1. Introduction to Arthur Miller and The Crucible

2. Importance of Theater Center of 20 th century intellectual life Name Dropping: Thornton Wilder, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Tennessee Williams First great American playwright: Eugene O’Neill “I want to be an artist or nothing.”

3. Theater Today What kinds of plays are presented where you live? Are the performances well-attended? How is live theater different from watching TV or a movie? Is theater still important socially/culturally?

4. Why are we studying something that was written in 1953 after the Colonial Period of American literature?

5. Background on The Crucible About Salem Witch Trials of 1692 Miller was living during the 1940s and 1950s: McCarthyism caused a similar type of irrational hunt for Communists in the United States “Witch-Hunt”: irrationally seeking out people because they are different; occurred in Salem and in the US centuries later Arthur Miller himself was accused of being a Communist

6. Arthur Miller Biography Childhood Grew up in NYC during the Great Depression Attended high school Education University of Michigan (paid for himself) Accomplishments All My Sons established Miller as a talented playwright Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman Married to Marilyn Monroe for five years