The Crucible and McCarthyism Study Guide

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, historical figures, and literary concepts related to Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and its parallels with the McCarthyism era.

McCarthyism

A period in the $1950s$ characterized by heightened suspicion of Communists and the use of controversial investigations by a special congressional committee to root out Communist sympathisers in the United States.

Crucible (Literal)

A melting-pot designed to withstand intense heat where different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.

Crucible (Metaphorical)

A situation of severe trial or test.

Allegory

The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form, often used to tell one story to represent another.

John Proctor

The protagonist of The Crucible who ultimately chooses integrity over life.

Abigail Williams

The antagonist of the play and leader of the group of girls; she was historically an $11$-year-old girl, but Miller manufactured an affair between her and Proctor for the play.

Tituba

A slave from Barbados owned by Reverend Samuel Parris who confesses to being in league with the devil to escape hanging.

Salem Village

The setting of the play in $1692$ colonial Massachusetts, known today as modern-day Danvers.

Red Scare

Two distinct periods of strong anti-Communism in United States history: the first from $1917$ to $1920$, and the second from the late $1940s$ through the late $1950s$.

Cold War

The state of conflict, tension, and competition existing between the United States and the Soviet Union ($USSR$) from the mid-$1940s$ to the early $1990s$.

Proxy War

A conflict where opposing powers instigate a war and use third parties to fight on their behalf, such as the Vietnam War ($1955$-$1975$).

HUAC

The House Un-American Activities Committee, which subpoenaed Arthur Miller in $1956$ and demanded he identify friends and colleagues who participated in political activities.

Contempt of Congress

The charge Arthur Miller was found guilty of after refusing to identify others during his hearing, resulting in a fine, prison sentence, and blacklisting.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

An American husband and wife convicted of espionage and executed in $1953$ for passing nuclear secrets to Soviet agents.

Theocracy

A system of government where God's power is mediated through men, characterized by strict moral guidelines and intolerance of deviation.

Elizabeth Johnson Jr.

The last convicted Salem "witch" whose name had yet to be cleared until she was officially exonerated in July $2022$.

Judge Hathorne

A notorious judge from the Salem witch trials and ancestor of author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who added a "w" to his name to distance himself from the judge.

The Scarlet Letter

An $1850$ work by Nathaniel Hawthorne that, like The Crucible, depicts Puritanism as harsh, strict, blind, and destructive.