Historical and Cultural Connections - History of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, and Allegory

Drama has been a preferred form of entertainment for people for hundreds of years. But drama offers more than just a few hours respite from the audience's reality; it is a medium, or tool, which can be used to teach the audience about the truth of their reality. For example, the playwright Arthur Miller used the context of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to highlight the mass hysteria centered around communism and McCarthyism from his own time, the 1950s. While Miller's account of the trial and those involved are historically accurate, he also utilizes his right as the author to embellish some of the details in order to create an interesting and suspenseful play with an underlying lesson about human nature.

In this topic, you will explore the history of the Salem Witch Trials as well as the scare of communism and McCarthyism of the 1950s. You will learn how playwrights like Arthur Miller used events from the past to illustrate a point about the present.

Essential Questions

• What is the history associated with the Salem Witch Trials?
  
• What kinds of themes and conflicts can a playwright pull from history, and how will those themes relate to a more modern audience?
  
• How is The Crucible an allegory of McCarthyism?