The Crucible by Arthur Miller Historical Context A

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Historical Context

A Crucible 1. 2. 3. cru·ci·ble (kro o ′sə bəl) noun a small earthen pot, used to heat metals to high temperatures the hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace, where molten metal collects and is purified. A test of the most decisive kind; a severe trial; as, the crucible of affliction. The Crucible is a play by the American playwright Arthur Miller that incorporates all three denotations of the noun. It is the story of a man who, under the heat of tremendous scrutiny, endures a personal test or trial of his convictions. In the end, our protagonist, like a metal that undergoes an intense fire, is drastically, unalterably changed, perhaps oddly purified, by the experience.

Why Did Arthur Miller Write the Work? Like the protagonist John Proctor, America in the 1950 s, the decade in which Miller wrote the play, was also undergoing its own fiery test; on trial were some of the most basic tenets of American life: • Basic human liberties as defined in The Bill of Rights • A basic sense of security • A basic sense of decency. The Crucible then, draws from two widely dissimilar, seemingly unrelated historical contexts. But Miller warns in the preface to The Crucible that “this play is not history, ” but it is certainly dependent on historical events for its story. ”

Symbolic Commentary The primary period of this play is the 17 th century, specifically the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Running thematically and symbolically parallel to these early events in American history are those that took place in Miller’s own time, the era of Mc. Carthyism 1948 -1956.

Primary Setting The Puritan Crucible In the 1600 s, Puritans settled on the East coast of the United States. They brought with them the hope of religious freedom. The Puritans aimed to establish a sort of heaven on earth, a religious utopia for believers. At the same time, they were keenly aware that this experiment in theocracy was not a solitary pursuit. Puritan John Winthrop alerted Puritans to their duty in his 1632 sermon “A Model of Christian Charity”, saying “For we must consider that we shall be a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. . ”

The Primary Setting 17 th Century New England In essence, the Puritans faced their own crucible even as they stepped foot upon the new land. If they followed God’s will, they would prosper, if they defied him, they would fail. The idea of morality tied to survival and to the goals of a higher cause, created in Puritan society a sense of vigilance, a constant and uncompromising watch for signs of sin. So ultimately and ironically, instead of extending even an ounce of the tolerance denied them in England – rather than setting an example for the world - the Puritans became disparaging, nosey, rigid, even cruel in their estimation of others The Puritans traded idealism for what they perceived as obedience and loyalty. They created a society that aimed to control, judge, and punish its citizens. Nowhere is this idea more in evidence then when the Puritans became embroiled in hysteria over the existence of witches.

How It Happened… Early in the year 1692, in the small village of Salem, MA, a group of girls fell ill - victims to hallucinations and seizures. In extremely religious Puritan New England, frightening or surprising occurrences, known as “spectral events” were often attributed to the devil or his cohorts. The sickness spurred fears of witchcraft. It was not long before the girls, and many other residents of Salem, began to accuse other villagers of witchcraft.

Why It Happened… It began as a way for the oppressed girls to enjoy a bit of freedom and control. It then became an ideal way to get revenge on anyone whom you disliked, or whose presence posed a threat. People started to accuse their neighbors of witchcraft so they could steal their farmland. People accused others of witchcraft if they wanted to steal their husbands or wives or possessions.

The Environment That Resulted… Old grudges and jealousies spilled out into the open, fueling the atmosphere of hysteria and paranoia. The Massachusetts government and judicial system, heavily influenced by religion, rolled into action. Most of those accused of being witches were women. Many were healers, and used plants to heal people. Many were without family, and this made them easy targets. They were people who did not fit in with the mainstream for some reason. Within a few weeks, dozens were in jail on charges of witchcraft. By the time the fever had run its course in late August 1692, 150 people had been accused; 19 people (and two dogs) were hung, and one pressed to death for witchcraft.

Why the Historic Parallel? Arthur Miller recognized disturbing similarities between the political climate of the 1950’s and Salem. The same mood of fear, suspicion, and intimation that ruled the New England town in 1692 was very much in evidence in the mid 20 th century.

Historical Contexts Miller uses the Salem Witch Trials, to criticize • Mc. Carthyism and • the RED SCARE of the 1950 s. He states that history is cyclical; we need to recognize that history, in this case, is repeating itself. He claims that Mc. Carthyism was nothing more than a modern-day • WITCH HUNT

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.

Factors Leading to Mc. Carthyism: Harry s. Truman 33 rd President of the United States in office from April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 Although the Soviet Union and the United States had been allies during World War II, their alliance quickly unraveled once they had defeated their common enemy. In the U. S. , after WWII, many Americans felt that China and Eastern Europe had been “lost” to the Soviets. Russia acquired the atomic bomb; some people believed by stealing the plans from America. Many Americans feared that Russia would use the bomb. They thought Communism posed a great threat to America and that the Truman Administration was not vigilant enough in eliminating this threat. The political unrest of a post-war society, a rising uneasiness with a change in “American values” and a fear of moral DECADENCE, and widespread intolerance were all factors leading to THE GREAT SCARE of communism.

The “Red Scare” Widespread fear – even paranoia – took root in the United States, creating an atmosphere of vigilance, extreme nationalism, and mistrust. American Anti-Communism Propaganda Film He Might Be a Commie

Joseph Mc. Carthy’s Reputation Joseph Mc. Carthy, a republican senator from Wisconsin, spent his first three years in office “undistinguished. ” Some described him as a “lazy and easily corrupted He sought fame and power. His political career was fading, until he used the charged political climate to boost that career. He was the most expedient of politicians

A Political Bombshell On February 9, 1950, Republican senator Joseph Mc. Carthy dropped a political bombshell. Mc. Carthy gave a speech at the Republican Women's Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, in which he attacked the Truman administration and claimed to have a long list of Communists in the State Department. No one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but Mc. Carthy's announcement made the national news. Mc. Carthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) worked to root out all Communist sympathizers in the country, thus creating a Modern Day Witch Hunt

Mc. Carthy’s Rise to Power It is widely accepted that Mc. Carthy made up these accusations solely to enhance his political power. Many people were willing to believe his charges without evidence because people wanted to feel protected; they would exchange liberty for security. Mc. Carthy became the most sought-after public speaker in America. He was named one of Washington’s most eligible bachelors. His office was flooded with donations to help his cause of eliminating the Communist threat. At one point, he received an average of $1000. 00 a day in the mail. Eventually, he had to escalate his accusations and not just speak generally of government officials, but actually NAMES. He branched out to intimidate and attack private citizens– usually the most vulnerable members of society or people in professions considered liberal (journalists, professors, artists, etc. )

What causes a WITCH HUNT? Insufficient tolerance for human diversity Prejudice/Bias Scapegoating Persecution of unpopular minority groups Overblown fear of the unfamiliar Heightened Emotions Irrational Fear and Paranoia Self-Righteousness and Moral Judgment Blind Idealism Moral Absolutism and a STRINGENT concept of Purity/Morality Mob Mentality Hysteria Corruption of Power Self-Absorbed Authority Figures Greed for AGGRANDIZEMENT

The Rise of a WITCH HUNT Through intensive interrogation by Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy, using tactics of distortion, a modern witch hunt began. Those who were sympathetic to the Communist cause, or those who had connections with Russia, however distant, could be summoned before the committee to explain their involvement. People were told to recant Communist beliefs and name their former friends and associates in the communist cause. When people denied allegations or refused to names, they were punished. Citizens were blacklisted, unemployed, and in some cases, isolated from this country for over 30 years. Howard Lawson Testimony http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=F 7 W 3 Xb. DZq. O 4 Joseph Welch Testimony http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=MO 2 iiov. Yq 70

Who Was Specially Targeted? Of particular interest to the House Un. American Activities Committee were those practicing communists in the artistic community. The reasoning was that the most dangerous methods for converting Americans to communist beliefs would be through the films, music, and art that they enjoyed. Mc. Carthy prosecuted a great many playwrights, screenwriters, and other artists. In a number of cases, Mc. Carthy was successful in “blacklisting” these artists – which meant no one would purchase their services for fear of being linked to Communism. NOTE: Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, was directly connected to the world of Hollywood. He even married Marilyn Monroe.

The Hollywood Ten The first enacted Hollywood blacklist was initiated the day after ten writers and directors (known as THE HOLLYWOOD TEN) were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to give testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

A Political Message in Dangerous Times l l l The very people Mc. Carthy aimed to silence were the very people society looks to for revelation and framing of truth. But how does the artist communicate when the attempt could cause them to lose their jobs, maybe even their freedom. If you don’t feel safe criticizing the US Government, you create a fictional work that dramatizes a similar situation. Arthur Miller commented on these times through the use of Allegory – (noun) • a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. (dictionary. com) • The rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text. (about. com)

Beginning of the End The journalist Edward R. Murrow tirelessly exposed the exploits of the Wisconsin Senator in his evening program See it Now, in which he showed Mc. Carthy speaking and exposed Mc. Carthy’s techniques of interrogation. Murrow’s life is chronicled in the film Good Night And Good Luck staring Robert Downy, Jr. In 1954, Mc. Carthy was censured by both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. He served two more undistinguished and largely anemic years in the Senate. In 1957, at the age of 48, Mc. Carthy died of cirrhosis, likely caused by acute alcoholism. Edward R. Murrow See It Now March 9, 1954 See It Now – Edward R. Murrow

Famous Allegories The Pandora woods in the The Animal 1954 Farm is a scathing film Gojira, in film Avatar is similar to attack on Joseph Stalin which a monolithic beast and the Russian the Amazon rainforest (the rages through Japanese Revolution using Manor movie stops in its tracks Farm for Russia and cities in an orgy of for a heavy ecological replacing historical speech or two), and the apocalyptic devastation, participants with farm attempt to get the Na'vi to isanimals. The novel is rife a direct response to 'cooperate' carries with political commentary the atomic assaults on overtones of the U. S. on the futility of even Hiroshima and Nagasaki involvement in Iraq and attempting to establish a utopian societies decade earlier. Afghanistan. "

Other Artists also developed allegories that represented the Mc. Carthy Trials. Marvel Comics had a whole series that covered Mc. Carthyism. These panels include a direct paraphrase of the speech by Senator Joe Mc. Carthy that launched his career as a Communist-hunting demagogue. NOTE: Marvel replaces the fear of communism with the fear of alien life forms. )

Masking the Message l Miller used the true, actual events of the Salem witch hysteria in the 1600 s to parallel the Mc. Carthy’s “witch hunt” of the 1950 s! However, he employed artistic license to deliver his message. Characters are not actual representations, rather they are composites of the historical figures. l Drawing on research on the witch trials he conducted while an undergraduate, Miller composed The Crucible in the early 1950 s. The Crucible was Arthur Miller’s way of protesting the House Unamerican Activities Committee hearings. He compared the Communist hearings to the witch hunts of Salem, where gossip, rumors, and fear were evidence enough to convict people – a time in history that everyone accepts as morally and legally unjust.

Witch Hunt Legacy The term “witch hunt” now applies to any activity where people are looking for a scapegoat or where they are using accusations to get revenge or to get personal gain or attention. Modern Day Witch Hunts: • The Holocaust • Japanese American • • Internment Camps Hispanics in Arizona Proposition 8 Racial Profiling Muslims African Americans Stereotyping

The Legacy of Mc. Carthyism So demoralizing, so spiritually and profoundly traumatized, was this nation that even today, over 60 years later, the accusation of Communism remains an common scare tactic and a particularly stigmatizing form of attack on an a citizen’s patriotism and values. Watch: Glen Beck:

For Further Inquiry Mc. Carthyism: The Documentary Better Dead than Red Part 1