The author, Arthur Miller, uses a play format to educate his audience about a very confusing event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in In a tightly wound New England community broke into a rash of scandals and rumors having to do with witchcraft and devil worship. Miller uses actual occurrences, names, and dates in the story, which makes the book a semi- reliable source of information about the event. The story is set in Salem, Massachusetts in
Put it down as the most notable new play by an American so far this season, for Mr. Miller has an independent mind, professional skill and personal courage. Miller has had to alter some of the details of the record to make a tidy play out of a big historical subject; and he has also made a few remarks in passing that apply specifically to the public intolerance of today.
But fundamentally, "The Crucible" is a portrait of the terror and ferocity with which a few Americans, mostly God-fearing men, once accused each other of allegiance to the devil…. Since "The Crucible" is a play about bigotry, it has certain current significance.
Miller is not delivering a polemic or offering "The Crucible" as a deadly parallel.
For the difference between the Salem trial and the current hysteria is a fundamental one. There never were any witches. But there have been spies and traitors in recent days. All the Salem witches were victims of public fear.
Beginning with Hiss, some of the people accused of treason and disloyalty today have been guilty. In "The Crucible" the parallels are minor to the central horror of the witch-hunt in Salem; and they involve the irresponsibility and maliciousness of the accusers, the avidity with which most people accept the accusations as proof of guilt and the bias against anyone who defends the accused people.
Miller has these things in mind, for no one can write about bigotry today in a historical vacuum. But they are incidental to the play as a whole, which dramatizes a unique episode in American history long before the time of representative government and the constitutional judicial system….
Out of a dark episode in American history Mr. Miller has written a fiery play.The Crucible - Setting and Background An exploration of the historical background to 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller, connecting the key themes of superstition, fear and injustice with the political context of the play - the anti-Communist McCarthy era of the s.
The Crucible is Arthur Miller’s dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials of / Set in Salem, Massachusetts, the play enacts the hysteria and irrational hunt, trial, and execution of innocent people caught up in a personal and superstitious web of accusations. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, explores several complex and trans-historic topics, many of which relate to the playwright's experiences during the McCarthy era.
Miller asks his audience to value independent and personal truths, which he defines as more morally right and good than social truths. The Salem of The Crucible is a theocracy, which means that God is supposed to be the ultimate leader, arbiter, and judge. In practice, however, the town’s religious authorities do the governing.
God needs men on earth to do his work of justice, and Hathorne, Danforth, Hale, and Parris are all part of that system. —–Arthur Miller, ‘Why I Wrote The Crucible‘, The New Yorker, 21 October Think back to your viewing of ‘The Crucible’ film and how difficult at times it was to suspend your disbelief – you probably allowed yourself a ‘puzzled smile’ or (as I would less eloquently term it) a ‘schoolboy snigger’.
My finished design was actually very close to my initial sketches for this piece. It just felt good. Mystical, versatile, cold, and beautiful.
While there was a very organic feel to the design, the cold bleak colors helped to create a stark isolation the reflected the characters of the play.