Name & Period: ______________________________

About the Author

Arthur Miller (1915–2005) was born in New York to a family of Polish immigrants. He started writing plays in
college and went on to win many awards for his writing. His plays Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer
Prize, and The Crucible have found permanent places in American culture. Arthur Miller is a leader among the
ranks of writers who use their art to comment on social issues. Miller created The Crucible to speak his
conscience; he uncovered a setting, developed compelling characters through masterful characterization,
created dialogue rich with metaphor and purpose, and structured a plot that transformed ideas into a drama of
such persuasive appeal that it continues to speak to audiences all over the world. After writing The Crucible,
Miller was called in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he refused to name other
“Communists.”

Write 3 details about Arthur Miller.

There are two definitions of a ‘crucible.’ Which definition do you think Miller had in mind when he wrote his
play?

Note on the Historical Accuracy of this play

This play is not history in the sense in which the word is used by the academic historian. Dramatic purposes
have sometimes required many characters to be fused into one; the number of girls involved in the 'crying
out' has been reduced; Abigail's age has been raised; while there were several judges of almost equal
authority, I have symbolized them all in Hathorne and Danforth. However, I believe that the reader will
discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history. The fate
of each character is exactly that of his historical model, and there is no one in the drama who did not play a
similar — and in some cases exactly the same — role in history.

As for the characters of the persons, little is known about most of them except what may be surmised from a
few letters, the trial record, certain broadsides written at the time, and references to their conduct in sources
of varying reliability. They may therefore be taken as creations of my own, drawn to the best of my ability in
conformity with their known behavior, except as indicated in the commentary I have written for this text.

Miller takes great pains to emphasize that although his play is a work of fiction, it is based on actual events.
Why do you think he reiterates this point?
Note Inferences On The Characters You Meet Below.
What does their line of dialogue tell you about them?

Reverend Parris

Tituba

Reverend Hale

Giles Corey

Rebecca Nurse

John Proctor

Abigail Williams

Mr. Putnam

Check For Understanding- Wait for Mr. Cassaro to assign your group a character.

Who is your group’s assigned character?

Write three details about the character from the play.

1.

2.

3.

Return to the Inferences you made about your character. Were they accurate or do they need to change?