Reading the Classics: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Book
This is not actually a book as such, but a play. It was written in the 1950s and uses the backdrop of the Salem witch trials in the 17th century to highlight the issues of the modern day communist witch hunt during the McCarthy era. The first staging of the play was not all together successful, but it still won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1953, and in a later production the play found its stride and became the classic we know today.
The story of the play is based on real people and real events, but Miller has taken some liberties and fictionalized and changed some things, including changing ages of the people and lumping more people into one character.
The Author
Arthur Miller has written a number of plays, many of which are considered modern classics, including “The Crucible”, “Death of a Salesman” and “All My Sons”. He was born in 1915 in New York City and lived to be 89 years of age. He was particularly well known to the public in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was called on to testify in the communist committee hearings of the McCarthy era and married Marilyn Monroe.
Throughout his career he was a prolific writer and producer and he received many honors, including being inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and becoming the first American president of the PEN International.
Review
For some reason I did not realize this was a play. It almost put me off reading it as plays are usually not really my thing. But I decided to give it a go and I am glad I did. The play is set during the Salem witch trials in the 17th century and is based on actual historical figures and events. The author makes a few comments on this in the stage directions. We follow the townspeople from the beginning of the hysteria to the end when some people seem to come to their senses and realize what they are doing. We see the young girls at the centre of the events starting out just trying to avoid getting in trouble, and then using the consequent hysteria for their own uses. Some are trying to protect themselves, while others are out for revenge. As officials are involved personal pride becomes an issue, as having first backed the girls the officials refuse to change their mind even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Is it still a classic to me?
While these events took place hundreds of years ago, I still think there are some lessons to be learnt from them today. The fact that personal pride would stop people from doing what they deep down knew was right is something that can still be seen today. People preferring to actually kill people rather than admit they were wrong is scary, but it is all too real, along with the revenge motive playing out in this narrative. I definitely think this story still has something to teach us today.
Sources:
Comments
Post a Comment