The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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The Crucibleby Arthur Miller
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Arthur Miller(1915- 2005)

• The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My
  Sons, and Death of a Salesman
• Won Pulitzer Prize
• Married Marilyn Monroe
• The Crucible is a historical allegory for the
  McCarthy period

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• McCarthy Period- (1940s-1950s) During this time
  many thousands of Americans were accused of being
  Communists or communist sympathizers and became
  the subject of aggressive investigations and
  questioning before government or private-industry
  panels, committees and agencies

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• Arthur Miller did not deny the parallels of The
  Crucibles action and the anticommunist witch
  hunts Senator Joseph McCarthy he insisted that
  The Crucible really addressed a broader subject
  the psychology of hysteria and mass terror.

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• The Crucible is set in another politically
  charged period in U.S. history. The Salem witch
  trials of the late 17th century resulted in the
  accusation and hanging of many colonials.
  Citizens of the Massachusetts colony were
  arrested and forced to admit their own guilt and
  inform on others.

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• Tragedy A serious play with an unhappy ending
  brought about by the characters or central
  characters impelled by fate (ancient drama) or
  moral weakness, psychological maladjustment, or
  social pressure.
• Crucible The word crucible literal definition is
  a container that resists heat. Its connotations
  include melting pot, in the symbolic sense, and
  bearing of a cross

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• Historical Fiction- is a sub-genre of fiction
  that often portrays alternate accounts or
  dramatization of historical figures or events.