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The Crucible (Penguin Classics) | 
| Author: Arthur Miller
Creator: Christopher Bigsby
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 4640
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0142437336
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.52
EAN: 9780142437339
ASIN: 0142437336
Publication Date: March 25, 2003
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Product Description
Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller's play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism.
Introduction by Christopher Bigsby
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 The Devil is Precise April 29, 2008
16 out of 22 found this review helpful
On my walk through the LoA edition of Arthur Miller plays I bypass The Enemy of the People, the Ibsen adaptation, which I think is a waste of everyone's time, and go straight to the Crucible, which I had never read, nor watched on stage or screen. Very odd. It is a truly gripping piece of modern classic stage writing.
Of course AM needed to educate us always, so this story is not just a story about the witch trials of Salem, when perfectly harmless people, including some citizens of standing in the community, got identified as witches and hanged for it. (Which somehow looks like progress over the burnings in Europe.)
No, this is generally about fundamentalism and totalitarianism and theocracy, and more specifically about McCarthy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about the Ayatollah Khomeini, whatever you may say regarding anachronisms, and the Taliban. Let's not forget the Cultural Revolution of China.
If I seem to mock the play just a little bit, I haven't made up my mind yet, not quite. There is something strangely wrong in the tone of the dialogues. Can't quite nail it. Anachronistic for sure; is that all? Have to think about it.
The message that AM put into his morality tale is that power and property interests are behind the maddest manifestations of disinterestedness and righteousness. That was sure true in the other historical witch hunts that we know about. Whether it is an accurate reflection of the Salem case, I do not know. (I will definitely look for the DVD and give DDL a chance for redemption in my eyes.)
moving and thought-provoking April 9, 2008
I really enjoyed reading this classic tale. I found it interesting from an historical and literary point of view. It forces you to think about very real moral dilemmas, like what you might or might not give your life for.
 Insightful Play January 22, 2008
This short play dives deep into the minds of those who participated in the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600's. Miller focuses entirely on human emotions as he attempts to discover the real reason for these ridiculous witch accusations. "The Crucible" is intriguing and mind-bottling as readers realize the severity of the trials. Many people's lives were changed and it leaves one to question: "Why didn't anyone verify the claims?" The play centers around a man named John Proctor and his relationship with the young Abigail Williams. John commits adultery, cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. In the Puritan society, adultery is a major sin in which the individual would face a severe punishment if convicted. When Proctor tells Abigail he does not love her, she takes revenge by accusing Elizabeth of doing witchcraft. The claims are absurd, yet not a single person in the town attempts to clear Elizabeth's name. Abigail uses her manipulative powers to get the other girls in on her plan. The play shows that both fear and revenge can cause people to do horrible things. The townspeople are involved in this "witch hunt" and add to society's ignorance. They fail to challenge authority even though they know what is right. I found this book engaging as I tried to fathom the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller does an excellent job of trying to understand why this happened. I learned that Puritan society was weak and that many individuals feared speaking out against authority. The entire Puritan society was based on control. By instilling fear in people, the Puritan leaders could maintain leadership over the rest of them. This is a great read if you want to try to understand history and apply it to our world today.
History and Literature in one book...any better? January 22, 2008
When is lying justifiable? Is it good in certain situations but bad in others? The Bible explicitly says, "Thou shall not lie," but most nowadays choose to neglect that rule and seek our own good, whether it be by telling the truth or by lying. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is memorable in that it illustrates the malicious extent of a person's lie. Miller recounts a person's desire to destroy one another by using false accusations to highlight the destructive result of humanity's egoistic nature.
A look at the period in which the book takes place is crucial in understanding the immorality behind the punishments those accused of witchcraft received. Set in the early 17th century America, the enticing play quickly build up climax as the characters struggle to fit in their superficial society of the Puritans. Those latter strongly believed that any contact with evil spirits merits death. The presence of a sinner in the midst of the community would mean danger and melancholy to all. Therefore, it was crucial to spot the guilty and remove him/her.
Since the firm Puritan belief of the seventeenth century upheld witchcraft as a direct contact with devils, and if not Lucifer himself, the accusations of Abigail and her associates cause great hysteria in the calm city of Salem. By falsely accusing others of being involved in witchcraft, Abigail succeeds in fooling the deputy who then orders many venerable citizens to burn at the stake.
It is also interesting to realize that Miller passed through a period that exactly parallels that found in his play. Driven by the impulsive McCarthyism ideology of his era, Miller parallels the anti-Communist fervor of the 1950's with the false accusations of the Salem Witch trials of the 1690's in order to highlight the outlandish prejudice of both eras.
Senator John McCarthy eliminates Communist compellers from the United States by ensuring that all those partaking of the Communistic party be severely punished. As in the case with the Salem Witch Trials, people in the 1950's accused others of Communistic involvement in order to escape their awaited severe punishments.
In both eras, the policy of encouraging others to confess resulted in great hysteria and settled long-held vendettas. In the 1950's, those who refused to confess were forever blacklisted, and in the 1690's, they were condemned and hanged. In both eras, it is evident that the envy of the miserable toward the happy is what caused many people to sell others.
Overall, the book is enticing and holds many moral lessons that the reader must deduce after seeing the consequences of the characters' actions. If you want to discover some history as well as enjoy a book where you will be able to see yourself, then I strongly recommend this play for you.
Meaningful Tragedy of Human Nature January 22, 2008
Miller's "Crucible" amazingly parallels the McCarthyism era and provides a frightful yet realistic account of the possibilities caused by human desires. Its short length combined with its easy-to-understand language allows the readers to become fully absorbed in the plot.
During the period of anti-communism, suspicions were placed among all types of people, ranging from outcasts of society to the most-trusted educators. The hysteria of the Red Scare spread rapidly through the belief of a necessary social conformity. Despite questionable evidence combined with exaggerated threats, suspicions were often deemed credible in a court of law. Consequently, once suspected, few individuals were able to completely clear their reputation. As with the witches accused, suspected Communists were given the chance to escape punishment through confession and identification of other Red Sympathizers. This gradually led to false accusations of others to save oneself, resulting in the condemning of many innocent individuals. Paralleling the Salem Witch Trials to the persecutions of the McCarthyism era, Miller emphasizes the ability of mass hysteria to overpower the apparent irrationality of the Red Scare.
Miller's outstanding use of historical context further emphasized the power of human nature to cause the spread of mass hysteria. When looking at the "Crucible" as a play, it seems too surreal and frightening to be true. Any reader could easily mock the people of the community for being naive and hanging nonexistent witches. However, the scary irony that Miller uses is the fact that the whole scenario has happened before in history, numerous times. Not only did the settlers of Massachusetts hang supposed "witches", but also people in the twentieth century have allowed mass hysteria to spread unjustifiably.
"The Crucible" is an exciting play that fully grasps the attention of its readers. It is not only an entertaining book for any occasion, but is also a meaningful retelling of a tragedy of human nature.
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