The Crucibleby Arthur Miller

(1953)

Arthur Miller

• Married to Marilyn Monroe for a short time

• During the “Red Scare,” HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) began targeting people in the entertainment business as communists. Committee led by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

• These targets were asked to “confess” involvement in communist organizations and also to name others who had similar views.

• People who refused to cooperate were blacklisted, or denied employment.

• These actions by the HUAC reminded Miller of the Salem Witch Trials.

• Miller visited Salem in 1952, and his research inspired him to write The Crucible late in 1953.

• It was staged on Broadway later that year.• Its relevance to the political climate was clear, even in

other countries. • The U.S. State Department refused Miller’s renewal of

passport. When he was later called in by the HUAC and refused to name names, he was charged with contempt, fined, and sentenced to jail. He won his appeal and did not serve jail time.

The Crucible

• Setting: 1692 Massachusetts, during the Salem Witch Trials

Major Characters:

• Francis and Rebecca Nurse—respected elders in town. Rebecca was midwife to wealthy Putnams, who blame her for the death of their children.

• Reverend Parris—minister of the town;responsible for witch trials, very materialistic

• Betty Parris—caught dancing in the woods and pretends to see spirits

• Tituba—Rev. Parris’s slave; she teaches the girls about spirits

• Abigail Williams—Rev. Parris’s niece; leads the girls in the accusations; had an affair with John Proctor

Characters (cont.)

• Thomas and Ann Putnam—wealthy land owners; powerful and hold grudges

• Mary Warren—works at the Proctor’s house

• John Proctor—opposes Rev. Parris; well-known and respected,has 2 children.

• Elizabeth Proctor—very chaste; cannot lie

• Rev. John Hale—”witch expert;” called in to investigate

• Deputy Governor Danforth—witch trail judge; rules by the law and only sees situations in black and white

Themes:

• Pride

• Fear

• Puritan Ethics

• Honesty

• Revenge

• Conflict of Authority

• Self Interest

Context:

• In the winter of 1691-1692, many of the teenage girls in the village began behaving strangely.

• Many people suspected the girls were victims of witchcraft.

• These events and the trials that followed form the basis for Miller’s play The Crucible.

Act I Vocabulary:

1. Compromise—[v] to endanger the reputation or interests of; to expose to suspicion

2. Contention– [n] verbal argument or struggle3. Subservient—[adj] useful, in an inferior capacity4. Naiive—[adj] lacking knowledge in the ways of the

world5. Pretense—[n] a false show or appearance, esp. for

the purpose of deceiving6. Evade–[v] to escape or avoid, as by cleverness7. Goody—[n] short for “Goodwife,” a term of polite

address for a married woman8. Aye (pronounced “I”)—meaning yes or in agreement

Act I Voc. (cont.)

9. Covenanted—describes a person who has made a commitment to the church testifying to his/her faith

10. Defamation—an attack on one’s good name or reputation

11. Discomfit—to confuse and frustrate12. Licentious—describes a person who disregards commonly

accepted standards of right and wrong

Act II Vocabulary:

1. Reprimand—[v] to reprove or correct sharply2. Base—[adj] morally low;

dishonorable3. Covet—[v] to desire, in an

excessive degree, something that belongs to another

4. Misgiving—[n] a feeling of doubt, distrust, or anxiety

5. Indignant—expressing righteous anger

6. Poppet—a handmade doll7. Lechery—excessive indulgence of sexual desire

Act III Vocabulary:

1. Guile—[n] cunning, deceit, slyness

2. Affidavit—[n] a written declaration sworn to be true, usually before a judge

3. Effrontery—[n] boldness and disrespect

4. Ipso facto—Latin legal term meaning by the fact itself

5. Probity—[n] moral excellence, integrity and honesty

Act IV Vocabulary:

1. Conciliatory—[adj] trying to gain the good will or another by friendly acts

2. Indictment—[n] a formal legal accusation, charging the commission or omission of an act, which is punishable by law

3. Gibbet—[n] the gallows used for hanging

4. Sibilance—[n] a hissing sound