The Crucible

Create a Chart about Fears that are Justifiable or Irrational. Give examples. Justifiable FearsIrrational Fears

The Play The Crucible is a play that was written by Arthur Miller in It is based on the events surrounding the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts.

Contexts Early in the year of 1692, in the small town of Salem, MA, a collection of girls fell ill, experiencing hallucinations and seizures. This is Puritan New England; therefore, frightening or surprising occurrences were often attributed to the Devil. The sickness spurred fears of witchcraft. Soon the girls and residents began to accuse other villagers of consorting with devils and casting spells.

Context Cont. Old grudges and jealousies fueled the hysteria. The Massachusetts government was heavily influenced by religion and rolled into action. Within a few weeks, dozen of people were in jail on charges of witchcraft. By the time the fever had run its course, in late 1692, nineteen people and two dogs and been convicted and hanged for witchcraft.

McCarthyism Miller wrote the Crucible during anti-Communist fervor during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. McCarthy was trying to root out Communist sympathizers in the US. Communists were encouraged to confess and to identify other “Communists” as a means of escaping punishment. The policy resulted in a whirlwind of accusations. The liberal entertainment industry, in which Miller worked, was a target of these “witch hunts.”

Historical Fiction The general outline of events in The Crucible corresponds to what happened in Salem, but Miller’s characters are often composites. His plot device of the affair between Abigail Williams and John Proctor has no grounding in fact.

Allegory & Tragic Hero The Crucible is not a perfect allegory for anti- Communism, OR a faithful account of the Salem Trials. BUT…. It is a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance and hysteria can intersect and tear a community apart. In John Proctor, Miller gives us a great tragic hero—A flawed figure who finds his moral center just as everything fall to pieces around him.