The Crucible AP Data Sheet
Michelle Spremulli
Mrs. Petitbon
English III HAT
8 December 2014 Title:
The Crucible
Significance of Title:
Crucible a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures
Salem became a “crucible” for many people living there when they were brought before the court and falsely accused of being witches. Most people turned against others accusing them of being associated with the devil and were the cause of their own demise. Author:
Arthur Miller
Biographical Information:
• born October 17, 1915
• an American playwright, essayist, and prominent figure in twentiethcentury
American theater
• attended the University of Michigan
• was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Date Published:
1952
Historical Significance:
The Red Scare Throughout the 1940s and 1950s
America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and
China. A young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred
“cardcarrying” communists had infiltrated the United
States government. McCarthy’s accusations heightened the political tensions of the times. the paranoid hunt for communists was notably difficult on writers and entertainers, many of whom were labeled communist sympathizers and were unable to continue working. Among those was Arthur Miller who compared the communist trials to the witch trials of an earlier time in America by later writing “The
Crucible”.
Genre:
Play Tragedy
Prevalent characteristics about the genre:
A drama in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a
consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances
Setting:
1692
Salem, a small town in colonial Massachusetts during the witch trials
Point of View: third person objective; present tense
the narrator simply
Mrs. Petitbon
English III HAT
8 December 2014 Title:
The Crucible
Significance of Title:
Crucible a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures
Salem became a “crucible” for many people living there when they were brought before the court and falsely accused of being witches. Most people turned against others accusing them of being associated with the devil and were the cause of their own demise. Author:
Arthur Miller
Biographical Information:
• born October 17, 1915
• an American playwright, essayist, and prominent figure in twentiethcentury
American theater
• attended the University of Michigan
• was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Date Published:
1952
Historical Significance:
The Red Scare Throughout the 1940s and 1950s
America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and
China. A young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred
“cardcarrying” communists had infiltrated the United
States government. McCarthy’s accusations heightened the political tensions of the times. the paranoid hunt for communists was notably difficult on writers and entertainers, many of whom were labeled communist sympathizers and were unable to continue working. Among those was Arthur Miller who compared the communist trials to the witch trials of an earlier time in America by later writing “The
Crucible”.
Genre:
Play Tragedy
Prevalent characteristics about the genre:
A drama in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a
consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances
Setting:
1692
Salem, a small town in colonial Massachusetts during the witch trials
Point of View: third person objective; present tense
the narrator simply