The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Witch-Hunt
 How do you define “witch-hunt”?
 Examples of a “witch-hunt”?
The Crucible
 A play / drama
 Written by Arthur Miller
 Published in 1953
 Set in 1692 in the Plymouth Bay Colony, during the
“Salem Witch Trials”
 However, it’s an allegory for a “modern day witch hunt”
What does
“crucible”
mean?
• A severe and exhausting test
• A place or situation in which
concentrated forces interact to
cause or influence change or
development
• A vessel of a very refractory
material (as porcelain) used for
melting a substance that requires
a high degree of heat
The Salem Witch Trials
 Like all Puritans, the residents
of Salem Village believed in
witches
 Witchcraft: “entering into a
compact with the devil in
exchange for certain evil
powers”
 Witchcraft is a sin and a crime;
it was a serious accusation that
was thoroughly investigated
Salem Witch Trials
 Early 1692: witchcraft hysteria hits Salem
 Why?
 Isolated lives of the Puritans
 Starvation, disease, fears of the frontier, and severe
weather = it must have been the work of the Devil!
How It Began
 The daughter and niece of Rev. Samuel Parris began
having fits of convulsions, hallucinations, and screaming
 Upon a doctor’s examination, he concluded that
witchcraft could be the only conclusion (as per a recently
published book about witchcraft)
 Girls accused Tituba, Rev. Parris’ slave, along with Sarah
Good and Sarah Osborn, sparking a massive “witch
hunt”
The Result
 Over eight months, 150 people were imprisoned for
witchcraft
 27 convictions
 19 hanged
 1 pressed to death
But really . . . Why?
 Politics: it was an opportunity for some people to “settle”
land disputes
 Spoiled food: ergot
 Disease: enchephalitis, Lyme disease
 As mentioned earlier . . . Fear, isolation, etc.
“Witch-Hunt”
 The events that unfolded in Salem lead to the modern day
term, witch-hunt
 Witch-hunt: an intensive effort to discover and expose
disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based
on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.
(dictionary.com)

actually used to harass and undermine those with differing
views
Which brings us to . . .
McCarthyism
 Senator Joe McCarthy (R),
Wisconsin, 1947-1957

Notorious figure of the Cold
War
 Gained power by manipulating
America’s fear of Communism
 Accused several prominent
figures of subversion and
communism
HUAC
 House Un-American Activities Committee
 Beginning in the late 1940’s, it called witnesses and
investigated the entertainment industry for possible
subversive behavior
 Several directors and screenwriters refused to cooperate
and were imprisoned
 “blacklisted”: entertainment industry refused to hire
artists and writers suspected of being Communists
Joseph McCarthy
 Claimed that communists had infiltrated the Department
of State
 Over 300 people in the film industry were “blacklisted”
 1954: career collapses when the Senate censured him for
false accusations and abusing his colleagues
 However, “McCarthyism” continued in many areas of
American society
Arthur Miller
 1915-2005
 American playwright and
screenwriter
 Married to Marilyn Monroe
for 5 years (1956-1961)
 Wrote several famous plays
including Death of a Salesman,
The Crucible, and All My Sons
Arthur Miller
 Published The Crucible in 1953
 The Crucible was an allegory for McCarthyism
 Allegory: figurative treatment of one subject under the
guise of another; a symbolic or metaphorical narrative
 In other words, The Crucible was an allegory because it was
really about McCarthyism
Miller’s Beliefs
 Miller felt that the hysteria surrounding the witch trials in
Salem paralleled the climate of McCarthyism
 He used The Crucible to attack Senator McCarthy
 After publication of The Crucible, Miller was investigated
by the HUAC for possible associations with the
Communist Party
 Miller admitted to attending meetings, but refused to give
up names of colleagues. He was found guilty of
contempt, but his sentence was overturned
Summary
 Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory
 Salem Witch Trials paralleled McCarthyism
 The play deals with a climate of mass hysteria