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Product Description
Book Description
"I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history," Arthur Miller wrote in an introduction to The Crucible, his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.
Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing "Political opposition...is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."
About the Author
Arthur Miller was born in New York City in 1915 and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge and A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1963), Incident at Vichy (1964), The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972) and The American Clock. He has also written two novels, Focus (1945), and The Misfits, which was filmed in 1960, and the text for In Russia (1969), Chinese Encounters (1979), and In the Country (1977), three books of photographs by his wife, Inge Morath. More recent works include a memoir, Timebends (1987), and the plays The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993), Broken Glass (1993), which won the Olivier Award for Best Play of the London Season, and Mr. Peter's Connections (1998). His latest book is On Politics and the Art of Acting. Miller was granted with the 2001 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and in 1949 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Christopher Bigsby is professor of American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He edited the Penguin Classics editions of Miller's The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, and All My Sons.
Christopher Bigsby is professor of American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He edited the Penguin Classics editions of Miller's The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, and All My Sons.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In 1692 nineteen men and women and two dogs were convicted and hanged for witchcraft in a small village in eastern Massachusetts. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In 1692 nineteen men and women and two dogs were convicted and hanged for witchcraft in a small village in eastern Massachusetts. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent example of American Drama,
By Silence Dogood (Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Crucible (Paperback)
The Crucible is Miller's most widely read piece, and perhaps his most important. At the time of its publication, The Crucible served a very important purpose that many readers today don't recognize.Although it serves as a somewhat accurate (there are somethings left out or modified) representation of some of the key characters in the Salem witch trials, I don't think Miller would have taken the time to write the play had it not been for the status quo of his day. The play was written in the 1950s, during a time of a constant communist scare in America. Out of the communist scare came the House of Un-American Activities Commission. HUAC often interoggated people, and black-listed celebrities based on little or no evidence. One of the key players in the HUAC interoggations was Joseph McCarthy, hence the word "McCarthyism" refers to accusing someone based on insufficient evidence. Miller wrote The Crucible as a response to what he though was an injustice in the 1950s. Unfortunatly, the theatre production of The Crucible became a financial flop, but The Crucible remains as a landmark of American Drama. Most American Art serves as a symbol to make a statement. The Crucible is a fine example of this tradition. I'm not going to give you a summary of the story, because I think other reviewers have devled into that enough. The reason I gave the play four stars is because one flaw that Aurthur Miller has in this play, indeed in many of his plays, is the lack of character development. Despite the fact that it is a riviting story, most of the characters are weightless and I don't ever tend to care about them all that much. The Crucible is still a fine piece of literature, however, both as for its historical significance and for its cultural message.
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Crucible; dont read the introduction.,
By Sara Martin (Wexford, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Crucible (Paperback)
The subject of witchcraft has always intrigued me. Unfortunately this play did not keep my interest. The biggest reason was because the introduction, written by Christopher Bigsby, gave away the ending of the play. He said that damages were paid to John Proctor's wife Elisabeth after he was executed on August 19,1692. I know the play was for the most part historically accurate. I just didn't understand why he needed to state the anticipated ending of the play on the book on the second page of the book. The rest of the introduction was interesting. I liked how he compared the fear the people in Salem had of witches to the Red Scare. He said the only difference was that communists were real. This analogy helped me to relate the ridiculous fear these people had of withes to something tangible. The play itself was less exciting than I thought it would be. It was a little hard to follow. There were many characters and many things going on at once. I didn't like how there wasn't a single character who you felt like you could relate to. I liked how throughout the play you couldn't help but have a sense of disbelief about what was going on. I was amazed that the people of Salem so easily believed children without proof. It was unbelievable how by simply telling a judge that you saw a person with the devil they were guilty until proven innocent. I gave this play three stars because it was a good story. It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but I think it was more me than the book that was the problem. I would suggest reading the play before reading the introduction.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive!,
By gabriele neuditschko (Vienna, Europe) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Crucible (Paperback)
Arthur Miller's The Crucible, a play in four acts, deals with the witch-craze in Salem in the 17th century. A minister from Salem discovers a groups of teenage girls dancing naked around a fire in the woods. As the girls are aware of the fact that they will have to face severe punishment for their action, they claim to have been possessed by evil spirits. This causes a major outcry in the Puritan community of Salem and a court is formed to deal with and investigate the accusations of the girls in further detail.At first, only a few people are accused of witchcraft but in the course of events over a hundred people are accused of bewitching the girls. Even people with a very good reputation who have never acted against the will of God or the community are sent to prison due to suspicion, gossip or denunciation. It is clear that in many cases theo girls accuse people with whom they have had some kind of problems or against whom they hold some sort of grievance. Abigail Williams accuses Elizabeth Proctor, her former employer, after having been dismissed from work by Mrs. Proctor. Abigail was the Proctors' servant but had to leave their home because Elizabeth Proctor suspected her of having an affair with her husband. Elizabeth Proctor is sent to prison but not hanged immediately due to the fact that she is pregnant. As John Proctor tries to come to the rescue of his wife, he himself runs into difficulties because he is suspected of undermining the court. Some of the accused avoid execution by "confessing" that they have a pact with the devil but 19 people are hanged. John Proctor does not want to confess a crime he has not committed. However, he changes his decision because of his wife and his three children and decides to sign a confession in order to save his life. But he immediately regrets his decision, tears up the confession and is brought to his execution. The Crucible is a very impressive and powerful play. It illustrates the irrationality of the people which is strongly connected with their fears and superstitious beliefs. Miller manages to show that the people really believed that what they did was right and only done to protect a community of god-fearing people. By reading The Crucible you can learn to understand the point of view and the world of the accusers. You begin to understand that the actions of the Puritans are very logical in their own way. You start to understand the beliefs of the accusers and even develop a kind of sympathy for them and their fears. On the whole, The Crucible is easy to read and can also be read in one setting. The plot is easy to follow, extremely exciting and keeps you in its grip from the fist to the last line. I believe that The Crucible is hugely recommendable for everyone who is interested in understanding the witch-craze and the point of view of the accusers as well as the accused.
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