Arthur Miller wrote `The Crucible' in the early 1950s, drawing on research he had done as an undergraduate, he wrote the play during the ascent of Joseph McCarthy and his strong anti-communist policies. As with the Salem witch trials of 1692 suspected communist sympathisers were given the option to give names to the committee in order to escape punishment, the result was a frenzy of accusations when people began to realize they might be found guilty regardless of their innocence. Miller and many others refused to cooperate and saw their careers suffer from blacklisting in the entertainment industry, however in Salem the consequence of denying the charges was death. In the play the conflict is between John Proctor, an upstanding member of the community who is well liked and respected throughout the community, and Abigail; an orphaned young single girl (the lowest social rung on the puritan society ladder...