Introduction
Arthur Miller's famous and contentious play, "The Crucible," recreates the drama of the Salem Witch Trials. Miller did not write this work, however, to simply bring light to a historical event from the 1600s—he was purposefully drawing a parallel between the horrors of Salem and McCarthyism, a terror of his own era. In this webquest, students will examine historical artifacts of McCarthyism to determine whether of not "The Crucible" is an effective allegory.
Guiding Question
How does "The Crucible" describe two historical events at once?
Questions
1. Who was Joseph McCarthy?
2. What was the House Committee on Un-American Activities? (HUAC)
3. Why were people in the United States afraid of Communists?
4. Find political cartoons that show the history of McCarthyism. Explain three symbols from the political cartoons.
5. What were Arthur Miller’s political views? How did the government treat him?
6. What does it mean to get “blacklisted” during the era of McCarthyism?
7. What happened in Salem during the witch trials?
8. How is McCarthyism represented in “The Crucible”?
9. What did critics think of “The Crucible” when it was first released and performed?
10. What other plays (or movies) deal with issues of McCarthyism?
Internet Resources
McCarthyism
"Fire!" -McCarthyism political cartoons
Arthur Miller
Joseph McCarthy
SparkNotes: The Crucible
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692
Wikipedia: The Crucible
HUAC and censorship changes
Principles of Marxist Communism
Wikipedia: Communism
Activities
1. Create a chart comparing charactes from “The Crucible” to real people involved in McCarthyism.
2. Draw a political cartoon about McCarthyism using symbols from the Salem With Trials.
3. Pretend you are a member of HUAC who has just seen a production of “The Crucible.” Write a letter to Arthur Miller stating your opinions about the play.
4. Pretend that Arthur Miller went to dinner with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Write the dialogue that might have passed between them.
5. Think of an important historical event in your lifetime. Following the example of “The Crucible,” write a short allegorical skit about this event.
Aliza Aufrichtig (Teacher) and Patrick Buddeberg (AP student) collaborated to develop this web hunt.
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