Arthur Miller s Use of His Artistic Licsence

Arthur Miller’s Use of His Artistic License Many will always debate on whether or not Arthur Miller had a responsibility to portray the Salem With Trails accurately. It is however seen in his play, The Crucible, he was responsible enough to recreate the events in a way that portrayed what happened in the Salem Witch Trails. Miller in the beginning of the play states that not a lot is known about the characters and that he took it upon himself to make any creations necessary (Miller 2). It was important for Miller to add in or alter crucial details to allow the readers to understand what he is trying to say. These changes allowed Miller to better portray the hysteria that occurred in the Salem Witch Trials and to better compare it the “Red Scare” of the 1950s; therefore his use of “artistic license” with respect to some the historical facts is justifiable. Miller changed much of the Salem Witch Trials so that the audience could better understand the point he was trying to make. He wrote The Crucible during the time of the “Red Scare” where everyone was paranoid about communism spreading. At this time many were accusing others of being communist due to their fear of being accused themselves. Just like in the Salem Witch Trails where everyone was caught up in the hysteria, accusing each other of witchery. Miller wrote The Crucible to “pump out a darkly attractive warning” (Miller 21 October, 1996). He wanted others to realize the Saharov 2 blind panic that was sitting on the “dim edges of their consciousness” (Miller 21 October, 1996). The play was therefore used as an analogy to the “Red Scare”; his intention being to stop the wrongful accusing of communism. This proves that Salem Witch Trails portrayed in The Crucible doesn’t have to be entirely historically correct, just as long as the audience understands what Miller is trying to portray. As stated before, information was altered to better the audiences’ understanding and at the

Cited: Burns, Margo. "Arthur Miller 's The Crucible: Fact & Fiction, by Margo Burns." Arthur Miller 's The Crucible: Fact & Fiction, by Margo Burns. N.p., 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Miller, Arthur. "Arthur Miller, Why I Wrote The Crucible (October 21, 1996)." The New Yorker 21 Oct. 1996: n. pag. Arthur Miller, Why I Wrote The Crucible (October 21, 1996). Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.