Why I Wrote The Crucible

The Crucible was written in the early 1950’s and many sources discuss the political climate and culture of the United States at that time. After the end of the Second World War (1939-1945), in which the United States and the Soviet Union were allies against the Germans, relations between the two major powers deteriorated. They became suspicious, and then so fearful, of each other that this period became known as the Cold War, even though no war between them was ever declared. The United States was a democracy, and the US government believed in capitalism, whereas the Soviet Union was a dictatorship, and was a communist state. In theory at least, in a communist state everyone shares in the wealth of the country, so that no one will be either …show more content…
I was struck by how human Danforth is though and how he will do anything to get the answer he wants even if it’s not really the truth. That kind of witch-hunt is frightening; it’s frightening when people won’t say they are wrong even if it will cost others their lives. Theatre teacher support material 3 Example 3 3 In 1966, Miller himself wrote an essay for The New Yorker entitled “Why I Wrote “The Crucible”. His distrust for McCarthy is captured in a comparison from a film he saw about Hitler in relation to the McCarthy: “Buzzing his truculent sidewalk brawler's snarl through the hairs in his nose, squinting through his cat's eyes and sneering like a villain, he comes across now as nearly comical, a self-aware performer keeping a straight face as he does his juicy threat-shtick.” (Miller, The New Yorker, pg. 1) It’s alarming to read something like this about Hitler but it reminded me that we all are human and have the power to do good or evil. Proctor cheats, Abigail lies, Elizabeth is cold, Willard drinks too much….but Miller shows rays of lights and dark in all these characters. My vision needs to avoid making them into stereotypes in