Arthur Miller And Crucible
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Arthur Miller And Crucible
Arthur Miller was an American playwright who was born in 1915. He grew up in New
York to a Jewish family. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938
where he began to distinguish himself as a playwright. His first plays were
Honors at Dawn (1936) and No Villain (1937) which won the University of Michigan
Hopwood Awards. His Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer prize in 1949. Miller
wrote The Crucible in 1953 during the McCarthy period when Americans were
accusing each other of Pro-Communist beliefs. Many of Miller's friends were
being attacked as communists and in 1956, Miller himself was brought before the
House of Un-American Activities Committee where he was found guilty of beliefs
in communism. The verdict was reversed in 1957 in an appeals court. Miller
married Marylin Monroe in 1956 but divorced her in 1961. The Crucible is set
against the backdrop of the mad witch hunts of the Salem witch trials in the
late 17th century. It is about a town, after accusations from a few girls, which
begins a mad hunt for witches that did not exist. Many townspeople were hanged
on charges of witchcraft. Miller brings out the absurdity of the incident with
the theme of truth and righteousness. The theme is conveyed through the
struggles of Miller's main character, John Proctor. Summary Act one begins with
Reverend Parris praying over her daughter, Betty Parris, who lies unconscious on
her bed. Through conversations between Reverend Parris and his niece Abigail
Williams, and between several girls, the audience learns that these girls,
including Abigail and Betty, were engaged in occultic activities in the forest
lead by Tituba, Parris' slave from Barbados. Parris caught them and jumped from
a bush startling the girls. Betty fainted and had not recovered. During this
session, Abigail drank chicken blood to kill Elizabeth Proctor. She tells the
girls that she will kill anyone who mutters a word about what happened. The
townspeople do not know exactly what the girls were doing but there are rumors
of witchcraft. John Proctor enters the room where Betty lies faint. Abigail is
still in there and she tries to seduce him. Proctor is a farmer who has had an
affair with Abigail a while ago, but now he wants to forget it. Reverend John
Hale is summoned to look upon Betty and the research the incident. He is an
expert in occultic phenomena and he is eager to show his knowledge. He questions
Abigail who accuses Tituba as being a witch. Tituba, ...
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