By Arthur Miller
Background

background revisited
 Although the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts were persecuted for their religious beliefs while they lived in England, they showed very little tolerance to non-Puritans who settled among them in their new colony.
 Some historians suggest that some of the witchcraft accusations were used to enforce
Puritan religious orthodoxy.

Views on Puritanism




Puritan Decline
 Increase and Cotton Mather
(father and son) tried to reverse the decline
 Increase: pastor of Second
Church of Boston, president of Harvard, and an agent for colony in England.
 Both were (some say unfairly) seen as
“monsters” of Puritanism
 Both believed that the
“possessed” should be treated with fasting and prayer rather than execution
 Both were shaken from influential positions by public reaction to Salem
Witch Trials.

 Written by Arthur Miller in 1953.
 In the 1950s, the United
States and Soviet Union were deeply involved in the “Cold War” amid an atmosphere of extreme distrust and suspicion.
 Many Americans feared the country had been infiltrated by Communist spies who where plotting to overthrow the government.

Great Fear”
 Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy exploited the fears of those who believed that the Communist threat was real.
 Throughout the decade, he led an effort against individuals who promoted progressive social agendas or were sympathetic to civil rights. These people were persecuted and “blacklisted,” meaning, in part, that they had trouble keeping or finding jobs.
 The McCarthy congressional hearings fueled public paranoia, and extraordinary measures were taken to eradicate the domestic presence of the “Red
Menace.”
 From “The Great Fear” by J. Ronald Oakley

Great Fear”
 “The Great Fear” author J.
Ronald Oakley states that
“Ironically, the greatest threat to American freedom in the Fifties was not the communism that was feared by so many, but the spread of irrational anti-communism and the rise of right wingers and fascists who were willing to suspend civil liberties and other constitutional rights and freedoms in order to fight an overblown communist threat.”

 Arthur Miller was drawn to the parallels between McCarthy’s crusade and the
Puritan witch hunt of
Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600s.
 Miller saw the Salem witch-hunters and
McCarthy as similar fanatics.



The story
 There is a plague in
Salem: a plague of fear.
 Betty Parris, the daughter of the town’s minister, is sick. She lies in bed in a trance; then tries to jump out of a window; then screams when her father prays over her.

The story
 What the community doesn’t initially know is that Betty and several other girls have been dancing in the woods and having their fortunes told by Tituba, the
Parris’s Barbados slave.
 It’s weird, it’s creepy, it’s unbecoming behavior for
Puritan girls – but it’s more silly than anything else.

The story
 Nonetheless, the girls are nervous they will get in trouble – and rumors are already spreading that Betty is under a witch’s spell.
 Parris calls in a renowned minister, Rev. Hale, to examine his daughter and his niece, Abigail Williams, who lives with him.
 Hale determines the girls are under a witch’s spell.
 The girls start falsely accusing people in the community of practicing witchcraft.
 The hunt – and the hysteria – is on.

The story
 Abigail is the ringleader with a motive. After a brief romantic relationship with
John Proctor – a local farmer who hired Abigail to help Proctor’s wife,
Elizabeth, around the house – Abigail wants to get rid of Elizabeth.
 Proctor, wracked with guilt, wants nothing to do with Abigail. He will do anything to save his wife.
 Abigail won’t give up.

The play: historical background
 In Act 1 of the play,
Abigail and the girls are said to have engaged in
Dionysian rites.
 Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, and in classical mythology, his presence was said to inspire wild celebrations.

The play: historical background
 When the Salem witch hunt was at its height, the girls who were involved in the “crying out” became colonial celebrities.
 The girls were often taken on long journeys and entertained by some of the finest families in
Massachusetts.

The play: historical background
 In Act three, John
Proctor will refuse to compromise with Judge
Danforth and abandon his friends.
 Many critics have drawn comparisons between
Proctor’s behavior and
Arthur Miller’s own testimony when he was called before the House
Committee on Un-
American activities to answer questions about his involvement related somehow to the
Communist Party.

 “The Lesson of Salem”
 “The witch trials represent more than just a creepy moment in history: They stand for the terrible victory of prejudice over reason, and fear over courage.”
 “Social and civic antagonism … made the community fertile ground for a witch hunt.”
 “Perhaps the best way to identify a witch hunt, today or 300 years ago, is to look for fear, because fear spawns witches.”

controversy


controversy
 Last summer, Minnesota
Rep. Michelle Bachmann and four other Republican
Congress persons sent letters to several federal agencies inquiring about whether the Muslim
Brotherhood is infiltrating the American government.
 Their main target, based on circumstantial evidence, is Huma Abedin: a top aide to former
Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.

controversy
 Two sides presented in USA
Today editorial:
 Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), one of the five House members who asked for the investigation:
 “The controversy over letters requesting investigations by inspectors general into Muslim
Brotherhood influence is not about any one individual. It is about the failure of our government — in the name of political correctness — to enforce its own laws and policies to protect this country from hostile foreign influences.”

controversy
 USA Today editorial view:
 “Five Republican House members…seem determined to pick up where McCarthy left off. Only this time, they see
Islamists under every bed instead of communists.
 “Islamic extremism obviously is a threat to the U.S. But so are members of Congress who slime patriotic Muslim
Americans. By mimicking
McCarthy's tactics, they invite his fate: a well-deserved fall into oblivion and disgrace.”

controversy
 In small groups, please address the following:
 How do you define the “politics of fear”?
 In a modern context, people obviously are not looking for “witches.” So what is at the core of the phrase “witch hunt?”
 Identify and discuss an incident involving your generation (in or out of school) where fear spawned widespread wild rumors, accusations, etc.

 In small groups, please address the following:
 How do you define the “politics of fear”?
 In a modern context, people obviously are not looking for
“witches.” So what is at the core of the phrase “witch hunt?”
 Make a list of how the McCarthy era of the 1950s is alike and different from what’s happening now.
 Compare the A. Power Davies quote at the bottom of page
208 in “The Great Fear” to John McCain’s quote on page 2 of the USA Today editorial. What are both speakers saying?
 Rhetoric: Find three words in paragraph 2 of “The Great
Fear” that indicate the author’s subjective viewpoint or opinion about McCarthy.

 Review the viewing guide. Know the main characters and their relationships.
 Review the articles “The Lesson of Salem” : trace the history of witch hunts; “Her Muslim Witch Hunt. Know the basic argument in each editorial position.
 Take another look at this PowerPoint, including slides about McCarthyism.
