Miller composed The Crucible in the early 1950s during the time of Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose vitriol proved the spark needed to propel the United States into a dramatic anti-Communist fervor during the first tense years of the Cold War. Two years later he wrote Death of a Salesman, described as the first great American tragedy, and gained eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States. The play is studied widely as a modern American classic, compared by some to Shakespeare in its scale, but is far more accessible.Īrthur Miller and the context for The Crucibleīorn in 1915, Arthur Miller produced his first great success, All My Sons, in 1947. It focuses on John Proctor, the essentially good but flawed farmer tormented in his struggle to work out right from wrong and act accordingly, but whose destiny propels the tale to its tragic conclusion. This powerful play, a study of intolerance, fear, and the abuse of unjust power, retells the story of Salem through the eyes of those at the centre of the maelstrom. Within weeks dozens of people are in jail, and by the time the fever has run its course, nineteen people (and two dogs) have been hanged for witchcraft. Old grudges and jealousies add to the atmosphere of hysteria and the Massachusetts judicial system, heavily influenced by religion, rolls into action.

Before long the girls accuse other villagers of consorting with the Devil and casting spells. In extremely religious Puritan New England, such frightening occurrences are attributed to the Devil and the sickness spurs fears of witchcraft.

Early in 1692, in the small Massachusetts village of Salem, a number of girls fall ill, victims of hallucinations and seizures.

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