Notes needed for the background information:

Cotton Mather created the hysteria that surrounded the Salem Witch Trials. Joseph Mcarthy created the 1950’s "Red Scare" that surrounded the era in which Arthur Miller lived and wrote.

The Puritan Church encouraged confessions of sins as a way to forgiveness. McCarthy and HUAC encouraged the naming of names. To lie and confess in both situations was considered the road to salvation. The Hollywood 10 refused to confess. The Salem twenty were killed for refusing to sign a confession. Little was needed in either case to accuse and convict the people named in the "hearings." Most people were convicted on a person’s statement.

Miller was called before the committee after being named. His case finally went before the Supreme Court.

The church in 1692 was the political center. Following WWII, the Cold War instilled a fear of Communism as an unseen danger as strong as the fear of witches had been in the Puritan era.

The theory and statement was that "Witches never did exist, then or now. Communists are real." McCarthy actually said some of the lines used in the Salem Witch Trials. Echoes of history repeating itself.

Miller used this play to try to keep history from repeating itself.

Orson Wells was blacklisted. McCarthy exploited the communist problem for political ends. Like Parris, he used the scare to cement his place in the political world.

The fear in Hollywood did not break free until 1960. "The Brave One" was written by a blacklisted writer, Dalton Trumbo, and addressed the plight of the downtrodden in a repressive government.

John Proctor tried to remain uninvolved until the witch hunters came physically knocking on his door. Many in Hollywood only became involved after being named in a secret meeting.

Proctor was guilty of a sin, but not the sin of witchcraft. He was guilty of adultery and not attending church. Both of these were used as evidence in his witch trial. Many during the witch trails confessed after food and sleep deprivation. Some felt that Mather instigated the trials, but others say he tried to stop them. There is little question where McCarthy stood on Communism. Cotton Mather was a minister of great political standing with as much power as a Senator.

Girls and adults got caught up in the frenzy of witchcraft. The Crucible deals with the idea that the "witch" hysteria was all to cover-up the realization that three girls were caught dancing and lied to protect themselves.

Witches were not burned, as portrayed in many situations; but were actually hanged. It was generally agreed that none of them had actually been witches at all.

Abigail Williams was only 11, but Arthur Miller boosted her age to 17. John Proctor was 60; Elizabeth was his third wife. She was pregnant at the time of her arrest and was given a temporary stay of execution. John was not really a farmer as he is in the play, but a tavern keeper. The entire family was eventually accused of witchcraft.

Tituba was actually married. Miller omitted this from the play. Parris did not graduate from Harvard, but he did attend the university. Miller also omitted Cotton Mather.

Most of the people who were executed, were killed for refusing to confess. Confession would have caused all the children to be disinherited.

In both reality and in the play, the families of the people who were executed or blacklisted were reimbursed for the mess the hysteria caused.

Do the Internet search and find out answers to the following questions:

What actual historical event inspired Arthur Miller to write The Crucible?

What causes spurs a whole community into a blood-lust frenzy in Miller’s tale?

In reality, how many children were in the Paris family? What were their names and ages?

The following people were hanged on what date: Rebecca Nurse was hanged _________________, John Proctor on ____________________, and Martha Corey on _______________________.

One of Miller's reasons for creating this play was that it was his way of trying to keep ___________________________________.

Christopher Bigsby, the author of the 1995 Introduction to The Crucible, describes Miller's motivation as this: "Miller seems to have written ____________________________________.

The 1957 version was produced in _____________ because people in the movie industry in the United States were afraid of being branded communists or communist sympathizers if they made the movie.
Who wrote the screenplay for the 1996 version?

The film raises three important moral issues. Name them.

1)

2)

3)

How many people were imprisoned as a result of the witch trials? How many were executed? How many died in prison?

Who was the only person executed who was not hanged? How were they killed?

What crime was Arthur Miller convicted of that was later thrown out by the Supreme Court?

What does HUAC stand for?

Extension Activities:
1. Write a letter to your favorite writer. In your letter, you may wish to discuss a specific book or character, or ask questions about the author’s life or works. Contact the writer’s publisher for information on where to send your letter.

2. Discuss your favorite author. What attracts you to his or her work? What common themes, plots or characters seem to repeat throughout the works that you have read, and why do you find them interesting?

3. See a play in your community or school and write a newspaper review about it.

6. Read and discuss one of Arthur Miller’s plays. Evaluate the historical metaphors that the plays may be attempting to draw.

7. Learn about other great American playwrights and their works.

8. Investigate the various awards (such as the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award) given to works for the theater. What is the history of the sponsoring organization or organizations? How are finalists and winners selected, and who chooses them? What prestige comes with winning such an award?

9. Interview various people involved in one of your city’s theaters. Theater companies may also allow students to watch a dress rehearsal and take a tour of the theater.

10. Evaluate other characters in plays (or in novels, short stories, films and television shows). What motivates the character to act as he or she does? How do others feel about the character? How does the physical appearance of the character reflect upon the character’s thoughts and actions?

Interdisciplinary Connections:
American History- Explore plays written in a specific time period. How do plays reflect the time periods in which they are written?

Global History
-Learn about the history of different theatre styles developed in other countries.
-Create a timeline of the evolution of theatre in various countries.

Media Studies- Create an advertisement (videotaped commercial, radio spot, or magazine ad) for a play that you have studied or recently seen. Be sure to indicate elements of the plot, characters, setting, tone, and themes in your ad.

Technology- Search the Web for Web sites about specific plays, playwrights, and theatres.