Arthur Miller

[TheLaughingMan]

Hi,

I am looking for a good biography/autobiography of Arthur Miller. More specifically, I need one with information regarding the Crucible and the infulences that lead to him writing it.

I already know it had to do with the spread of communism and the "witch hunt" for commie spies, but this is for a paper and I need sources.

I found a few on amazon.com but wasn't sure which would be more toward my needs.

Thanks.

[puffin]

Hi Laughing Man, this might be a dopy (and pretentious) question, but does your user name refer to the Salinger short story ‘the Laughing Man’? I only ask because that story struck such a cord with me, I think it captures late childhood perfectly. I really love short stories and that is one of my all-time favourites.

Oh, and sorry I couldn’t be more helpful on the Miller front.

[FacialFracture]

Any good biography of Miller ought to include something on the circumstances in his life that surrounded the writing of his plays; I'm sorry I can't recommend any specific one.

I can tell you that Miller came out with a collection of essays (in the late 90's or early 00's) called "The Crucible in History (and other essays)". The title essay talks about how the nature of America in the early 50's led him to write The Crucible; he talks about Cold War paranoia and McCarthyism in particular--you can definitely see where the idea of persecution connects things.

Here's a link to a review of the essay collection, I hope it's of some use to you: http://www.iscient.com.au/robg/tcih.html

Good luck!