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'The Crucible' was set in Salem, Massachusetts, USA in 1692. It is about when a group of girls are caught dancing round an open fire in the woods. They are accused of being witches and it provokes a large scale witch hunt throughout. Arthur Millwer wrote the play 'The Crucible' because he saw the similarity of what happened in Salem and what happened in America in 1953. Just after the Second World War, the American Government were paranoid about anyone who sympathised with the communist way of living. If they were suspicious of anyone, they had every right to interrogate people. They were charged and were made to name names of people they had seen at meetings ten or even twenty years before. Regular people to film directors were interrogated and they found it hard to regain their status afterwards. Here are some parallels between what happened in Salem in 1692 and what happened in American in the 40's and 50's. 1. When Arthur Miller was summoned before the House of Un-American Activities, he was in the same position as John Proctor in 'The Crucible'. 2. He (Miller) was pressured into naming names of people he had saw at communist writers meetings ten years before. Like John Proctor in the play, he refused to answer the