Arthur Millers The Crucible

1
Arthur Millers The Crucible

• Puritan History
• Who are they?
• How did they live?
• What is The Crucible?

2
Definition of a Puritan

• An English religious group who came to the U.S.
  to practice their religion without the
  interference from the Church of England.

3
The Puritan Way

• Religion and Values
• Two worlds closely intertwined
• Their view on the government

4
Puritan Theology

• At the center of Puritan theology was an uneasy
  mixture of certainty and doubt.
• The doubt focused on two things.
• Motivation to live perfect lives.

5
Puritans and Discrimination

• For their way of life, Puritans suffered
  discrimination in England.
• Some were put in jail, others were treated
  maliciously.
• Their strong values encouraged them to flee
  England and settle in the New World (New
  England).

6
Strict Order

• The Puritans had their own cultural practices,
  most based on their religious beliefs. Below are
  a couple of things that were prohibited by the
  Puritans
• Free speech
• Individuality
• Enjoyment at any time
• Kissing ones wife in public
• Falling asleep in church
• Gambling of any kind
• Games- Bowling, Shuffleboard
• Hair ribbons
• Wearing of ones hair long
• Mixed dancing
• Walking after sunset
• Singing

7
The Salem Witch Trials

• The most infamous occurrence involving the
  Puritans were the events that transpired in
  Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.
• The witchcraft hysteria in Salem was a result of
• Threatened moral foundation
• Politics
• Religion
• Family feuds
• Economics
• Imaginations
• Fears of the people

8
Witches or Not

• To prove that someone was a witch, church
  officials sometimes poked him or her with pins,
  searching for a so-called devils mark, a spot
  where no pain was felt.
• Another test involved tying together the hands
  and feet of the accused and throwing him or her
  into water. Those who floated were declared
  witches those who drowned were declared
  innocent.
• In the Salem witch trials, spectral evidence
  the testimony of a church member who claimed to
  have seen a persons spirit performing witchcraft
  was enough to sentence the accused to death.

9
Labels and Punishments

• Men were called Wizards
• Women were called Witches

• 19 innocent men and women were hanged for
  witchcraft.
• An old man was pressed to death.
• Four others died in jail as they awaited trial.

10
Arthur Miller and The Crucible

• Are you now or were you ever a communist?
• Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible draws a direct
  parallel between the Red Hunt in 1950s America
  and the hysteria paranoia in Salem.
• Red Hunt- This paranoia and witch hunt
  mentality was present in 1950s Hollywood where
  many Americans were suspected of being members of
  the Communist party and blacklisted.
• Ex. Lucille Ball, Ronald Reagan, Langston
  Hughes, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe.
• The accused had two options with two very
  different outcomes.

11
McCarthyism
Joseph R McCarthy burst on the public scene in
February 1950 with his claim that Communist had
infiltrated the Department of State. For three
years, McCarthy charged many government
officials, members of the media, and other
prominent figures with engaging Communism.