The Salem witch hunt and the McCarthy era – they are definitely two of the rather unpleasant chapters of American history to think of. Even though there are more than 250 years of distance between these two periods, there are still several parallels to be perceived. One might say: History repeats itself!
One of the attempts to combine the events of 1692 and the 1950s, and point out their similarities, was made by America’s famous playwright Arthur Miller. "The Crucible" was written in 1953 and is set in 1692 Salem. The play would become by far Arthur Miller’s most frequently performed play. In the context of McCarthyism, the audiences soon interpreted the play as a veiled attack on the current chase after Communists in the country. However, Arthur Miller time and again denied such an intention, but it appears conceivable that the play was shaped, in a way, by Miller’s experiences during McCarthyism.
The work in hands is supposed to find out, whether "The Crucible" can be referred to as a play with a dual historical context. In the first chapter of the work, the apparent historical background, the Salem witch trials of 1692, will be outlined briefly. Following this, the play’s formation context, America’s 1950s and McCarthyism, will be thematized. As Arthur Miller experienced the consequences of the 20th century witch hunt himself, chapter four deals with his experiences with McCarthyism and how it might have affected him writing the play. The next chapter, then, analyzes "The Crucible" in more detail and points out passages that can be related to the events of the 1950s and potentially contain hidden criticism. Finally, in chapter six there will be an attempt to give an answer to the question, whether "The Crucible" can be considered a play with a dual historical context or not.
As many of the documents of the Salem witch trials still exist, the course of events can easily be reconstructed. With regard to the events of the 1950s, documents are mainly retained by the FBI, but, however, a few surveys of accused people could be reconstructed either by reports of the accused or by tapes and documents that were somehow not kept under wraps by the FBI. As Arthur Miller is one of America’s most famous playwrights, his plays evoked the interest of many scholars over the last decades.
Table of Contents
1) Introduction
2) The Salem Witch Hunt
3) The Red Scare of America’s 1950s
4) Arthur Miller, McCarthyism, and The Crucible
5) The Crucible – A Play With a Dual Historical Context?
6) Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This work investigates whether Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" can be defined as a work with a dual historical context by analyzing the parallels between the Salem witch trials of 1692 and the American anti-Communist "Red Scare" of the 1950s.
- Historical background of the 1692 Salem witch trials.
- Political climate of America in the 1950s and the rise of McCarthyism.
- Arthur Miller's personal experiences with the McCarthy-era investigations.
- Analysis of "The Crucible" regarding hidden criticism and thematic parallels.
Excerpt from the Book
The Salem Witch Hunt
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, and deals with one of the darkest chapters of American history – the Salem witch trials. In the year of 1692, a witch panic swept through Massachusetts, beginning in Salem Village, with about 150 people from roughly two dozen different towns and villages finding themselves formally charged with the crime of witchcraft (cf. Godbeer 1). The panic began when several girls and young women started suffering severely from strange fits (Rosenthal 1). To the present day, it can’t be proven beyond doubt whether the girls truly suffered from these fits or whether they only feigned them (cf. ibid.). A proposal for a physical explanation for the fits was given in 1976 by a graduate student in biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who suggested that they suffered from “convulsive ergotism”, which came from eating contaminated grain (cf. Godbeer 7). Even though the symptoms described by the Salem villagers speak for this theory, other researches claimed for a multicausal perspective on the events that took place in Salem (cf. ibid.).
The hysteria began with the “affliction” of two girls in the village minister Samuel Parris’ household, namely with his nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth and his eleven-year-old niece Abigail Williams (cf. ibid. 2). As no doctor could detect any physical cause for the fits, Parris encouraged the girls to name their tormentors. At the end of February, the girls accused three women of bewitching them and the legal phase of the Salem witch trials began (cf. Rosenthal 14). The local magistrates issued warrants for the arrest of Tituba (the minister’s slave from Barbados), Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good. On March 1, the accused women were examined on the charges brought against them and in order to protect herself, Sarah Good soon accused Sarah Osborne of bewitching the girls (cf. ibid. 15). Thereby, she confirmed and reinforced the fear of witchcraft in Salem, which led to an explosion of further witch accusations a short while after.
Summary of Chapters
1) Introduction: This chapter outlines the scope of the work, introducing the historical parallels between the Salem witch trials and the 1950s McCarthy era as represented in Arthur Miller's play.
2) The Salem Witch Hunt: This section provides a brief historical overview of the 1692 events in Salem, focusing on the social hysteria, the role of Puritan ideology, and the judicial proceedings of the trials.
3) The Red Scare of America’s 1950s: This chapter explores the rise of anti-Communist hysteria in the United States post-WWII, detailing the impact of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee.
4) Arthur Miller, McCarthyism, and The Crucible: This part examines Miller's personal encounter with anti-Communist investigations and analyzes how his experiences influenced the thematic development of his play.
5) The Crucible – A Play With a Dual Historical Context?: This chapter offers a detailed analysis of the text, identifying specific passages that parallel the 1950s and discussing the play's commentary on moral guilt and the erosion of individual freedom.
6) Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, arguing that despite Miller's denial of writing a direct political allegory, the play functions effectively as a work with a dual historical context.
Keywords
The Crucible, Arthur Miller, Salem witch trials, McCarthyism, Red Scare, Communism, moral guilt, political repression, historical parallel, judicial proceedings, HUAC, individual freedom, 17th century, 1950s, hysteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this work?
The work examines Arthur Miller’s play "The Crucible" and its thematic relationship to two distinct historical periods: the 1692 Salem witch trials and the anti-Communist climate of the United States in the 1950s.
What are the central themes discussed in the analysis?
The central themes include the nature of social hysteria, the dangers of moral absolutism, the erosion of individual rights under political pressure, and the use of judicial power to enforce conformity.
What is the main research question of this study?
The primary research question is whether "The Crucible" can be categorized as a play with a dual historical context, given the striking parallels between the 17th-century witch hunts and the 20th-century anti-Communist investigations.
Which methodology is applied in this research?
The work employs a literary and historical analysis, comparing the documented events of the 1692 witch trials and the 1950s McCarthy hearings with specific dramatic content, symbols, and character motivations within Arthur Miller’s play.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers the historical background of both eras, Arthur Miller’s personal experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and a textual analysis of the play identifying connections between the two time periods.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include "The Crucible," "McCarthyism," "Salem witch trials," "moral guilt," "political hysteria," and "dual historical context."
How does the author analyze the role of confessions in the play?
The author argues that in both 1692 and the 1950s, the legal system utilized forced confessions and the naming of other "conspirators" as a tool to validate the authorities' mission, effectively turning citizens against each other to ensure personal survival.
Does the work conclude that Miller intentionally wrote an allegory?
The conclusion suggests that while Miller denied writing an explicit political attack, his deep personal experience with McCarthyism and his synthesis of the two historical events make the dual context of the play indisputable and striking.
- Quote paper
- Deborah Heinen (Author), 2016, Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". A Story of Witch Hunting and the Red Scare, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/334984
