1. Arthur Miller & The Crucible
The realities behind the play

2. Arthur Miller Born in 1915 in New York City
Held many jobs as a young man
Truck Driver
Radio Singer
Car Parts Clerk
Graduated from the University of Michigan

3. The Author The Man Who Had All the Luck All My Sons
Death of a Salesman
A View from the Bridge
The Misfits
After the Fall

4. His Love Life Married Mary Grace Slattery in 1940.
Married Marilyn Monroe in 1956.
Married Inge Morath in 1962.

5. His Message Pointed political and social commentary
Voiced his concern through his art
Two most famous works are tragedies
“Politicians are us, which is very dangerous.
If they weren't us, it would be a lot better.”
-Arthur Miller

6. THE RED SCARE The Cold War began shortly after WWII
International “stare down” between America and the USSR
Little to no actual fighting between the two countries (hence ….”The Cold War” )
USSR and America become world’s superpowers mostly due to nuclear weapons

7. Mutually Assured Destruction
Reason why the Cold War remained cold
Any direct conflict risked the use of nuclear weapons
If used, both countries would have been completely obliterated
Thus they engaged in shadow wars, spying and indirect conflict.

8. So… What does this have to do with a play about witches?

9. “So in one sense The Crucible was an attempt to make life real again, palpable and structured. One hoped that a work of art might illuminate the tragic absurdities of an anterior work of art that was called reality, but was not.” ---Arthur Miller to The Guardian/The Observer; Saturday, June 17, 2000

10. Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s “witch hunt”
One United States senator, Joseph McCarthy, preyed upon the populace’s fear of communist infiltration and subversion
Led pointed, and biased, trials against “suspected” communists
These trials were reactionary by nature

11. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

12. HUAC
A special congressional committee charged with gathering information about subversive propaganda and people.
Arthur Miller was subpoenaed by HUAC in 1956.
Cited for contempt of Congress because he would not provide names of other “communists.”

13. Salem Witch Trials

14. Salem Witch Trial Facts
19 people executed (hanged)
2 dogs executed as suspected accomplices
5 people died in jail, awaiting trial or sentencing
1 person died under torture
Pressed to death by stones
47 people confessed to witchcraft
Over 160 accused of witchcraft

15. Salem Witch Trial Facts (cont.)
Most cases began based on spectral evidence.
Based upon dreams and visions.
Accused “sent” his/her spirit out of the body to harm or harass accuser.

16. What would you claim? If one confessed… If claimed innocent…
Name other witches
Retain land & possessions
They would live!
If claimed innocent…
Possessions taken and sold
Family left homeless
No legacy for offspring
Death by hanging

17. Causes of the Hysteria
Honest belief that evil forces were working in the world.
Ergot poisoning – caused by a fungus growing on rotting grains (same fungus from which LSD is derived).
Teenage boredom (most accusations came from a group of 8 young girls).
Politics, feuds, and greed.

18. crucible  
1. metallurgy container for melting something:  a heat-resistant container in which ores or metals are melted  testing circumstances: a place or set of circumstances where people or things are subjected to forces that test them and often make them change.

19. allegory
symbolic work: a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning.

20. motivation
  giving of reason to act: the act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to do something

21. Arthur Miller & The Crucible
QUIZ

22. 1) Arthur Miller worked “blue collar”
jobs as a young man.
TRUE or FALSE

23. 2) Arthur Miller wrote all of the
following plays, except
Death of a Salesman
The Crucible
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Man Who Had All the Luck

24. 3) Arthur Miller’s plays did NOT
include this key criteria
Social commentary
Moral dilemmas
Political commentary
Comical dilemmas

25. 4) After World War II, America and
the USSR initiated in all of the
following except
The Cold War
Mutually Assured Destruction
Nuclear Arms Race
International “stare down”

26. 5) The special congressional
committee that gathered information
about communist plots and people
was called
FBI
HUAC
NRA
HVAC

27. 6) This U.S. politician led the
communist “witch hunt” in the
1940’s and 1950’s.
Paul McCartney
Jenny McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Marilyn Monroe

28. 7) The consequences for confessing
to witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts
during 1692 were less than if you
claimed your innocence.
TRUE or FALSE

29. 8) The root cause of the Salem Witch
Trials was NOT due to the following
Teenage boredom
Belief in evil forces
Native American attacks
Ergot poisoning

30. 9) A work in which the characters and
events are to be understood as
representing other things.
Analogy
Alliteration
Anachronism
Allegory

31. 10) Senator Joseph McCarthy’s
lust for fame is one _____________
for his abuse of his congressional
powers.
scapegoat
motivation
memory
excuse

32. **BONUS**
A crucible is a heat-resistant
container in which wood is burned.
TRUE or FALSE

33. QUIZ ANSWERS True A Streetcar Named Desire Comical dilemmas
Mutually Assured Destruction
HUAC
Joseph McCarthy
False
Native American attacks
Allegory
motivation
BONUS: False

34. Work Cited
Encarta Dictionary. Encarta, Microsoft. Web. 7 Aug < Ruedin. “Arthur Miller and the Crucible” PowerPoint Presentation for English III, < _Miller_and_The_Crucible_presentation_notes.pdf .> Spring 2004