The Crucible Introduction

The Crucible

Part I: Overview

Part I: Overview

■ American play

■ Written in the 1950s

■ Playwright: Arthur Miller

■ Focuses on residents of Salem,

Massachusetts

■ Issues: greed, guilt, motivation, morality

Overview: American Drama

■ 1950s drama was heavily influenced by:

– World War II just ending
– The desire for change
– Feelings of guilt and exploration of identity

■ The Crucible premiered in January 1953 in

New York City.

Overview: Arthur Miller

■ Born in 1915 in New York

City

■ His father’s business

failed because of the
Depression

■ Family moved around a

lot because of poverty

■ Attended the University

of Michigan

Overview: Arthur Miller

■ Returned to NYC after

graduating college
– No luck with writing!

■ Finally had a play of

his on Broadway
– All My Sons (1947)

■ In 1949, wrote Death

of a Salesman

Overview: Arthur Miller

■ Married Marilyn

Monroe (lucky guy!)
– Divorced after a few

years

– Had three wives

altogether

■ Wrote The Crucible in

the early 1950s
– Was accused of being a

Communist

■ Died in 2005

Overview: Salem, Massachusetts

■ Located on the coast of Massachusetts

■ Settled mainly by Puritans in 1626

– A group of people who left England so they

could practice religious freedom

– Often let their religious beliefs guide their

daily lives

■ Most known for the Salem Witch Trials of

1692
– Nickname: “The Witch City”

Puritans arriving in Massachusetts

Salem Witch Trials Memorial

Overview: Issues

■ Greed: How do you define greed? Is greed ever a

good thing?

■ Guilt: What leads people to feel guilt?

■ Motivation: What is the biggest motivator in

your life?

■ Morality: List your top three “moral rules.”

■ How do these fit into our ideas of America?

Remember, this class is about American
literature as much as possible! Be thinking
about this question every time we read a text.

TheCrucible

Part II: Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials

■ Occurred from June

through September of
1692 in Salem

■ Puritan group of

people was involved

■ Townspeople were in

a state of hysteria
about witches/evil

The Facts

■ Young girl named Betty Parris became ill

– Fever, extreme pain, running around the

house

■ More children in Salem became ill

– Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott

■ Doctors were called in to find the reason

for this sickness

But…

■ Doctors couldn’t explain illness, so they

defaulted to “witchcraft”
– Townspeople were easily convinced
– A servant in town was suspected of witchcraft

■ Townspeople decided to arrest the servant,

Tituba, and an older woman for witchcraft

It continues…

■ More and more people were arrested and

charged with witchcraft
– The punishment for witchcraft was DEATH by

HANGING

– In order to live, some people “confessed” to

practicing witchcraft.

The Casualties

■ Nineteen men and

women were put to
death for witchcraft.

■ One man, Giles

Corey, was also
pressed to death.

Why did this happen?

■ People were suspicious/fearful

– A book about witchcraft had just

been published by Cotton
Mather

– People were at war with Native

Americans

– Death/evil were on the mind of

many (because of fighting and
disease)

– Puritan culture easily accepted

the devil as the source of
evil/wrong in life

Other Explanations

■ Teenagers in town were bored and got carried

away
– Dancing, flirting, etc. not allowed at all!
– All of the accusers were teenage girls

■ Some of the accusers were jealous people

– An easy way to get rid of people they didn’t like!

■ General sense of depression in town

– Not a lot of wealth/happiness/freedom

The Crucible

Part III: Historical Context

The Appeals of Communism

■ America’s Great

Depression left people
upset about the American
government
– Everyone deserves basics

(food, clothing)

– Communism offers that

promise

■ 1939: 50,000 Americans

were members of the
Communist party.

Then, World War II Begins

■ 1941: America begins

fighting against Germany
(and others)

■ Communism was seen as

“un-American” because of
the surge in patriotism

■ 1945: America won World

War II
– Defeated the German

government of fascism

▪ Fascism: government led by

a dictator that suppressed
opposition of any kind

America vs. The Soviet Union

■ America was emerging as a world power, but:

– The Soviet Union was its main competition

■ And:

– The Soviet Union was Communist

■ America and The Soviet Union competed against each

other for world power in:
– Space travel
– Nuclear weapon development
– In effect, government style

Communism came to be seen as

“evil”

■ 1950: Julius and Ethel

Rosenberg arrested
– Charged with supplying

atomic bomb secrets to the
Soviet Union

■ Soviet Union developed

the atomic bomb (from
the secrets provided)

■ Communism became the

opposite of everything
America represented!

The Effects of Hysteria:

The “Red Scare” Begins

■ Red: color of

Communism

■ Symbol of

Communism:
Hammer and Sickle
– Why is this the symbol

of communism?

Enter: Joseph McCarthy and the

HUAC

HUAC

■ HUAC: House Committee of Un-American

Activities
– This committee questioned Americans who

were suspected of being Communists

– They summoned thousands of people to testify

▪ Goal: to get as many names of “Communists” as

possible

Joseph McCarthy

■ The ruthless head of the HUAC

■ Claimed he had a list of 205 Communists

who worked for the US Government

■ Was the ringleader of the Red Scare

Who Was Suspected of Being a

Communist?

■ Filmmakers, directors, actors were accused of

attending communist meetings

■ Certain politicians were also targeted

■ These people had two options:

– Admit to being a Communist and tell McCarthy

names of other people who attended Communist
meetings

– OR
– Refuse to admit anything (or rat out others) and be

blacklisted

▪ Can’t get work if blacklisted!

Walt Disney

Why would
Disney be
targeted?

Ronald Reagan

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Arthur Miller

You tube video

■ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9gmj

■ Arthur Miller in his own words (10

minutes)

“The Crucible” and Communism

■ Allegory: work of literature that tells one

story on the surface while referring to
another sub textually
– Comparing the play to the Red Scare

■ Can you see how these historical events are

similar to those of the Salem Witch Trials?

The Crucible

Part IV: Character Introduction

Part IV: Character Introduction

■ Protagonist=Main character

■ Antagonist=Who/what the protagonist is “fighting”

Character Introduction

■ Abigail Williams:

– Leader of the group of girls
– Having an affair with John Proctor
– Smart, manipulative, jealous

Character Introduction

■ John Proctor:

– Farmer
– Married, but having an affair with Abigail
– Proud and (usually) honest

Character Introduction

■ Elizabeth Proctor:

– John Proctor’s wife
– Moral and honest
– Sometimes seen as “cold”

Character Introduction

■ The Girls:

– Betty Parris: Daughter of the town minister
– Ruth Putnam: Daughter of a wealthy, greedy

landowner

– Mary Warren: Servant of the Proctors
– Mercy Lewis: Servant of the Putnams

Character Introduction

■ Reverend Parris:

– Town minister
– Paranoid
– Concerned with what others think of him

Character Introduction

■ John Hale:

– “Expert” on witchcraft
– Asked to come to Salem for his knowledge
– Intelligent and logical

Character Introduction

■ Tituba:

– Slave from Barbados
– Performs voodoo
– Accused of witchcraft

Other Cool Characters

■ Giles Corey (my favorite!):

– Older man who is pressed to death
– Outspoken
– Files lawsuits frequently

■ Rebecca Nurse

– Kind, older woman accused of witchcraft
– Very moral and sensible

Protagonist/Antagonist

■ Which character are YOU most like?

■ Who do you think the protagonist is?

■ Who/what is the antagonist?