The Crucible
Background
The Author: Arthur Miller
Born in NYC in 1915.
 Awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1949.
 Other well-known plays of his
include Death of a Salesman and A
View from the Bridge.
 Known not only for his writing, but
also his marriage to Marilyn
Monroe.

The Crucible
The Crucible was published in 1953.
 It is a play concerning the moral choices
people must make under irrational
community pressure, otherwise known as
mob mentality.
 In particular, it focuses on the Salem Witch
Trials in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts.
 Salem, Mass. was a Puritan town at the
time.
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 Where
did they come
from and why did
they come to
America?
 What
did they
believe and what
were their lifestyles
like?
 Puritanism
began in England in the late
1500’s as a religious and political movement.
 Recall: What
was the Protestant Reformation
and what are Protestants?
 Puritans
were Protestants who sought to
“purify” English Protestantism. They felt the
Protestant Reformation had not gone far
enough in breaking away from Catholicism.
 Protestantism
= branch of Christianity
that had broken off from Roman
Catholicism due to different
interpretations of the Bible and views of
church practices. The break was known
as the Reformation.
 Puritans
were more conservative than
most Protestants in England at the time,
which is why they chose to relocate.
 The
Puritans came
from England.
 Massachusetts
Bay
Colony, 1630 = first
Puritan settlement
in America.
The Puritans are often
confused with Pilgrims.
 The Pilgrims came to
America in 1620 (10
years earlier) and
founded the Plymouth
colony in the same
area.
 They are similar, but
Puritans are still more
conservative in their
religion.

 The
principles of Puritanism were a
strong sense of sin and fear of divine
vengeance. (?)
 The Puritans viewed all pleasures as the
temptations of Satan.
 Therefore, they banned music, dancing,
and the theater.
 They were supposed to live simple,
hardworking lives completely devoted to
religion.
 How
could a society filled with Puritans
lend itself to accusations of witchcraft?
 Why would people be accused of being
witches? What could they have done?
 Why were women the main targets for
accusation?
Reception of The Crucible
Fast forward back to the 1950’s
when Arthur Miller wrote the
play…almost 300 years later…
 In 1953, the theme of the play made
many people uncomfortable, causing
it to close after only a few months.
 What was going on in the year 1953
that could cause this discomfort?

nd
McCarthyism/2
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Red Scare
Americans were scared of communists because of
the Cold War going on with Russia, so it took very
little to arouse suspicion.
Early 1950’s = Senator Joseph McCarthy from
Wisconsin began announcing that he had lists of
Americans who were suspected of being
communists.
The Second Red Scare = “witch-hunts” led by
Senator McCarthy of Congress’ House of UnAmerican Activities Committee. (There was also a
Red Scare in the 1920’s).
What does the term “witch hunt” mean now?
1954 = Senate held hearings about these lists and
the hearings were televised nationwide.
McCarthyism cont.
Blacklisting = putting certain people on a
list so that no company will hire these
people.
 Communism = social/political/economic
system based on controlling production
in wealth in order to promote equality in
society. The theory itself isn’t supposed to
be negative, but it has not worked well in
practice due to corrupt leaders and lack
of individual accountability among
citizens [Examples: Russia (Lenin, Stalin)
and Cuba (Castro)].

Famous People Accused of Being
Communists
Langston Hughes
Charlie Chaplin
Burl Ives
Helen Keller
Orson Welles
Lena Horne
Arthur Miller himself, in 1957!
The Crucible as an Allegory

The Crucible is considered an
allegory (?) of the McCarthy witchhunts. Therefore, it is historical
fiction which draws a comparison
between two very real events in
American history.
What is a crucible?
-A place of extreme heat
-A severe test
-AKA a symbol!
The Crucible Themes:
1. People put up facades (fronts) in order to
get the public to perceive them a certain
way or to maintain power.
2. Jealousy and greed can be very
destructive.
3. Mob mentality can overpower the senses
of vulnerable people.
4. There are some principles/beliefs that are
worth making sacrifices for.
5. Love (for others and/or for God) can
redeem people.
Crucible Act 2 Group Discussion: Groups will be
assigned to discuss either the John perspective or
the Elizabeth perspective, and then we will share
out.
John Proctor Perspective
 Think about a time when you
have wronged someone. How
did you feel?
 What did you do to make
amends?
 How was this received by the
person you wronged?
 What are some similarities
and differences between your
experience and John and
Elizabeth’s?
Elizabeth Proctor Perspective
• Think about a time when you
were wronged by someone.
How did you feel?
• What did the person do to
make amends?
• How did you receive this?
• What are some similarities
and differences between your
experience and John and
Elizabeth’s?
What to look out for/annotate in “Why I Wrote The Crucible”
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Why did Miller write The Crucible?
What things did he learn about the trials through
his research and when he went to Salem?
What fascinated him personally about Salem and
the witch trials?
What other historical events does Miller compare
the trials to?
Why did he think it was important to make The
Crucible a movie?
Also note anything that is unfamiliar or confusing to
you (words, phrases, allusions, etc.)