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| 1/22/1938 |
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The Crucible and Our Town
On this day, fifteen years apart, Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953) and Thornton Wilder's Our Town (1938) premiered. Although both were poorly-reviewed to start, The Crucible would win a Tony and Our Town a Pulitzer; and both would become not only classics of American theater, but classic, opposite statements on the idea of community living. |
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"Long, Bitter Debate From the '50's: Views of Kazan and His Critics"
A 1998 article from the New York Times examines the 1950's HUAC investigations in which Elia Kazan named Arthur Miller and others as one-time members of the communist party.
"Mr. Miller, who also testified before the committee but refused to answer questions about other people, says little, overtly hostile about Mr. Kazan personally, though, at one point in his autobiography, Timebends, published by Grove Press last year, he refers to 'those who groveled before this tawdry tribune of moralistic vote-snatchers.' For Mr. Miller, the hearings came out of paranoia and hysteria. He writes: 'With the tiniest Communist Party in the world, the United States was behaving as though on the verge of bloody revolution.'" |  | The New York Times
Find over 90 reviews of works including "Death of a Salesman," "The Crucible," "All My sons," "The Misfits," and "Timebends." With articles about Miller's marriage to Marilyn Monroe, the Pulitzer Prizes, his communist leanings, and more.
"In the harrowing revival of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' that opened last night at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, 50 years to the day after it made its epochal Broadway debut, you walk right into the mind of its decimated hero, played with majestic, unnerving transparency by Brian Dennehy." | | Studying the Background of Arthur Miller's The Crucible
A website for teachers offering a framework for the classroom study of this Miller classic. Includes background information, suggested activities and topics for discussion, suggested assignments, and links to guides and reference information."Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in the context of the historical Salem Witch Trials, shows many innocent people being accused of crimes/sins they did not commit. Throughout history, society has been blinded to similar occurrences, or 'witch hunts.' Indeed, Miller wrote The Crucible in response to one of those 'witch hunts' that took place in his time period--McCarthyism. Your job, ... is to research the background of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, and other 'witch hunts' throughout history to find their causes, evaluate their consequences, and develop a solution that would help avoid and/or prevent such 'witch hunts' in the future." | | TeacherVision.com
This online lesson plan for The Crucible offers a plot synopsys and commentary, an overview of characters, quotes, a timeline of events in the author's life, a brief biography, suggested classroom activities and topics for discussion, and an extended bibliography of suggested fiction and critical reading. A shorter outline of Death of a Salesman provides notes on reading and understanding the text, and suggested topics of discussion and research.
"Although some critics have suggested that The Crucible is an historical allegory for the McCarthy period, it can be examined more fruitfully as a play about the human condition. McCarthyism, as Miller himself said, is the backdrop for the play, but is not its theme." | |
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The TinL masthead features photography by
Natasha D'Schommer
, and the book art featured is by Jim Rosenau.
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