Arthur Miller: The Crucible Context
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22 Terms
Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible?
As a response to McCarthyism and the fear surrounding communist accusations in the 1950s
When is The Crucible set?
Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692
When did Miller write The Crucible?
1952
What historical event does The Crucible dramatize?
The Salem witch trials
What essay is this excerpt from?
"Why I Wrote The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
Why did Miller write this essay?
To mark the play's first Hollywood film adaptation, about 40 years later
What personal experience shaped Miller's motivation?
His blacklisting by Hollywood
What Depression-era trauma influenced Miller?
The rise of European Fascism and its anti-Semitism
Why were liberals paralyzed during the Red Scare, according to Miller?
They feared being labeled covert Communists if they protested too strongly
Who led the "Red hunt" Miller describes?
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and Senator McCarthy
Who was Harry Cohn?
Head of Columbia Pictures who showed Miller's script to the FBI
What did Harry Cohn ask Miller to do?
Change the gangsters in his script to Communists
How did Miller respond to Cohn's request?
He refused
What book inspired Miller to write about Salem?
A two-volume, 1867 study of the Salem witch trials by Charles W. Upham
Who was Charles W. Upham?
Mayor of Salem and author of a thousand-page study on the witch trials
What personal issue influenced Miller's approach to John Proctor?
His own marriage of 12 years was struggling, giving him insight into guilt and blame
Who is John Proctor?
The protagonist of The Crucible, a "sinner" who becomes a moral voice against the hysteria
What criticism did Miller face about his Salem/McCarthyism comparison?
That it was "specious" — there were no real witches, but there really were Communists
What language did Miller enjoy using in the play?
Plain, precise seventeenth-century New England English
Who was Deodat Lawson?
A witch-hunting preacher whose sermon Miller quotes ("Arm, arm, arm!")
What was "the Devil's book" in the Salem trials?
The supposed document accused witches signed to give their soul to the Devil
According to Miller, what mattered most in both the Salem trials and McCarthyism?
Not actions, but "buried intentions" — suspected secret loyalties