The Crucible
Arthur Miller
Crucible Definition
A ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected
to very high temperatures.
a place or occasion of severe test or trial.
"the crucible of combat"
a place or situation in which different elements interact to produce something new.
"the crucible of the new Romantic movement"
Salem Witch
Trials
Versus
McCarthyism
Salem Witch Trials
1692-1693
Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts
20 people executed.
12 women were previously accused in MA and CT.
First “witch” who hanged was Bridget Bishop.
More than 150 people were accused between February and September 1692.
Why Witches???
1.Salem Village was the edge of the known universe for the
Puritans. What was out there: evil, savages, etc.
2. The harsh realities of Puritan life: illness, starvation, recent
Smallpox pandemic, British/French war that affected the
colonies, rivalry with Salem Town (Salem), and fear of Native
American attacks.
3. Fear of the outside.
4. Resentment of neighbors.
*** Witches, according to the Puritan beliefs, were given
supernatural powers by the Devil to harm others, in return for
their service.
Two real causes for the “possessions”.
Epilepsy
Fungus
In an effort to explain by scientific
means the strange afflictions suffered
by those "bewitched" Salem residents
in 1692, a study published in Science
magazine in 1976 cited the fungus
ergot (found in rye, wheat and other
cereals), which toxicologists say can
cause symptoms such as delusions,
vomiting and muscle spasms.
a group of neurological diseases
characterized by epileptic seizures:
episodes that can vary from brief
and nearly undetectable to long
periods of vigorous shaking.[4] In
epilepsy, seizures tend to recur, and
have no immediate underlying
cause while seizures that occur due
to a specific cause are not deemed
to represent epilepsy.
Hysteria
Definition: exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or
excitement, especially among a group of people.
http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials
Sexism in Puritan Society
Women were considered weaker and morally feabler. The women condemned
were usually single and/or did not follow Puritanism to the letter of the law.
Possessed: Betty Parris (9 years old) and Abigail Williams (11 years old)
- Daughter and niece of Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem Village.
-Several other girls in the community exhibited similar symptoms.
-Parris’ Caribbean slave, Tituba was arrested. (Fear of the unknown)
- Tituba confessed.
The Results
Decided later that hearsay and spectral evidence (dreams,
visions, etc.) shouldn’t be treated as the same type of
evidence as any other crime.
“It would be better that 10 suspected witches go free than 1
innocent person be condemned.”
McCarthyism
Senator Joe McCarthy
1. Mediocre Republican Senator from Wisconsin.
2. Possibly made up accusation about Communists in the State Dept.
3. Created HUAC - The House Un-American Activities Committee - to root
out all Communist sympathizers in the US.
4. HUAC was based on fear and paranoia.
McCarthy - Continued
The Communist Witch Hunt
1. “Alleged” Communists were summoned before HUAC.
1. They were asked distorted questions to link them to Russia or Communist
ideology.
3. Never had any real evidence. McCarthy used old paperwork against them that
didn’t prove anything, and would create “evidence” that was never allowed to be
viewed by anyone but him. When he was cornered. He would resort to sayings
like “it’s not my fault you are too stupid to understand.”
1. Results: Blacklisted (isolated professionally - so others won’t interact with
you for fear of being linked to Communism), isolated, and/or isolated from
the US for over 30 years.
Famous Blacklisted “Communists”
1. Arthur Miller
2. Humphrey Bogart
3. Katherine Hepburn
4. James Cagney
5. Dalton Trumbo
6. Charlie Chaplin
7. Lloyd Bridges
8. Langston Hughes
9. Pete Seeger
10.Orson Welles
11.Harry Belafonte
Communism
in
Hollywood !!!