Weeks 5-8
Mrs. Barnett
English 3
The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Born in 1915 to Jewish
immigrant parents
After graduating from the
University of Michigan,
Miller worked as a
freelance writer in New
York
Miller’s Life
• He had 3 marriages: to Mary Grace
Slattery, to Marilyn Monroe,
and to Inge Morath
• He won a Pulitzer Prize, 2 Drama
Circle Critic Awards, 7 Tony
Awards, an Obie, the JFK
Lifetime Achievement Award,
and others
• He received honorary doctorates
from Harvard University and
Oxford University
• Miller died Feb. 11, 2005
Miller’s Plays
•1944 The Man Who Had All the Luck
opened to horrible reviews
•1947 All My Sons was an instant success. It
was concerned with morality in the face
of lies and desperation
•1949 Death of a Salesman, about a little man
living a little life, was a Pulitzer Prize
winner
•1953 The Crucible, set in Salem in the late
1600s, served as an indictment of
McCarthyism of the 1950s
McCarthyism
“In the 1950s, McCarthyism meant a brave,
patriotic stand against Communism. It had the
support of the media and the American people.
Now it has come to mean a smear campaign of
groundless accusations from which the accused
cannot escape, because professions of innocence
become admission of guilt and only confessions
are accepted.”
- Kenneth C. Davis in Don’t Know
Much About History
The House UnAmerican Activities
Committee (HUAC)
• The Committee was established in 1937 to
investigate subversive activities
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It supposedly investigated both left and
right wing political groups (investigated
Klan activities at one point, but closed the
case without finding any evidence of
subversive activities. The committee
chairman, Martin Dies, was a Klan
member)
The House UnAmerican Activities
Committee (HUAC)
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In 1947 the Committee began an
investigation of the Hollywood motion
picture industry
• HUAC required those who testified to
admit to Communist party affiliations and
to “name names”
• HUAC “blacklisted” writers – over 300
writers were barred from working in film
The “Hollywood 10”
• They were writers
accused of Communist
activities in 1947 by
HUAC
• They refused to answer
Committee questions,
citing the 5th Amendment
• They were found guilty of
contempt of Congress and
sentenced to 6 –12
months in prison
1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt
US playwright Arthur Miller has been
convicted of contempt of Congress. The
conviction relates to an investigation last
year by the House of Representatives' UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) into
a Communist conspiracy to misuse
American passports.
During the investigation 41-year-old Mr
Miller, who is married to Hollywood movie
star Marilyn Monroe, refused to reveal the
names of alleged Communist writers with
whom he had attended five or six meetings
in New York in 1947.
He was said to be co-operative in all other
aspects of the hearing but told the
committee his conscience would not permit
him to give the names of others and bring
possible trouble to them.
Arthur Miller had close
associations with the
Communist party
1958:
Arthur Miller cleared of contempt
Washington's Court of Appeals overturned playwright
Arthur Miller's conviction for contempt of Congress after a
two-year legal battle. In May of 1957, a judge convicted
Miller for refusing to tell the House of Un-American
Activities Committee (HUAC) the names of alleged
Communist writers with whom he attended five or six
meetings in New York in 1947.
He had been questioned by the HUAC in 1956 over a
supposed Communist conspiracy to misuse American
passports and willingly answered all questions about
himself.
But the playwright, married to actress Marilyn Monroe,
refused to name names on a point of principle saying: "I
could not use the name of another person and bring trouble
on him.“
Arthur Miller later said his trial only went
ahead because he had refused one of the
members of the HUAC permission to be
photographed with Marilyn Monroe.
Miller on The Crucible
"A political policy is equated with moral right,
and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."
The Crucible serves as an allegory for the
activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the
House Un-American Activities Committee.
ALLEGORY
Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in
which objects, persons, and actions in a
narrative, are equated with the meanings that
lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying
meaning has moral, social, religious, or
political significance.
Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings,
a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.
Symbols and Motifs
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Crucible
Poppet
“God’s icy wind”
“my name”
Golden candlesticks
Look for other motifs as you read
The word “crucible” has many meanings
and connotations, including
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A container that resists heat
A melting pot
A fire or furnace
A trial or difficult ordeal
A Poppet is a small doll
• It was given to
Elizabeth as a
peace offering
• The doll was
corrupted by
Abigail and used as
a weapon against
Elizabeth
Theme Development
Trace the following themes as you read
•Hypocrisy
•Guilt
•Revenge
•Hysteria
•Authority
•Integrity and courage
•Judgment
•Power
Reverend John Hale
Church
authority
on
demonology
Deputy Governor Danforth
• Presiding judge at
Salem and highest
authority
• Supremely
confident
• Represents combined
authority of church
and state
Judge Hathorne
• Danforth’s
cruel, vengeful
deputy
• Fawns on
Danforth
• Contemptuous of
the townspeople
Lesser officers of the court
• Ezekial Cheever
–a tailor appointed as an officer of
the court
• Marshall Herrick
–keeper of the peace
Vocabulary
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inert
marauded
heathen
theology
citadel
propriety
ail
vindictive
resentment
intimations
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contention
naïve
partisan
faction
hypocrite
arbitrate
prodigious
entity
fathom
drastic
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defamation
anarchy
ascertain
scrutiny
diabolism
yeomanry
fiend
licentious
heifer
magistrates
Assignments
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Arthur Miller Notes
Opinionaire # 11
Characters Profile #12
The Crucible: Vocabulary
Act 1 Study Guide (3 parts) #13
“What Ails Ye?” Handout #14
Act 2 Study Guide #15
“Your Loss Is My Gain” Handout #16
Act 3 Study Guide #17
Act 4 Study Guide #18
Character’s Profiles #19
Character Web Project #20
Test #21
Information
• Character Profile information
Good reading!!!!!!!!!