Weeks 5-8Mrs. Barnett

English 3

The Crucible

By Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

Born in 1915 to Jewish immigrant parentsAfter graduating from the University of Michigan, Miller worked as a freelance writer in New York

Miller’s Life• He had 3 marriages: to Mary Grace Slattery, to Marilyn Monroe, and to Inge Morath

• He won a Pulitzer Prize, 2 Drama Circle Critic Awards, 7 Tony Awards, an Obie, the JFK Lifetime Achievement Award, and others

• He received honorary doctorates from Harvard University and Oxford University

• Miller died Feb. 11, 2005

Miller’s Plays•1944 The Man Who Had All the Luck opened to horrible reviews

•1947 All My Sons was an instant success. It was concerned with morality in the face of lies and desperation

•1949 Death of a Salesman, about a little man living a little life, was a Pulitzer Prize winner

•1953 The Crucible, set in Salem in the late 1600s, served as an indictment of McCarthyism of the 1950s

McCarthyism“In the 1950s, McCarthyism meant a brave, patriotic stand against Communism. It had the support of the media and the American people. Now it has come to mean a smear campaign of groundless accusations from which the accused cannot escape, because professions of innocence become admission of guilt and only confessions are accepted.”

- Kenneth C. Davis in Don’t Know Much About History

The House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC)

•The Committee was established in 1937 to investigate subversive activities

• It supposedly investigated both left and right wing political groups (investigated Klan activities at one point, but closed the case without finding any evidence of subversive activities. The committee chairman, Martin Dies, was a Klan member)

The House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC)

• In 1947 the Committee began an investigation of the Hollywood motion picture industry

•HUAC required those who testified to admit to Communist party affiliations and to “name names”

• HUAC “blacklisted” writers – over 300 writers were barred from working in film

The “Hollywood 10”•They were writers

accused of Communist activities in 1947 by HUAC

•They refused to answer Committee questions, citing the 5th Amendment

•They were found guilty of contempt of Congress and sentenced to 6 –12 months in prison

1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt

Arthur Miller had close associations with the

Communist party

US playwright Arthur Miller has been convicted of contempt of Congress. The

conviction relates to an investigation last year by the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) into

a Communist conspiracy to misuse American passports.

During the investigation 41-year-old Mr Miller, who is married to Hollywood movie star Marilyn Monroe, refused to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers with

whom he had attended five or six meetings in New York in 1947.

He was said to be co-operative in all other aspects of the hearing but told the

committee his conscience would not permit him to give the names of others and bring

possible trouble to them.

1958: Arthur Miller cleared of contempt

Washington's Court of Appeals overturned playwright Arthur Miller's conviction for contempt of Congress after a two-year legal battle. In May of 1957, a judge convicted

Miller for refusing to tell the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) the names of alleged

Communist writers with whom he attended five or six meetings in New York in 1947.

He had been questioned by the HUAC in 1956 over a supposed Communist conspiracy to misuse American passports and willingly answered all questions about

himself.

But the playwright, married to actress Marilyn Monroe, refused to name names on a point of principle saying: "I

could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him.“

Arthur Miller later said his trial only went ahead because he had refused one of the members of the HUAC permission to be photographed with Marilyn Monroe.

Miller on The Crucible

"A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."

The Crucible serves as an allegory for the activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

ALLEGORY

Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance.

Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Symbols and Motifs

• Crucible

• Poppet

• “God’s icy wind”

• “my name”

• Golden candlesticks

• Look for other motifs as you read

The word “crucible” has many meanings and connotations, including• A container that resists heat

• A melting pot

• A fire or furnace

• A trial or difficult ordeal

A Poppet is a small doll

• It was given to Elizabeth as a peace offering

• The doll was corrupted by Abigail and used as a weapon against Elizabeth

Theme DevelopmentTrace the following themes as you read

•Hypocrisy•Guilt•Revenge•Hysteria•Authority•Integrity and courage•Judgment•Power

Reverend John Hale

Church authority

on demonolog

y

Deputy Governor Danforth

• Presiding judge at Salem and highest authority

• Supremely confident

• Represents combined authority of church and state

Judge Hathorne

•Danforth’s cruel, vengeful deputy

•Fawns on Danforth

•Contemptuous of the townspeople

Lesser officers of the court

•Ezekial Cheever– a tailor appointed as an officer of

the court

•Marshall Herrick– keeper of the peace

Vocabulary• inert• marauded• heathen• theology• citadel• propriety• ail• vindictive• resentment• intimations

• contention• naïve• partisan• faction• hypocrite• arbitrate• prodigious• entity• fathom• drastic

• defamation

• anarchy• ascertain• scrutiny• diabolism• yeomanr

y• fiend• licentious• heifer• magistrat

es

Assignments• Arthur Miller Notes

• Opinionaire # 11

• Characters Profile #12

• The Crucible: Vocabulary

• Act 1 Study Guide (3 parts) #13

• “What Ails Ye?” Handout #14

• Act 2 Study Guide #15

• “Your Loss Is My Gain” Handout #16

• Act 3 Study Guide #17

• Act 4 Study Guide #18

• Character’s Profiles #19

• Character Web Project #20

• Test #21

Information

• Character Profile information

Good reading!!!!!!!!!