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insight and precise observation. (Miller, On Social Plays 1)

Dramatic criticism proceeds largely by clich . The original clich about Miller after the success of All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible was that he was a playwright of intense seriousness who attempted to evolve a modern equivalent of tragedy from a preoccupation with social issues(Hogan 166).

Basically, John Proctor s affair with Abigail Williams was the indirect cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Had the affair not occurred, Abigail would not have gotten involved with Proctor, she would not have gotten angry with his ignorance of her, and she would not have accused him and his wife of witchcraft. John Proctor s decision to either lie and save his life or tell the truth to save his reputation is the center theme of the play. The following speech by Proctor summarizes the point Miller was laboring to make excellently:

Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!

Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on

the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! (Miller, The Crucible 143)

This could be interpreted as a message from Miller to those being accused of practicing Communism, the witch craft of the 1950s. Linking to the McCarthyism era of his time, Miller captured the paranoia and hatred of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials.

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