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The Crucible - Context

In this GCSE English Literature quiz you will explore the historical and political context of The Crucible and how Salem’s beliefs shaped fear, accusations and justice.

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Fascinating Fact:

Salem was a strict Puritan community, where religious belief was central to daily life and sin was seen as a threat to the whole society.

In GCSE English Literature, you need to understand the context of The Crucible, including Puritan beliefs, the real Salem witch trials of 1692 and Miller’s links to anti-communist investigations in 1950s America.

Key Terms

Puritanism: A strict form of Protestant Christianity that demanded discipline, hard work and close control of behaviour.
Theocracy: A system of government where religious leaders and beliefs guide the laws and punishments.
McCarthyism: A period in 1950s America when people were aggressively accused of being communists, often with little real evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible?

Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible during the 1950s, when people in the United States were being investigated for suspected communist links. He used the Salem witch trials as an allegory to criticise fear, false accusations and abuse of power.

What was Salem like at the time of the witch trials?

Salem was a small Puritan settlement with strict religious rules, harsh punishments and tensions over land, money and authority. In this tense atmosphere, rumours of witchcraft were quickly believed and personal grudges could be hidden inside accusations.

How does the historical context help me understand The Crucible?

Knowing the historical context helps you see why characters fear the court, why confession is seen as proof of truth and how suspicion spreads. It also helps you link events in Salem to other times when societies have turned against their own people.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

The form of government in seventeenth-century Massachusetts Bay Colony is known as which of the following?

Communism

Fascism

Theocracy

Representative Democracy

Theocracy is rule by religious leaders in which law is derived directly from religious teachings. The law in Massachusetts Bay Colony was based on a literal view of the Bible and only Puritans were accounted as citizens

2 .

The Crucible was first performed in which year?

1692

1921

1953

1978

The Crucible is historical drama; it was written in the middle of the 20th century and concerns events from the late 17th century

3 .

What information does Miller add to the end of the play, in the section entitled, "Echoes Down the Corridor"?

Elizabeth Proctor's subsequent marriage

Abigail's fate

The intervention of the state government in ensuring compensation for victims

All of the above

Miller highlights the intransigence of the Salem community, which had to be ordered to pardon those who had been excommunicated and the ongoing injustices which saw accusers being paid compensation

4 .

Which one of the following is the term associated with the optimism prevalent in the United States in the mid-twentieth century?

The American Hope

The American Dream

The American Fantasy

American Realism

Miller believed that all American writing was powerfully affected, rather consciously or not, by the American Dream, the belief that opportunities were available to all Americans and that hard work and determination would always be rewarded with prosperity. For Miller, this optimism was at odds with what appeared to him to be a more realistic approach to life in the rest of the world

5 .

Why was Miller held in contempt of the U.S. Congress?

He gave a false confession to the House Un-American Activities Committee

He gave a list of false names of Communists to the House Un-American Activities Committee

He refused to give the names of suspected Communists present at meetings he had attended

He confessed to spying for the Soviet Union before retracting his confession

In 1957, Miller was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to give the names. His actions resemble those of his own earlier character, John Proctor, who will not implicate Rebecca Nurse in his own false confession

6 .

The actions of which of the following bodies is represented in the play by Reverend Hale's investigations as well as the trials conducted by Danforth, Hathorne and the other judges?

The United States Supreme Court

The House Un-American Activities Committee

The United States Senate

New York City Council

The House Un-American Activities Committee intimidated witnesses and demanded that those they investigated hand over the names of known Communists and sympathisers. The pressure placed on accused characters in The Crucible to implicate others by name parallels the practices of the House Un-American Activities Committee

7 .

What is meant by the term 'McCarthyism'?

A strict religion modelled on Puritanism

The fervent repudiation of Puritanism

A U.S. government investigation into black magic and those who practised it

A relentless search for Communists and Communist sympathisers in the U.S. government

During the early 1950s, Senator John McCarthy conducted a campaign to root out Communists and Communist sympathisers from the United States government. 'McCarthyism' is now a byword for paranoia and witch hunts

8 .

Which of the following is true, according to Miller's notes in the text?

Miller believed that the Salem witchcraft trials were based on utter fantasy

Miller believed that the people of Salem were all engaged in devil worship

Miller believed that Tituba and the girls had engaged in activities they understood to be sorceries

Miller believed that the people of Salem knew the stories about witchcraft to be fabricated

Miller writes: "If the whole truth could be known in this case, as it is in others, we should discover a regular and conventionalized propitiation of the dark spirit. One certain evidence of this is the confession of Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris, and another is the behaviour of the children who were known to have indulged in sorceries with her"

9 .

Which of the following caused Miller's father to lose his business?

World War I

The Great Depression

World War II

The House Un-American Activities Committee

Miller was still in school at the time of the Wall Street Crash

10 .

In his notes to the play, Miller writes, "In the countries of the Communist ideology all resistance of any import is linked to the totally malign capitalist succubi, and in America any man who is not reactionary in his views is open to the charge of alliance with the Red hell." What does this mean?

On both sides of the Cold War, it is easy for anyone who does not fully support the prevailing ideology to be demonised

Communists and capitalists both equally believe in the reality of witches and the satanic

Communists and capitalists are completely different in their approach to enemies

Capitalists are succubi and Communists live in hell

Miller's play serves as a warning to all ideologues and those under their sway. Both sides say, in effect, "If you are not with us, you are against us"

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)