72 pages • 2 hours read
Arthur MillerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
From the infectious groupthink of accusers to the fear-mongering speeches of Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth, the Salem witch trials in The Crucible mirror Arthur Miller’s lived experiences as a named “communist” (called before Joseph McCarthy’s Committee on Un-American Activities). Analyze at least three specific moments in The Crucible that gesture toward the actions, attitudes, and rhetoric of McCarthyism.
The word “crucible” has two meanings. The term can either refer to a large (witch’s) cauldron wherein substances boil together, or a challenging test of character (a “trial by fire”). Considering both definitions, how does the title of The Crucible function as a metaphor for the events and developments in Miller’s play?
The Crucible uses the Salem witch trials to closely examine intersecting hierarchies of class, gender, and power in a conservative Puritan community. The least powerful members of society—a slave, a homeless woman, and a sexual deviant—are the first to stand accused, and the accusers themselves are young servant girls (who do not possess a great deal of political power prior to the witch trials). What messages does this play send about obtaining and maintaining power? How do power dynamics fluctuate throughout the play?
By Arthur Miller
All My Sons
All My Sons
Arthur Miller
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge
Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller
Incident At Vichy
Incident At Vichy
Arthur Miller
Tragedy and the Common Man
Tragedy and the Common Man
Arthur Miller