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Examination of a Witch - Matteson |
The Crucible, written in 1953 by
American playwright Arthur Miller, is aptly named for the characters that
undergo a test or an ordeal. It is set
during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, a notorious piece of early American history
in which a village in Massachusetts becomes an environment for ignorance,
suspicion, and paranoia.
It started
with an unsettled atmosphere of the community among neighbors and deepened when
three young girls began acting strangely.
The illiteracy of some thought it was the work of the Devil, and before
long, many innocent people were accused of doing the Devil’s work. In a year’s time, 200 people were tried and
20 were executed.
One of the
immediate questions I have when I read a book is “Why does the author think the
way he does?” I want to know all about
him.
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Arthur Miller |
At some
point, Miller was exposed to Marxism and Communism and may have believed that
both were more effective in dealing with social and economic challenges. Miller was drawn to this, and for several
years worked under a pseudo name, Matt Wayne, for the New Masses, an American Marxist publication for theater critics
whose editors proclaimed Communist/Marxist loyalty.
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Senator Joe McCarthy |
Soon after,
Miller wrote The Crucible, “…motivated in some great part by the paralysis
that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the
inquisitors' violations of civil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of
being identified as covert Communists if they should protest too strongly.” He was significantly affected by the trepidation
of his colleagues should they be exposed for association with Communists or
accused of harboring the “wrong ideas.”
Then, in 1956, Miller was
called before the House of Un-American Activities Committee, which was formed
in the 1930s to search out anti-American propaganda. He denied membership with the American
Communist Party and refused to provide names of anyone who may have been
affiliated with the Party. He was found
guilty of contempt of Congress and was blacklisted. Later, he was cleared of all charges.
Go to Part 2
sources: Arthur Miller: Why I Wrote The Crucible; The Truth About McCarthyism;
Go to Part 2
sources: Arthur Miller: Why I Wrote The Crucible; The Truth About McCarthyism;
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