Webster and his book the dictionary defines a 'crucible' as,

"A container in which metals are heated, involving a change. A severe test or trial."

Author Miller in his play, uses the title 'The Crucible' as an analogy for the situation. The actual container- the crucible, is the town of Salem Massachusetts. The contents of the container are the people of Salem, the emotions and feelings of these people are what change. The events that take place in the town are what fuel and heat the people's emotions and are what affects their actions.

Miller also puns on the other meaning of 'a crucible' which is: "a severe test or trial" to tie in with the events that take pace in the play- the trials of the accused witches and

Just as it was a sin drift on to the side of the devil in the time of the crucible, it was the same to drift on to the side of communism in the 1950's, when Arthur Miller wrote this play. In the 1950's Senator Joe Macarthy set up a campaign to rid the United States of all communist supporters. These communist trials would be broadcast on national television. It would involve the accused to admit their guilt even though they were completely innocent, and give the names of 10 other would-be communists or face exile, torture, invasion of family privacy etc. Arthur Miller uses the events of the Salem witch-hunts to represent and show what the communist trials of the 1950's were. They were both based on false premises and paranoia, and as more people got involved, mo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Salem Massachusetts, Arthur Miller, Joe Macarthy, Crucible Webster, Author Miller, arthur miller, communist trials, test trial, , severe test trial, title 'the crucible', 'the crucible', title 'the, severe test, people salem, salem witch-hunts, accused witches, drift devil,
Approximate Word count = 515
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)