Bloom
Loss of a Good Name for Naming Names
The Crucible is a play written in 1953 by American Playwright Arthur Miller,
which illustrates the McCarthy communism trials that took place in the 1950s. The
Crucible is an allegory comparing the trials that took place in the 1950s to real events that
took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s during the puritan era (Calhoun High
School English Dpt. 1). Miller compares McCarthyism to the witch-hunt and witchcraft
trials and draws many similarities in order to prove his point. Reputation is an adjective
meaning the overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general. In Arthur
Miller’s famous play, The Crucible, several of the central characters place weight on the
value of their reputations. One central motif of The Crucible is the importance of a good
name. The meaning of a good name to John Proctor at the end of the play, however, is
1
