ISBN: 0142437336
Publisher: Penguin Classics (Original, 1953, this edition, 2003)
143 p.
Publisher: Penguin Classics (Original, 1953, this edition, 2003)
143 p.
Reading Level: Adult crossover taught in schools, 9th grade and up.
Summary:
This play deals with the Salem witch trials of 1692. A group of young women have been found, dancing and chanting in the forest. Upon discovery, one of them, Betty, faints and now lies prone on a bed while another, Abigail, refuses to say what has occurred. Before long, the town is sure that the devil and witchcraft are involved. Abigail, when she realizes the man she loves, John Proctor, won’t leave his wife, confesses with others that they were there and that other women, witches, made them do it. When John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, is arrested on suspicion of witchcraft, John believes it was all Abigail’s doing. In court, the young ladies go insane and screech out hideous declarations about the devil and the women they have put in prison. John Proctor vocally declares Abigail a whore and that he has had relations with her. After other protests, Proctor is also jailed. The play ends with a scene in the fall that ends John and Elizabeth’s relationship, as well as the heartbreak of many who see what a sham the young girls have projected onto the townsfolk. This play is not only a look at the Salem witch trials, but is a powerful allegory about the McCarthy hearings and the fear of being labeled a Communist.
Critical Evaluation:
Although this play deals with many themes such as good versus evil, morality and guilt,
I believe that above all “it concerned something very fundamental in the human animal: the fear of the unknown, and particularly the dread of social isolation.” (Miller, 1989, p. 6). This play is a very strong allegory about the McCarthy era of the 1940s to 1950s in which Senator Joseph McCarthy and others sought to uncover Communists, their main targets being those in the entertainment industry, professors, and those active in unions. Arthur Miller, himself, was under much scrutiny and was eventually blacklisted as well, while many of his friends named names in order to save themselves. At the moment in which Proctor admits to dealing with the Devil in order to spare his life, they ask him who else he saw with the devil. He refuses to name any names and “they think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names . . . I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. Crying out, with hatred: I have no tongue for it.” (pp. 130-131). This is how many felt during the McCarthy era. They had the strength and the moral conviction that individuals may only answer for themselves, and to drag the names of strangers and friends into the mud so that they may be cleared is a cowardly act that they must live with for the rest of their lives.
I believe that above all “it concerned something very fundamental in the human animal: the fear of the unknown, and particularly the dread of social isolation.” (Miller, 1989, p. 6). This play is a very strong allegory about the McCarthy era of the 1940s to 1950s in which Senator Joseph McCarthy and others sought to uncover Communists, their main targets being those in the entertainment industry, professors, and those active in unions. Arthur Miller, himself, was under much scrutiny and was eventually blacklisted as well, while many of his friends named names in order to save themselves. At the moment in which Proctor admits to dealing with the Devil in order to spare his life, they ask him who else he saw with the devil. He refuses to name any names and “they think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names . . . I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. Crying out, with hatred: I have no tongue for it.” (pp. 130-131). This is how many felt during the McCarthy era. They had the strength and the moral conviction that individuals may only answer for themselves, and to drag the names of strangers and friends into the mud so that they may be cleared is a cowardly act that they must live with for the rest of their lives.
Reader’s Annotation:
Turn the pages and enter into a slice of society where greed, fear, jealousy,
and ambition all fester. As hysteria covers the town of Salem, Massachusetts,
tragedy prevails, and families are torn apart.
Turn the pages and enter into a slice of society where greed, fear, jealousy,
and ambition all fester. As hysteria covers the town of Salem, Massachusetts,
tragedy prevails, and families are torn apart.
Author Biography:
Arthur Miller, who was born in 1915 and died at the age of 89 in 2005, was a prolific author of stage plays, radio plays, non-fiction, and screenplays. His works have won numerous awards, most notably a Kennedy Center Honor and a Pulitzer Prize for drama. His works have also been banned all over the world, especially in the Soviet Union, “after he campaigned for the freedom of dissident writers.” (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller#Stage_plays). His non-fiction writing includes collections of theatre essays in which he discusses public theatre as a social critic, and he also wrote on theatrical conventions.
Miller was married three times, most notably to his second wife, Marilyn Monroe, but it was his third wife, Inge Morath, to whom he was married the longest and who was a renowned photographer. Miller’s plays have been performed throughout the world, and he is considered to be one of the best playwrights of the twentieth century. Each play is a treasure and will undoubtedly live on as long as the works of Shakespeare.
Genre: Play (Tragedy) - Adult crossover
Curriculum Ties:
This play is perfect for a high-school English class. Not only is it short, but even though the vernacular is not what modern teens are used to, the story jumps off the page. Discussions can range from the themes of good and evil to the element that history continually repeats itself. Miller’s take on the Salem witch trials can very much be paralleled to Joseph McCarthy’s hunt for Communists and their supposed sympathizers.
Booktalking Ideas:
-Discuss examples in the current day and age where men and women admit to something in order to be
freed from imprisonment, even though they are not guilty.
freed from imprisonment, even though they are not guilty.
-Parallel in The Crucible the men and women who give up their friends and neighbors
as witches with the McCarthy era where many gave up their friends and neighbors
as Communists in order to clear their own names.
as witches with the McCarthy era where many gave up their friends and neighbors
as Communists in order to clear their own names.
-Discuss how the character of John Proctor changes throughout the course of the play.
How does he wish to atone for his sins?
How does he wish to atone for his sins?
Read-Alikes/ View-Alikes:
-The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
-Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
-A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
-Guilty by Suspicion, directed by Irwin Winkler.
Challenge Issue:
Some high schools in the United States and the former Soviet Union itself have banned The Crucible and other works by Miller for their use of language and ideology. The Crucible uses a lot of the vernacular of the time, and the plot deals with the devil, but more importantly it can be used as a mirror to other moments in history such as the McCarthy era. Only by learning about the past can we be hopeful that history not repeat itself.
Reason to include in blog:
I’ve loved Arthur Miller since Death of a Salesman, which I read many moons ago. His plays are wonderful slices of life, made especially meaningful. I thought The Crucible would be a great addition to this blog and for teen readers interested in playwriting. I was also particularly interested in this play, once I learned of the reason behind Miller’s writing it, when in college I studied the McCarthy era and all the lives that were ruined by the hysteria.
References:
Arthur Miller. (2011). In Wikipedia. Retrieved at
Miller, A. (2003). The Crucible. New York: Penguin Classics.
Miller, A. (1989). Theater: Again they drink from the cup of suspicion.
New York Times, 5-4.
No comments:
Post a Comment