Committee n n Investigate communist activity Hollywood Blacklist Mc. Carthy and his accusations Others pressured to name others as communists

Mc. Carthy’s Witch Hunt n n n During the next three years he accused various highranking officials of subversive activities These accusations often ruined lives and careers. None of the accusations were ever proven, but Mc. Carthy was popular. Finally, the Senate investigated Mc. Carthy and censured him.

Results of both Witch Hunts o Colonial Salem n n o 20 innocent people were executed Dozens more were imprisoned One was stoned to death Families lost their land livelihood 1950’s n n Hundreds unjustly lost their jobs 10 were jailed for 6 months to 2 years 1 was sentenced to 5 years in prison 2 were executed

Literary Elements to Look For o Themes & Motifs n n o Intolerance & Jealousy Illogic & Hysteria Reputation The Court Tragedy n n John Proctor as tragic hero Finds his moral center as everything crumbles around him