The CrucibleBy Arthur Miller

Background

The Crucible: historical background revisited Although the Puritan

settlers of Massachusetts were persecuted for their religious beliefs while they lived in England, they showed very little tolerance to non-Puritans who settled among them in their new colony.

Some historians suggest that some of the witchcraft accusations were used to enforce Puritan religious orthodoxy.

Views on Puritanism

Intolerance harmed Puritan reputation

Religious purity turned into fanaticism with the Salem Witch Trials of the 1660s

How extreme? To prove you weren’t a witch, you had to die.

Puritan Decline

Increase and Cotton Mather (father and son) tried to reverse the decline Increase: pastor of Second

Church of Boston, president of Harvard, and an agent for colony in England.

Both were (some say unfairly) seen as “monsters” of Puritanism

Both believed that the “possessed” should be treated with fasting and prayer rather than execution

Both were shaken from influential positions by public reaction to Salem Witch Trials.

The Crucible

Written by Arthur Miller in 1953.

In the 1950s, the United States and Soviet Union were deeply involved in the “Cold War” amid an atmosphere of extreme distrust and suspicion.

Many Americans feared the country had been infiltrated by Communist spies who where plotting to overthrow the government.

The Crucible in context: “The Great Fear” Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy

exploited the fears of those who believed that the Communist threat was real.

Throughout the decade, he led an effort against individuals who promoted progressive social agendas or were sympathetic to civil rights. These people were persecuted and “blacklisted,” meaning, in part, that they had trouble keeping or finding jobs.

The McCarthy congressional hearings fueled public paranoia, and extraordinary measures were taken to eradicate the domestic presence of the “Red Menace.”

From “The Great Fear” by J. Ronald Oakley

The Crucible in context: “The Great Fear” “The Great Fear” author J.

Ronald Oakley states that “Ironically, the greatest threat to American freedom in the Fifties was not the communism that was feared by so many, but the spread of irrational anti-communism and the rise of right wingers and fascists who were willing to suspend civil liberties and other constitutional rights and freedoms in order to fight an overblown communist threat.”

The Crucible in context

Arthur Miller was drawn to the parallels between McCarthy’s crusade and the Puritan witch hunt of Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600s.

Miller saw the Salem witch-hunters and McCarthy as similar fanatics.

The Crucible in context

With The Crucible, Miller tried to warn against extremism and the power of hysteria to ruin people’s lives.

The story

There is a plague in Salem: a plague of fear.

Betty Parris, the daughter of the town’s minister, is sick. She lies in bed in a trance; then tries to jump out of a window; then screams when her father prays over her.

The story

What the community doesn’t initially know is that Betty and several other girls have been dancing in the woods and having their fortunes told by Tituba, the Parris’s Barbados slave.

It’s weird, it’s creepy, it’s unbecoming behavior for Puritan girls – but it’s more silly than anything else.

The story

Nonetheless, the girls are nervous they will get in trouble – and rumors are already spreading that Betty is under a witch’s spell.

Parris calls in a renowned minister, Rev. Hale, to examine his daughter and his niece, Abigail Williams, who lives with him.

Hale determines the girls are under a witch’s spell.

The girls start falsely accusing people in the community of practicing witchcraft.

The hunt – and the hysteria – is on.

The story

Abigail is the ringleader with a motive. After a brief romantic relationship with John Proctor – a local farmer who hired Abigail to help Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, around the house – Abigail wants to get rid of Elizabeth.

Proctor, wracked with guilt, wants nothing to do with Abigail. He will do anything to save his wife.

Abigail won’t give up.

The play: historical background

In Act 1 of the play, Abigail and the girls are said to have engaged in Dionysian rites.

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, and in classical mythology, his presence was said to inspire wild celebrations.

The play: historical background

When the Salem witch hunt was at its height, the girls who were involved in the “crying out” became colonial celebrities.

The girls were often taken on long journeys and entertained by some of the finest families in Massachusetts.

The play: historical background In Act three, John Proctor

will refuse to compromise with Judge Danforth and abandon his friends.

Many critics have drawn comparisons between Proctor’s behavior and Arthur Miller’s own testimony when he was called before the House Committee on Un-American activities to answer questions about his involvement related somehow to the Communist Party.

The Crucible in context

“The Lesson of Salem”

“The witch trials represent more than just a creepy moment in history: They stand for the terrible victory of prejudice over reason, and fear over courage.”

“Social and civic antagonism … made the community fertile ground for a witch hunt.”

“Perhaps the best way to identify a witch hunt, today or 300 years ago, is to look for fear, because fear spawns witches.”

The Crucible: Contemporary controversy

Some see a modern witch-hunt occurring with the current Congress.

The Crucible:Contemporary controversy Last summer, Minnesota

Rep. Michelle Bachmann and four other Republican Congress persons sent letters to several federal agencies inquiring about whether the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the American government.

Their main target, based on circumstantial evidence, is Huma Abedin: a top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Crucible: Contemporary controversy Two sides presented in USA

Today editorial:

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), one of the five House members who asked for the investigation:

“The controversy over letters requesting investigations by inspectors general into Muslim Brotherhood influence is not about any one individual. It is about the failure of our government — in the name of political correctness — to enforce its own laws and policies to protect this country from hostile foreign influences.”

The Crucible: Contemporary controversy USA Today editorial view:

“Five Republican House members…seem determined to pick up where McCarthy left off. Only this time, they see Islamists under every bed instead of communists.

“Islamic extremism obviously is a threat to the U.S. But so are members of Congress who slime patriotic Muslim Americans. By mimicking McCarthy's tactics, they invite his fate: a well-deserved fall into oblivion and disgrace.”

The Crucible: Contemporary controversy

In small groups, please address the following:

How do you define the “politics of fear”?

In a modern context, people obviously are not looking for “witches.” So what is at the core of the phrase “witch hunt?”

Identify and discuss an incident involving your generation (in or out of school) where fear spawned widespread wild rumors, accusations, etc.

The Crucible: Modern equivalent?

In small groups, please address the following:

How do you define the “politics of fear”?

In a modern context, people obviously are not looking for “witches.” So what is at the core of the phrase “witch hunt?”

Make a list of how the McCarthy era of the 1950s is alike and different from what’s happening now.

Compare the A. Power Davies quote at the bottom of page 208 in “The Great Fear” to John McCain’s quote on page 2 of the USA Today editorial. What are both speakers saying?

Rhetoric: Find three words in paragraph 2 of “The Great Fear” that indicate the author’s subjective viewpoint or opinion about McCarthy.

The Crucible: Viewing quiz

Review the viewing guide. Know the main characters and their relationships.

Review the articles “The Lesson of Salem” : trace the history of witch hunts; “Her Muslim Witch Hunt. Know the basic argument in each editorial position.

Take another look at this PowerPoint, including slides about McCarthyism.