Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible”

Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible”

Arthur Miller, one of America’s most famous playwrights, lived during the 1950s and experienced the Communist hysteria of the era. People thought their were Commies everywhere, and one man, Senator Joseph McCarthy, made it his personal mission to find Communists and destroy their lives by bringing them before something called the HOUSE UNAMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE. Arthur Miller

Senator McCarthy accused many people— actors, writers, people in media, people in the military — of being Communists. He held hearings where people were commanded to give names of other Communists in order for leniency. People were afraid they might be named as Communists, and it was called the Red Scare. (‘Red’ was a word used for a Communist.) http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=1B2B14D9-8B96-431F-9BFF-AE1796E58A91&blnFromSearch=1

The Crucible was Arthur Miller’s way of protesting the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. He compared the Communist hearings to the witch hunts of Salem, where gossip, rumors, and fear were evidence enough to convict people. • The term “witch hunt” now applies to any activity where people are looking for a scapegoat or where they are using accusations to get revenge or to get personal gain or attention.

What is an allegory? • An allegory is a work in which each element symbolizes, or represents, something else. • Or, to put it another way, an allegory • is an extended metaphor: one thing IS another

George Orwell’s Animal Farm, for example, is not only a story of pigs on a farm, although it IS, of course, a story of pigs on a farm….

Animal Farm IS also a story alluding to real historical figures such as Stalin during the Russian Revolution

To allude? What does that mean? Allusion • is a technique in which reference is made to a person, event, object, or work from history or literature

Napoleon = Josef Stalin

Response Questions: (full sentences) 1. What was the purpose of Reverend Hale’s visit to the Proctors’ home? 2. What tactics did Hale use in interrogating the Proctors? What effect do you think the visit had on the Proctors? EXPLAIN! on Reverend Hale? EXPLAIN! Activity:Compare your responses with those of your neighborThink Pair Share Write your responses (in full sentences as usual ) on a sheet of loose-leaf paper with both of your names in full on it and turn it in. Purpose Tactics Effect

REFLECTION • REFLECTION (150 + words) • Based on what you’ve heard about the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings, write a paragraph detailing any connections you see between the two occurrences. • Why do you think Arthur Miller chose to use the period of history (1692) that he chose? Why didn’t he just write about the Red Scare and the McCarthy trials? • Are there any differences between the two occurrences (other than the obvious things, like time periods and clothes, etc.) • How do you think both of these “witch hunts” were stopped eventually?

Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible”