The Crucible - by arthur miller
Overview:
In the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the town minister, Reverend Parris, discovers his daughter Betty, niece Abigail, and other girls dancing in the forest with his slave Tituba. Betty faints in fright at being discovered, and will not wake. Rumors of witchcraft spread through the town, and a crowd gathers at Parris's house while Parris, nervous about his reputation, awaits the arrival of a witchcraft expert. The arrival of Dr. Hale will begin a tragic sequence of events that will culminate in accusations of the innocent and in the wrongful deaths of many people of Salem. |
The Crucible as an allegory:
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, during the era of McCarthyism in the United States. The play, which is a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials, is an allegory (or extended metaphor) about McCarthyism. During the time period of McCarthyism, which lasted approximately from 1950 to 1956 (with effects lingering afterward), Senator Joseph McCarthy began to accuse government officials and other people of being Communists. As a result, people were blacklisted and stripped of their livelihoods with very little substantiating evidence. The U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated government employees, people in the entertainment industry, and others. Arthur Miller himself was called before HUAC in 1956, though he refused to answer questions about other people who had attended meetings he attended. As a result, he was found in contempt of Congress. The process of conducting a witch hunt can refer more broadly to any attempt to scare, blacklist, or otherwise harm people for their beliefs based on little evidence. It is this process, which was going on during the McCarthy era, that Miller was allegorizing in his play. (Originally posted by jameadows | High School Teacher on eNotes.com) |
The Crucible Student aids
The Crucible text online
(download files, below) Act 1 act1a.pdf Download File act1b.pdf Download File Act 2 act_2.pdf Download File Act 3 act_3.pdf Download File Act 4 act_4.pdf Download File |
UNIT INTRODUCTION
The Salem Witch Trials 1692 WEBQUEST The Crucible - 1600's article on How to Identify a Witch The Crucible Introduction - Powerpoint |
The Crucible Study Tools
Act I study questions
Act I Quizlet Act I Quizlet B Act I Plot Summary Act I Analysis of the Allegory Act I Major Characters Act I Character Quizlet Character Map Act I Themes Act II study questions Act II Quizlet Act III study questions Act III Quizlet Act IV study questions Act IV Quizlet The Crucible Quotes |