Arthur Miller, The Crucible, and that sort of thing…

“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 Marilyn 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.”

http://summarycentral.tripod.com/thecrucible.htm

to learn more…click the witch!