{"product_id":"the-crucible-9780140247725","title":"The Crucible","description":"\u003cb\u003eA haunting examination of groupthink and mass hysteria in a rural community, presented here with enlightening criticism and commentary\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eI believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history, Arthur Miller wrote in an introduction to \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e, his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten in 1953, \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunts in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing: Political opposition...is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.\u003cbr\u003eThis Viking Critical Library edition of Arthur Miller's dramatic recreation of the Salem witch trials contains the complete text of \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e as well as extensive critical and contextual material about the play and the playwright, including: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelections from Miller's writings on his most frequently performed play\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEssays on the historical background of \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e, including personal narratives by participants in the trials and records of witchcraft in Salem from the original documents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReviews of \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e, in production by Brooks Atkinson, Walter Kerr, Eric Bentley, and others\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExcerpts from Jean-Paul Sartre's \u003ci\u003eLes Sorci res de Salem\u003c\/i\u003e, a spin-off of Miller's play, and three analogous works by Twain, Shaw, and Budd Schulberg\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCritical essays on the play, on Miller, and on the play in the context of Miller's oeuvre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn introduction by the editor, a chronology, a list of topics for discussion and papers prepared by Malcolm Cowley, and a bibliography \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/correctionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-3056501\"\u003eArthur Miller\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/01\/1996\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 512\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.69h x 5.03w x 0.89d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780140247725\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0140247726\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/correctionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-DRA\"\u003eDrama\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/correctionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-DRA001000\"\u003eAmerican | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/correctionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-LIT\"\u003eLiterary Criticism\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/correctionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-LIT013000\"\u003eDrama\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eArthur Miller\u003c\/b\u003e was born in New York City in 1915 and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include \u003cb\u003eAll My Sons\u003c\/b\u003e (1947), \u003cb\u003eDeath of a Salesman\u003c\/b\u003e (1949), \u003cb\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/b\u003e (1953), \u003cb\u003eA View from the Bridge\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eA Memory of Two Mondays\u003c\/b\u003e (1955), \u003cb\u003eAfter the Fall\u003c\/b\u003e (1963), \u003cb\u003eIncident at Vichy\u003c\/b\u003e (1964), \u003cb\u003eThe Price\u003c\/b\u003e (1968), \u003cb\u003eThe Creation of the World and Other Business\u003c\/b\u003e (1972) and \u003cb\u003eThe American Clock\u003c\/b\u003e. He has also written two novels, \u003cb\u003eFocus\u003c\/b\u003e (1945), and \u003cb\u003eThe Misfits\u003c\/b\u003e, which was filmed in 1960, and the text for \u003cb\u003eIn Russia\u003c\/b\u003e (1969), \u003cb\u003eChinese Encounters\u003c\/b\u003e (1979), and \u003cb\u003eIn the Country\u003c\/b\u003e (1977), three books of photographs by his wife, Inge Morath. More recent works include a memoir, \u003cb\u003eTimebends\u003c\/b\u003e (1987), and the plays \u003cb\u003eThe Ride Down Mt. Morgan\u003c\/b\u003e (1991), \u003cb\u003eThe Last Yankee\u003c\/b\u003e (1993), \u003cb\u003eBroken Glass\u003c\/b\u003e (1993), which won the Olivier Award for Best Play of the London Season, and \u003cb\u003eMr. Peter's Connections\u003c\/b\u003e (1998). His latest book is \u003cb\u003eOn Politics and the Art of Acting\u003c\/b\u003e. Miller was granted with the 2001 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and in 1949 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45914561642671,"sku":"9780140247725","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/9255\/8767\/files\/img_b3d17db1-2724-430c-8636-56e4301229cc.jpg?v=1758827008","url":"https:\/\/www.correctionsbookstore.com\/products\/the-crucible-9780140247725","provider":"Corrections Bookstore ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}