The Crucible Intro Part 1

Introduction: Arthur Miller

• Who He Was: A famous American writer of plays (1915–2005).

• Famous Plays: Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons.

• Main Topics: The American Dream, doing what is right, and fighting unfair power.

Early Life

• Birth: Born on October 17, 1915, in Harlem, New York.

• Background: Grew up in a Polish and Jewish family; treated like an outsider or minority.

• Family: Closer to his mom (a teacher); his dad ran a coal-fuel business.

• The Great Depression: His family lost all their money in 1929; he worked random jobs to pay for college.

College and First Plays

• College: Went to the University of Michigan and wrote for the school paper.

• First Play: No Villain (a good first try).

• Rocky Start: His early career was hard because people did not like his first plays.

• Broadway Debut: The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944) was a flop.

Major Plays

• Book: Wrote a novel about hate against Jewish people.

• All My Sons (1947): His very first big hit.

• Death of a Salesman (1949): Huge success; won big prizes like the Pulitzer; wrote Part 1 in less than one day.

• The Crucible: Used the old Salem witch hunts to show the danger of panic and false blame.

Postwar Era and HUAC

• World War II: WWII had just ended, and it stayed in his mind while he wrote.

• HUAC: A group in the U.S. Congress that went after people they called "Un-American."

• Standing Up: Miller refused to help them or give them names.

Personal Life and Class Reading

• Wife: She gave up her own dreams to take care of him full-time; she was very smart and very unhappy about this.

• Class Focus: The class is reading and taking notes on The Crucible, not Death of a Salesman.