The Crucible

Arthur Miller's portrayal of innocent individuals destroyed by malicious rumor serves as a powerful indictment of McCarthyism and the Cold War's 'frontier mentality.' This classic parable of mass hysteria draws a chilling parallel between the 1692 Salem witch-hunt and the anti-communist purges of the 1950s led by Senator McCarthy. The narrative explores how the small community of Salem descends into madness fueled by superstition, paranoia, and malice, culminating in a violent climax. It serves as a fierce critique of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations. Miller, born in New York City in 1915, was an influential American dramatist. He gained recognition in 1938 for his comedy The Grass Still Grows, but his major achievement came with Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1949. The Crucible was specifically aimed at the widespread congressional investigations into subversive activities in the US and won the Tony Award in 1953. Miller's autobiography, Timebends: A Life, was published in 1987. If you appreciated this work, you might also enjoy Death of a Salesman, available in Penguin Modern Classics. John Peter of the Sunday Times described it as "one of a handful of great plays that will both survive the twentieth century and bear witness to it."