English Advanced Year 12 - The Crucible + related texts: Arthur Miller on 'The Crucible'

Arthur Miller: "Why I wrote The Crucible"
In an article written for The New Yorker in 1996 (just before the 1996 film adaptation premiered), Arthur Miller discusses communism, postwar global politics and McCarthyism, his writing process and the story behind 'The Crucible'. 

What is McCarthyism? And how did it happen?

In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as McCarthyism destroyed lives and careers. But how did this episode of political repression take off? 

In an interview in 1995, Arthur Miller discussed the significance of The Crucible. Clips of the interview are below:

Arthur Miller in Salem

In November 1991, as Salem, Massachusetts was preparing for the 300th anniversary of its Witch Trials, playwright Arthur Miller visited the city to participate in an unveiling of the winning design for the Witch Trials Memorial. It was his visit to the city since his research there forty years earlier for his play 'The Crucible'. Mr. Miller speaks at the Essex Institute (now the Peabody Essex Museum) about the meanings to be found in his play and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

10 Powerful Facts about The Crucible

This Mental Floss website article discusses how Arthur Miller was targeted by the FBI during the height of McCarthyism in the United States. 

What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials?

Find out how the infamous Salem Witch Trials began and why they remain a cautionary tale of the dangers of groupthink and scapegoating.