The Crucible

1. The Crucible Arthur Miller

2. Arthur Miller • The son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915, in New York City, died 2002. • Married 3 times: • First wife Mary Slattery was his college sweetheart. • Second wife Marilyn Monroe • Inge Morath

3. Miller & Marilyn

4. His daughter, Rebecca Miller, is married to Daniel Day Lewis, who starred in the film version of ‘The Crucible’(1996).

5. The Crucible • The Crucible was written in 1953. • It is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials that took place during 1692 and 1693. • Today it is studied all around the world because of its exploration of justice and its reflections on 1950’s America.

6. Allegory • Miller wrote the play as an allegory to McCarthyism. • An allegory is like a long metaphor. People have to use their imagination to understand what it is trying to say. A fableis a short allegory with a moral. It is often used as a way of criticizing things or people where it would not be possible to do so directly. For example: • Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels, which tells about the strange customs of made-up countries, but he was really criticizing things about his own country, the UK. • Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory of the Soviet Union during the Russian Revolution.

7. Joseph McCarthy

8. McCarthyism • Senator Joseph McCarthy gained popularity by claiming there was a communist threat from Russia. • Many people in America were frightened by communism post WW2. • Many people, including intellectuals and celebrities, were arraigned before the court, ostracized and condemned. • Miller himself was questioned by the House of Representatives Committee on Un -American Activities Committee in 1956 and convicted of "contempt of Congress" for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.

9. Puritans • In 1692 the majority of residents in Salem ( the setting of The Crucible )were Puritans. • Salem was a theocratic society. • The Puritans left England after disputing the authority of the King, claiming that the head of the church was Christ not the King. • They believed in the supreme power of God and were frightened by the devil. • People were expected to go to church and observe the Sabbath. • Religious leaders were powerful members of society.

10. Puritans • Society was hierarchical. Husband over wife, parents over children and masters over servants. • They disapproved of Christmas celebrations, festivities on a Saturday night, games of chance, drama and dancing. • They valued education, believing that all should be able to read the bible and the law. • People who did not conform were accused of witchcraft.

11. Salem Witch Trials • The trials took place in 1692. • No other community experienced such widespread panic and terror. • At first the Puritans wished to convert the Native Americans. When they resisted, the Puritans decided they were agents of the devil who had to be destroyed. • There were also rival factions in the community. • A slave, Tituba from Barbados, was an exotic presence for the young girls of a repressed colony and fuelled the fires of suspicion.