Arthur Miller 1915-2005 and McCarthyism

Did you know? Marilyn Monroe Miller was married to a legendary actress.... Marilyn Monroe

Miller was born in New York City in 1915. Family suffered hard times when the Miller business was hit hard by the Great Depression. Miller worked his way through the University of Michigan.

While in college, Miller won many awards for his plays. These successes inspired him to pursue a career in theater.

Why was The Crucible written?

The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in 1953 as an allegory (a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor) to McCarthyism or a time period when a congressional committee was conducting hearings to identify suspected Communists in American society. Miller felt many personal convictions to McCarthyism as a result of a multitude of events that happened in his life.

The difference between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete narrative that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work (A Handbook to Literature).

Wanting to point out to the world the amazing parallel between the unjust Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the Communist hearings from 1948-1956, Miller wrote The Crucible to make a powerful statement about the dangers of hysteria and the dehumanization that can result and to plead for freedom and tolerance.

During McCarthyism, the United States was terrified of Communism’s influence. Like the witches, communists were seen ingrained within every aspect of society.

Miller was sent to jail for withholding information from the court, mostly the names of those assumed to be communists. Many of Miller’s peers fearing the wrath of the court provided names of the suspected communists in an attempt to save their lives.

Sound familiar?

As many experts agree, Miller used the names of real 17th-century people, but he took many liberties in ascribing motivations to them.

What fuels a mob?

Enjoy The Crucible…