Historical Background for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

1. The Witch Salem Trials Historical Background for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

2. What is a witch hunt? • Literal: an effort to find and eliminate people who are practicing witchcraft • Figurative: an effort to discover and expose disloyalty or subversion, accusations of which are generally based on weak or inaccurate evidence • e.g. Witch hunt for Communists in America during the Red Scare • e.g. Witch hunt for terrorists after 9/11

3. Burning a witch at the stake was a method of execution used during the Inquisition

4. People had real fears of demons and witchcraft

5. What were some common beliefs about witches? • The Bible condemns the practice of witchcraft • Witches considered servants of Satan • Puritans were extremely fearful of witchcraft and black magic • Puritan communities wanted to eliminate witches because they desired a pure, Godly society • Witches were tortured and often executed by state and church authorities • Puritans considered women, children, and people with mental disabilities weak and therefore more vulnerable to the Devil’s advances

7. What were some methods used to test suspected witches? • “Swimming a witch” • Searching for the “Devil’s mark” • Testing knowledge of the Bible

8. Looking for the “Devil’s mark”

9. How did the trials begin? • Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, two young girls, show signs of “affliction” • Tituba, the servant in the Parris house, is accused of teaching the girls witchcraft • Tituba claims that there are other witches in Salem • Hysteria spreads through the community • Other outcasts in the community are soon accused • Official court is established to question the accused

10. What happened next? • More girls claim to be “afflicted” • Accusations escalate • Over 100 people in Salem and the surrounding area are accused • Soon, even respected members of the community are accused • Some start to question the girls’ claims, and they are soon accused as well

11. A women pleads with the court as her accuser writhes on the ground

12. What evidence was used to convict the accused? • No actual evidence • “Spectral evidence” allowed by the court • Spectral evidence was a claim by an afflicted girl that a witch’s evil spirit had attacked her • Only the girl who was being attacked could see the evil spirit • The court believed the girls’ claims • Ironically, a confession of guilt saved the accused • Denying an accusation resulted in conviction

13. How did the trials end? • The afflicted girls start to accuse people outside of the Salem area, including the wives of prominent ministers and the wife of the governor • The girls lose credibility because of these outlandish claims • Governor officially terminates the court • In the end, over 200 people were accused • 19 were hanged for practicing witchcraft • 4 died in prison • One man was crushed to death for refusing to cooperate with the court

14. What are some theories that have been developed to explain the trials? • Puritans were trying to rid their communities of outcasts who didn’t meet their holy standards • The girls were bored and wanted some excitement • Tensions in the community caused neighbors to turn on each other • Tainted grain caused the girls and others to hallucinate (ergot poisoning) • The girls actually believed they were possessed

15. What are some characteristics of Puritan culture that contributed to these events? • Wanted to create a “city on a hill” in the New World, established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in modern-day Boston area • Believed they were on a holy mission to purify society • Religion was at the center of all aspects of life • Theocracy • Extremely strict • Intolerant of disparate views • Stressed importance of community and therefore did not encourage individualism

17. How do modern people generally think of the Puritans? • Negative view of Puritan culture • Excessively strict • Self-righteous • Intolerant • One good thing: the Puritan work ethic • Another good thing: Puritan schooling system

18. When and why did Arthur Miller write his play The Crucible? • Wrote the play in 1953 • Used the Salem Witch Trials as an allegory (a symbolic story) • He was comparing the Puritans’ irrational fear of witches to his society’s irrational fear of Communists • Fear of Communism was rampant during the 1950s • Many were suspicious that Communist spies were in our country gathering information for the Soviets • People with liberal social and political views (many artists) were unfairly accused, and their reputations were damaged as a result

19. Crucible The Film: 1996 Play: 1953 Arthur Miller

20. The Red Scare