The Crucible
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller was an American
playwright who was born in 1915. His
Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer
prize in 1949. Miller wrote The Crucible
in 1953 during the McCarthy period
when Americans were accusing each
other of Pro-Communist beliefs. Many
of Miller’s friends were being attacked as
communists and in 1956, Miller himself
was brought before the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee where he
was found guilty of beliefs in
communism. The verdict was reversed
in 1957 in an appeals court.
Plot

The Crucible is set against the
backdrop of the mad witch hunts
of the Salem witch trials in the
late 17th century. It is about a
town, after accusations from a
few girls, which begins a mad
hunt for witches that did not
exist. Many townspeople were
hanged on charges of
witchcraft. Miller brings out the
absurdity of the incident with the
theme of truth and
righteousness. The theme is
conveyed through the struggles of
Miller’s main character, John
Proctor.
Plot (cont.)


There is a feud between the Putnam and the Nurse
families. They are both wealthy land owners and the
Nurses are very respected in town. These families each
supported a different minister. The Nurses supported
Reverend Parris.
The Proctors preferred to worship in their own house.
They felt that the church under Reverend Parris was
becoming too materialistic and drifted away from the
purpose of the church. Rebecca Nurse was the midwife
to the Putnams, she aided the delivery of the babies. Mrs
Putnam had eight children, seven of which died, and the
Putnams felt that Mrs Nurse had put a curse on the
children when they died.
Background Information

The play occurs during the
seventeenth and eighteenth century
Salem Witch trials and involves the
Puritan beliefs and religion. They were
very religious. They felt that people
could form pacts with the devil. The
devil would do actions for them in this
life and then when they died he would
have their souls. They believed in
witches and felt that they could cast
spells on people. The Puritans believed
that there were certain signs of a
witch.
Characters

Each character in the
play has his own distinct
quality. Most characters
are distinctly good or
evil, though few
characters are really
developed. The reader
is only able to see one
side of each character.
Setting

The play takes place in Salem,
Massachusetts during the 17
century. Since this play is based
on a true story, the setting is real.
The events within this play occur
in a Puritan society where the
community is very superstitious
and gullible. Due to these facts,
the people are very fearful of
witches. People in the story were
too supernatural to believe the
girls in the play.
Style

Miller’s style is very
simple. He uses simple
sentences and words which
are easy to understand. He
brings out the evil quality of
Abigail and the other girls as
well as the gullibility of the
judges. While using a simple
style, Miller maintains the
suspense in the plot. The
dialogues of his characters
are created to sound like
actual speech.
Theme

The theme of the play is rising over adversity
and standing for truth. Through Proctor’s
struggle, Miller displays the struggles within
each of our own hearts. Many times we witness
some sort of wrong-doing to another person and
choose to not get involved. However, some
people fight to do what is right, just like John
Proctor in the story. Would you quit after only
saving someone close to you, like Proctor could
have done, or would you go for the entire
community as Proctor did?
Conclusion

The story reminds its readers of an ugly
blemish on human history. It reminds us
that man is not perfect, and that we can
make mistakes. However, even with these
mistakes, we can overcome them by
making what is wrong right. The
sufferings become to the sufferer like a
crucible.
The Salem Witch Trials
The people of Salem who
believed in witches were no
different from their
counterparts in England
and the rest of Europe.
Belief in the existence of
witches had been prevalent
throughout the earlier
centuries and continued
into the 17th century.
Salem was simply a
microcosm of the larger
macrocosm.
McCarthy Hearings

During the McCarthy hearings (1950’s)
many innocent people were accused of being traitors
(communists, mainly) to our country and, while they were not
physically harmed, their professional and personal lives were
ruined by this adverse publicity, which was often untrue.
During this period also (as in Salem) many supposed “good
people” participated in the accusations against others
because they were afraid that if they refused to do so their
own lives would be ruined. Miller is thus drawing a parallel
between two periods of hysteria in our country, though far
apart in time, that are dangerously close in ideology. (Guidon
study materials)
Historical Applications

The McCarthy trials were in full force when Miller wrote
this story, so this story closely relates to these trials.
During the 1950's, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused
many American leaders of being communists. This led to
many unfounded accusations of people being communist
party members. Some people believed McCarthy because
they were fearful of communism and he played on those
fears. McCarthy was, in effect, conducting "witch hunts".
If any person opposed the Salem Witch trials, he or she
was accused of being a witch. If any person opposed the
McCarthy investigations, he or she was accused of being
a communist.