Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

1. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

2. Who is Arthur Miller? • An American playwright most famously known for the play Death of a Salesman • Also known for his marriage to Marilyn Monroe (1956- 1961) *she died in 1962 • Born in Harlem, NY • Played football & baseball during HS, and shortly after graduation, while working in an automobile parts warehouse, read Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov which lead him on the path to become a writer. • Attended the U of Michigan (1934-1938) • Exempt from the draft due to a football injury • Federal Theatre Project, and wrote scripts for radio programs, such as Columbia Workshop (CBS) and Cavalcade of America (NBC)

3. Who is Arthur Miller? • In the 1950s, Miller was subjected to a scrutiny by a committee of the United States Congress investigating Communist influence in the arts.  • The FBI read his play The Hook, about a militant union organizer, and he was denied a passport to attend the Brussels premiere of his play The Crucible (1953).  • The Crucible, which received Antoinette Perry Award, was an allegory for the McCarthy era and mass hysteria. • In 1956 Miller was awarded honorary degree at the University of Michigan but also called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Miller admitted that he had attended certain meetings, but denied that he was a Communist.  • He attended, among others, four or five writer's meetings sponsored by the Communist Party in 1947, supported a Peace Conference at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, and signed many appeals and protests. 

4. Who is Arthur Miller? • Refusing to offer other people's names, who had associated with leftist or suspected Communist groups, Miller was cited for contempt of Congress, but the ruling was reversed by the courts in 1958. • In 2002 Miller was honored with Spain's prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize for Literature, making him the first U.S. recipient of the award. • Miller died of heart failure at home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on February 10, 2005 Reference: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/amiller.htm

5. Historical Background - Puritanism • Believed in a strong connection between church and state (theocracy) • Believed in a Covenant with God and with each other to follow moral codes in pursuit of eternal life • Believed in Predestination (only the elect would be saved) • Believed God and Satan were active presences in the natural word

6. Historical Background - Puritanism • Believed Native Americans were heathens and the woods and forests full of demons • Believed in mandatory attendance at church • Believed that people were expected to work hard and repress emotions and opinions • The church dictated that dark, somber dress was appropriate • Never get caught sleeping in church or stealing food What do these beliefs tell us?

7. Historical Background - Puritanism • Read natural signs to see God’s will or Satan’s tricks (when a neighbor’s crop failed or a child became sick, saw it as God’s will and did not help) • Believed Satan selected the “weakest”—women, children and the insane to carry out his work. • Believed those who followed Satan were considered witches • Punished witchcraft by death What does this tell us?

8. Stand Up If…. • If you’ve ever been falsely accused of something you did not do • If you’ve ever falsely accused somebody else of something so you wouldn’t get in trouble • If you have ever felt trapped in by a set  of rules • If you have ever rebelled against the rules and got caught • If you have ever done something you felt was insignificant, but ended up turning into something much bigger than you thought • If you have ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials

9. Historical Background – Witch Trials in Europe • As early as 1450, witch hunts all over Europe • Many thousands were hanged, drowned, or burned at the stake • Women were viewed as “imperfect” as they were formed from a man’s rib whereas men were the privileged sex (Christ--a male) • Popular view of women was source of witch hunt hysteria…seen as inherently evil and sexual—thus targets for the devil

10. Historical Background – Witch Trials in Salem • Possibly the single, most studied event in colonial American history • Fear of magic and witchcraft was common in New England, as it had been in Europe • Over 100 alleged witches had been tried and hanged in New England during the 1600s • In early 1692, the witch hunt hysteria began in Salem

11. Historical Background – Witch Trials in Salem • From early spring to September 1692, over 150 “witches” were taken into custody • 19 men and women refused to confess and were hanged on Gallows Hill • One man was pressed to death under stones • Four died in jail

12. The Witch House • The Witch House, home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, is the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the Witchcraft Trials of 1692.

13. Real Gravestones

14. Short Summary of The Crucible • The town of Salem is rocked by scandal as young girls are caught dancing in the woods with a local slave woman. When one of the girls takes sick, witchcraft is rumored. Townspeople see this as an opportunity for revenge as old grudges are settled by a witch craft accusation. Those who deny being a witch are hanged. Those who confess are set free. Caught up in the excitement, the town celebrates each hanging as a triumph of justice, until two of the town's most respected citizens are accused. Will they confess to save themselves or will they go to the gallows as innocent victims? What Would You Do if YOU were accused of something you didn’t do?