Stephen Cunningham
A large portion of The Crucible revolves around the concept of a literal and figurative witch hunt. Why does Arthur Miller focus so much on the Salem Witch Hunt? What was going on during his time period to inspire him to write about Salem? This is a set of resources that will teach learners about the historical background of the Salem Witch Trials and Miller's involvement with McCarthyism and the Communist Witch Hunt.
Educate yourself on the Salem Witch Trials. This is an interactive tool that goes into the background of life during the time period of the witch trials, contains a cool video and goes into various people involved in the witch trials.
This is another site that gives information on the Salem witch trials, but in the upper right hand side you will see an interactive map, so you can get a better visual of where the events happend and what was involved. There is also information on this site about what might have really caused the witch trials.
This site, sponsered by The History Channel, does a great job of giving facts about the witch Trials and can be connected to lots of different videos about the witch trials. At the end of the article, a connection between The Crucible and McCarthyism is made.
Experience the 1692 Salem witch-hunt in a terrifying online trial: 'Are you a witch? How long have you been in the snare of the devil? Confess!'
This is an interactive game that puts you in the point of view of a person accused of being a witch. While it is a text based game, it does a great job of putting you in the shoes of one of those accused and the difficulties you might have by relying on "the truth".
Transitioning from the history of the witch trials of Saem to the reasoning and symbolism behind* The Crucible, this is an explanation of why Arthur Miller wrote *The Crucible, by Arthur Miller himself.
This video expertly explains McCarthyism and connects it to the novel The Crucible. It even goes into the details of how each Crucible character relates to their McCarthian counterpart. You should be able to make the connection between their characters and counterparts. If you are confused or interested by any of the historical figures, use the internet to help understand them.
