Recommended by Claire Fox, and 1 others. See all reviews
Ranked #9 in Theater, Ranked #11 in Drama — see more rankings.
"I 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 of 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. In 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... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Crucible from the world's leading experts.
Claire Fox This is the Salem witch hunt in the context of the McCarthy era. The reason I chose it is because I feel that we ourselves, in the contemporary period, are in danger of having our own heresy-calling and witch hunts. It is very popular to say this book proves what it is like when hysterical religions name people as witches, and how intolerant religion is. But I think we can see it in a much more contemporary light as just what happens in an atmosphere where people’s fear is exploited. (Source)
Rankings by Category
The Crucible is ranked in the following categories:
- #63 in 10th Grade
- #12 in 11th Grade
- #61 in 15-Year-Old
- #12 in 16-Year-Old
- #73 in American
- #46 in American Literature
- #32 in Annotations
- #53 in Class
- #52 in Gilmore Girls
- #25 in High School
- #31 in High School Reading
- #94 in Modernist
- #68 in Penguin Classics
- #52 in Screenplay
- #81 in Witch
- #33 in Witchcraft