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The Crucible

The Crucible. By Arthur Miller Presentation will include information on: -Biography -Modern Theater . Biography: Arthur Miller. Born in Manhattan (upscale Harlem) on Oct. 17, 1915. Parents were Jewish immigrants. His father worked in the garment/textile industry. .

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The Crucible

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  1. The Crucible By Arthur Miller Presentation will include information on: -Biography -Modern Theater

  2. Biography: Arthur Miller • Born in Manhattan (upscale Harlem) on Oct. 17, 1915. • Parents were Jewish immigrants. His father worked in the garment/textile industry.

  3. Biography: Arthur Miller • In 1928, his father’s business failed. • After the stock market crash of 1929, the family moved to Brooklyn. • Miller graduated from high school, but he had to work in order to save money for college.

  4. Biography: Arthur Miller • He attended the University of Michigan in 1934. • College experience matured his writing style and skills as well as developed his ideas and involvement in social causes. • He wrote many plays that dealt with issues within the family structure. Miller also created characters who faced social inequities. • Miller was greatly influenced by Henrik Ibsen (father of modern drama).

  5. Biography: Miller • Miller was married three times, once to Marilyn Monroe. • Continued to write plays and essays until his death in 2005. • His daughter, Rebecca Miller is also an director/actress/writer. She was a consultant for the film version of The Crucible (1996).

  6. Miller in the 1950s • McCarthyism (or Red Scare) took place in the 1950s. • Miller wrote The Crucible, which discussed the paranoia of communism of the that decade. • This play brought him under the scrutiny of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC), and his career barely survived this experience.

  7. Senator Joseph McCarthy(1908-1957) • Obtained his law degree in 1935 • Became senator of Wisconsin in 1946 • He made a public accusation that more than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government. • It was the beginning of a five year "hunt" for communists working in the US Government. • He created and headed the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC).

  8. Senator McCarthy • In 1952 Senator McCarthy chaired a series of televised investigations. • HUAAC investigated communism in the motion picture industry—mostly targeting writers. • HUAAC also released a booklet called Red Channels, names of people in the radio and broadcasting industry who were suspected of communism. • There was never any proof or evidence of his accusations, but people became paranoid of communism. • Sen. McCarthy’s investigations nonetheless ended many careers and damaged a good number of lives.

  9. Why the motion picture industry? Dalton Trumbo, screenwriter, under investigation Actors protesting against HUAAC and defending 1st Amendment

  10. Realism in Modern Theater The Crucible • First published/performed in 1953 • Time Period/Setting: 1692 • Realism: An attempt to reproduce faithfully the surface appearance of life, especially of ordinary people. • Expressionism: distorting reality to create an emotional effect, especially emotional angst.

  11. Modern Theater continued… • Playwrights in the Modern Theater also experimented with TIME to provide a more novelistic experience for audiences. • Although Miller sets this play in 1692, he makes contemporary allusions to the modern “witch hunt” of the 1950s. • Playwrights dealt with social issues • Miller explores the conflicts of man vs. society (John Proctor vs the Church), man vs. self (John Proctor dealing with issues of infidelity and conscience)

  12. New Salem, MA

  13. Villagers’ Houses

  14. Brick and Mortar Foundation for a church

  15. The Stocks

  16. Churches of New America and Europe

  17. Witch Hunting • Salem Witch Museum: http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/index.php • Check out the Salem Witch Trials link

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