The CrucibleThe CrucibleBy Arthur Miller

Background Info Before You Read

COMMUNISM…an overview

During the Roaring Twenties in America, the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. There was another mass wave of immigrants coming to America. Small Communist clubs and organizations started springing up in

the bohemian areas of cities. Then, when the Great Depression hit, Communism became very popular since capitalism seemed to have failed the people, and President Hoover seemed to be abandoning the poor and the working-class. In the late thirties and early forties, attending Communist meetings became a kind of experimental, artsy

thing to do with liberal minded acquaintances.

Communism Communism is a utopia – a form of government predicated on sharing and equality that would theoretically result in peace among humanity. However, it is a form of government that only works in theory.

If you’re interested in seeing the theory turned practice, Cuba and North Korea are two modern day examples of a Communist regimes.

In a nutshell, a Communist believes in a classless society where…

individual ownership does not exist local governments own the land and the resources and divvy them out as needed

everyone has designated work roles all contributions go to the good of the community and are shared by everyone

Thus, the worker or “proletariat” is held in high esteem.

According to PBS… More than any other playwright …, Arthur Miller

has dedicated himself to the investigation of the moral plight of the white American working class. With a sense of realism and a strong ear for the American vernacular, Miller has created characters whose voices are an important part of the American landscape. His insight into the psychology of desperation and his ability to create stories that express the deepest meanings of struggle, have made him one of the most highly regarded and widely performed American playwrights. In his eighty-fifth year, Miller remains an active and important part of American theater.

Arthur Miller went to U. of Michigan married Marilyn Monroe in 1956

they divorced in 1961. At that time Marilyn was beyond saving. She died in 1962.

won Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman

The Crucible written in 1950s, but set in 1692 based on the Salem Witch Trials, which

acted as a parable for the McCarthy era, in which similar *witch hunts occurred targeting citizens as communists rather than disciples of Satan.

*According to American Heritage Dictionary, a ‘witch hunt’ is a political campaign launched on the pretext of investigating activities subversive to the state.

What was going on in America in the 1950s?

Cold War Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy was

investigating people for their association with COMMUNISM

There was a HUNT for communists in America

people became paranoid that communists were among them

This “hunt” was called the “Red Scare” or the “Hunt for Reds” (reds refers to communists)

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (generally known

as HUAC) also investigated communism within Hollywood, calling a number of playwrights, directors and actors known for left-wing views to testify. Although some of these, including film director Elia Kazan, testified for the committee to avoid prison sentences, but the Hollywood Ten, a group of entertainers, refused to testify and were convicted of contempt and sentenced to up to one year in prison. Over three hundred other entertainers were placed on a blacklist for possible communist views and were thus forbidden to work for major Hollywood studios (many of these were writers who worked under pseudonyms at the time, including Dalton Trumbo and Michael Wilson). Arthur Miller was one of these blacklisted. The blacklist prevented these men from receiving screen credit during this time, until actor Kirk Douglas pushed for Trumbo to receive screen credit for his adaptation of Spartacus for Stanley Kubrick in 1960, thus finally breaking the blacklist.

McCarthy Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy was an

undistinguished member of the Senate until February 1950, when he made the public charge that 205 Communists had infiltrated the State department. Upon subsequent testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, McCarthy proved unable to produce the name of any "card-carrying" communists, but he gained increasing popular support for his campaign of accusations. Although he was later denounced, he promoted unfounded accusations and suspicions of communism in many quarters, and is best known for his investigation of communists in the United States Army.

Connecting 1692 America and 1950s America

Miller saw a connection between the hunt for communists and the hunt for witches

Following WWII, the Cold War of the 1950s instilled a fear of Communism as an unseen danger as strong as the fear of witches had been in 1692.

Some have criticized Miller for oversimplifying matters, in that while there were (as far as we can prove) no actual witches in Salem, there were certainly Communists in 1950s America. However, one can argue that Miller’s concern in The Crucible is not with whether the accused actually are witches, but rather with the unwillingness of the court officials to believe that they are not.

About Salem in 1692 as portrayed in The Crucible

The church in 1692 was the political center, meaning, the government in Salem is a theocracy—rule by God through religious officials.

  The Crucible is set in a theocratic society, in which the church and the

state are one, and the religion is a strict, austere form of Protestantism known as Puritanism.

  Because of the theocratic nature of the society, moral laws and state

laws are one and the same: sin and the status of an individual’s soul are matters of public concern.

  There is no room for deviation from social norms, since any individual

whose private life doesn’t conform to the established moral laws represents a threat not only to the public good but also to the rule of God and true religion.

 

About Salem in 1692 as portrayed in The Crucible, contd. In Salem, everything and everyone belongs to

either God or the Devil; dissent is not merely unlawful, it is associated with satanic activity.

  This dichotomy functions as the underlying logic

behind the witch trials. “A person is either with this court, or he must be counted against it.”

  A common misnomer: witches weren’t burned,

they were hanged. 

Historical (In)accuracy While Miller based this play on actual

historical events, for creative purposes, many details in his play are not historically accurate. John Proctor was not a farmer, he was a tavern

owner John Proctor was in his 60s not 40s Elizabeth was his 3rd wife. Abigail Williams was only 11 Cotton Mather created the hysteria that caused

the Salem Witch trials, but Miller excluded him from the play.

Some topics in the play Order vs. Freedom Fear/Hysteria Reputation/Appearance Power Moral Responsibility Pride Religion Conformity vs. Individuality Repression