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The Crucible

The Crucible. By Arthur Miller (1915 – 2005). Arthur Miller. Born in New York City In high school he was more involved in sports than in literature. After high school, Miller applied to the University of Michigan. His grades were not good enough for a scholarship.

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The Crucible

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  1. The Crucible By Arthur Miller (1915 – 2005)

  2. Arthur Miller • Born in New York City • In high school he was more involved in sports than in literature. • After high school, Miller applied to the University of Michigan. • His grades were not good enough for a scholarship. • The Great Depression left his father unable to finance his tuition.

  3. Arthur Miller • He worked in an automobile parts plant for two years to earn money for college. • He eventually enrolled in the University of Michigan, and began to write plays to help finance his education. • After graduation, he returned to NY and earned a living writing radio scripts.

  4. Arthur Miller • Miller’s first Broadway success, All My Sons, was produced in 1947 and won the New York Drama Critics’ award for the Best Play. • Theme: The need for moral responsibility in families and societies.

  5. Arthur Miller • In 1949, he produced Death of a Salesman. • He joined the pantheon of the great American playwrights. • Miller’s next play, The Crucible , was produced in 1953.

  6. The Crucible • Plot is about a witch hunt that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts • In that witch hunt, Miller found parallels to the “Red Hunt” being conducted in the 1950s in Washington, D.C. by Senator Joseph McCarthy. • Writers, actors, politicians, etc. were summoned to appear before McCarthy to answer the question, “Are you now or were you ever a Communist?” • Those summoned were required to inform on their neighbors and friends or be sent to jail.

  7. The Crucible • Three years after the production of The Crucible in NY, Miller was summoned before a congressional committee. • He admitted to being a guest at Communist meetings in the past, but refused to name names of others in attendance. • Miller was found to be in contempt of Congress, but his conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

  8. The Crucible • The Crucible was not successful in its first production. • Some critics questioned the comparison between the old witch hunts and the contemporary hunt for Communists in government. • In a later production, supervised by Miller himself, the play ran for over six hundred performances. • It is now Miller’s most produced play.

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