The Crucible:The Crucible:Witches or Witches or

Communists?Communists?An Introduction to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

The Salem Witch The Salem Witch TrialsTrials

• The Crucible is based on real people and events which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.

• Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused but not formally pursued by the authorities. All twenty-six who went to trial before this court were convicted

The Results…The Results…• Twenty people

were killed: nineteen were hung for convictions of witchcraft, while one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death beneath the weight of stones for refusing to submit to trial

1. What do you think Miller meant when he wrote, “This play is not history in the sense in which the word is used by the academic historian”? In what sense of “history” do you think the play was written?

2. What does “based on a true story” mean? Why do you think authors and screenwriters might alter “history” or true events?

3. What does Miller mean when he says that he has “symbolized them all in Hathorne and Danforth”? Why do you think Miller did this?

“A Note on the Historical Accuracy of This Play”

4. Miller states that “The fate of each character is exactly that of his historical model…” What does Miller mean by this statement?

5. Why did Miller have a difficult time creating the characters exactly as they were in real life?

6. Overall, what is the message Miller wants the reader to understand from this note on the historical accuracy of the play? Why do you think he included this note in the text of the play? What do you think might have been the result if he had not included this note?

“A Note on the Historical Accuracy of This Play”

This is a play about This is a play about witches, right?witches, right?

• Yes. However, there is a deeper meaning to Arthur Miller’s tale….

• Allegory: o A story in which people, things, and

happenings have another meaning, as in fable or parable.

o Famous allegories: Aesop’s Fables (think of The Tortoise and the Hare; George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm; the movies District 9 or X-Men).

o Many critics have referred to The Crucible as a political allegory.

• Miller was writing during a time of fear….

The HistoryThe History• Arthur Miller was not only

intrigued by the witch trials of seventeenth century Salem, but he was also concerned with more recent events in the United States

• At the end of World War Two, two powerful nations emerged - the USA and the USSR. Despite having been allies in the war, both countries were distrustful of each other.

A standoff...A standoff...• A battle for nuclear weapon

superiority arose between the two: the capitalist United States versus the communist Soviet Union.

• Mistrust and hostility between the two grew - giving rise to the 'Cold War' - and the United States worked at home and abroad to oppose the spread of communism.

Two fundamentally Two fundamentally different views…different views…

• Capitalism:o Emphasis on individual

and private ownership of products and resources

o Individual freedom comes before the societal good (in most circumstances)

o Classes of society (the wealthy and the poor). Those who are wealthy wield more power than those who aren’t.

• Communism: o In theory:

• Common ownership of products (no private ownership)

• Decisions are made in the best interest of the WHOLE society

• Shared resources and wealtho In practice:

• Often dictatorial , with shared wealth among a few (Stalinist Russia, for example or contemporary North Korea)

The Rise of Joseph The Rise of Joseph McCarthyMcCarthy

• In this climate of fear, a United States Senator, Joseph McCarthy, alleged that government departments were being infiltrated by communists and he waged a campaign against them.

• He accused and vilified many public servants including teachers and civil servants as well as more prominent personalities.

• Many individuals who could left the US to work in other countries.

House on Un-House on Un-American Activities American Activities

• McCarthy created HUAC• The HUAC summoned 2,375 men and women.

Simply being called to the committee was enough to cost them their jobs.

• 400 Americans went to jail – not having a fair trial – what lawyers would risk his career defending suspected communists?

• McCarthy bullied, threatened and abused witnesses while he accused them of Communist sympathies.

The Choices...The Choices...o When called before the committee, you had three

choices of answers: • could claim they were not and never had been

members of the Communist Party (but remember: simply being seen talking to someone who was or attending an information session about meant you were guilty) - denial• could admit or claim membership and then

be forced to name other members • could refuse to answer any questions (result:

contempt of court, fines and blacklisting)

The results?The results?• 9,500 civil servants were dismissed and 15,000

resigned; 600 teachers lost their jobs and many fine actors and scriptwriters were unable to work again.

• Charlie Chaplin, the biggest Hollywood movie star of the pre-war years (and also a Communist) left America in disgust.

Where Arthur Miller Where Arthur Miller comes in...comes in...

• Miller was caught up in the frenzy, being asked to apologize for an interest in Marxism when he was younger. Brought before the House Committee of Un-American Activities, he refused to apologise and was sent for trial.

• Initially he was fined and given a suspended prison sentence, but he appealed and was acquitted. Miller fought to maintain his dignity and his principles. This was shortly before The Crucible first opened.

In Miller’s words...In Miller’s words...• “I wished for a way to write a play that ...

would show that the sin of public terror is it divests man of conscience, of himself. I had known of the Salem witch hunt for many years before "McCarthyism" had arrived and it had always remained in inexplicable darkness to me. When I looked into it now, however, it was with the contemporary situation at my back, particularly the mystery of the handing over of conscience which seemed to me the central and informing fact of the time.

Miller had the following to say Miller had the following to say when asked who the people when asked who the people

were at the Communist were at the Communist meetings:meetings:

o "When I say this I want you to understand that I am not protecting the Communists or the Communist party. I am trying to and will protect my sense of myself. I could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him. I take responsibility for everything I have done but I cannot take responsibility for another human being". "Nobody wants to be a hero... but in every man there is something he cannot give up and still remain himself - a core, an identity, a thing that is summed up for him by the sound of his own name on his own ears. If he gives that up, he becomes a different man, not himself.

The Salem The Salem Witch TrialsWitch TrialsAn introduction to Puritanism and The

Crucible

Introduction Introduction • The play, 'The Crucible', shows a community

which ignites and burns with accusations of witchcraft, mass hysteria and retribution.

• Set in the small town of Salem Massachusetts in 1692, it explores the struggle of one man with his conscience, and his eventual purification.

The SettingThe Setting• Salem was a small settlement on the east coast of

what is now Massachusetts in the USA. • Was one of the earliest towns in New England, but

at the time the play is set, it had been in existence for less than seventy years.

• The people of Salem were settlers in a hostile environment - a land in which they struggled to establish farms and live off the land; a land which was bordered by vast unexplored areas.

PuritanismPuritanism• Puritans sailed to

North America to escape religious persecution.

• Kept to simple, plain dress.

• Men ruled the household, and made all major decisions.

• Children were expected to be dutiful.

• They did not have much in the way of entertainment, as they didn't allow dancing, theatre, reading for pleasure and they did not even celebrate Christmas.

• Attendance at church was essential and strict records were kept of who attended and who did not.

• Unnecessary work and household chores on Sundays were frowned upon.

PuritanismPuritanism

Puritan Beliefs…Puritan Beliefs…1. Predestination2. The Bible is the

literal word of God3. Valued plainness in

worship & lifestyle 4. Considered hard

work a religious duty 5. Church was the

center of the community

• Established a theocracy• Punishable offences:

adultery, fornication, drunkenness, theft, murder, breaches of the Sabbath, blasphemy, gambling, participating in theatrical performances.

• The “unknown” or “unfamiliar” was suspect

What do you think it would be like to live in this society?

Would being raised within this society change your view?

Witchcraft Witchcraft • In 17th century Salem,

witchcraft was a very real and potent threat.

• Across Europe in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries many people - perhaps those seen as odd or outsiders - were accused of being witches, and were tortured and executed.

WitchcraftWitchcraft• The Church said that

witches made a contract with the Devil and that the witches kept a book with signatures of those contracted to the Devil. The Devil would then work through them and their 'familiars’

About Witches….About Witches….• There were said to be various 'proofs' of

a witch including:o the testimony of a fellow witch o the common belief/accusation of those who

live with the suspected witch o cursing or quarrelling being followed by

some mischief or mishap o the person suspected has the Devil's mark

(perhaps a birthmark or deformity) o the person contradicts her/himself when

questioned.According to this criteria, do you know a witch? Are you a witch?

Witch Finder GeneralWitch Finder General• Matthew Hopkins set

himself up as Witch-Finder General, and between 1644 and 1646 he had over 200 people hanged as he searched for witches in the east of England. For each execution he was paid one pound.

ThemesThemes• "Need For Social Responsibility, A 'Human Bond',

Integrity.

• Societal Problems Can Often Be Traced To Individual Human Failings.

• Societies Often Try To Suppress Individual Freedom In Order To Maintain Social Order.

• People Tend to Think in Binary Opposites/Black OR White. (eg. good or evil, god-like or devilish, capitalist or communist. There is nothing in between).

(Miller's answer for evil in the world = the need for INTEGRITY)

Brief Reflection• How was the time of McCarthyism similar to the

time of the witch hunts?• What would it be like to live in this time?

• If you are innocent of the alleged “crime”• If you are guilty of the alleged “crime”