Article Analysis. When Arthur Millers The Crucible was being made into a movie, he decided to write an article called Why I Wrote the Crucible in the New Yorker.
by
jakerenfro (student)
Jake Renfro
Mrs. Laurie Gill
ACC English 3- Period 2
9/20/2012
Rhetorical Analysis of “Why I Wrote The Crucible”
When Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was being made into a movie, he decided to write an article called “Why I Wrote the Crucible” in the New Yorker. In his article, Miller explains his reasons behind writing his play. In this article, he compares the mass hysteria and fear of the Red Scare to the fear of people in other historical events, such as the Salem Witch Trials, which is the subject of The Crucible. Miller demonstrates his purpose by using many rhetorical strategies such as diction, persuasive appeal that help the reader understand his motivation to write his hit play.
Arthur Miller utilizes many descriptive words to receive the desired response from his audience. Miller uses diction right out of the gate. In the first paragraph, Miller uses phrases such as “biting irony”, “frigid jail”, and “inevitable as rain”, that all convey a dark and negative tone to the reader. In the context of this article, “biting irony” is used to describe how Miller feels about his play being made into a movie. “Biting irony” indicates that Miller is unhappy about the recreation of his play. Irony isn’t always used to communicate a negative tone, but when Miller adds biting to irony, he effectively creates the negative tone he desires. “Frigid jail” brings unhappy thoughts to the reader’s mind by itself, but the way it is used by Miller makes it even more effective. Miller uses this phrase to describe Joan Allen “lying pregnant in a frigid jail”. This puts a very dark, melancholy picture in the reader’s mind. Nobody wants to be in jail, and the thought of a pregnant woman in a freezing cold jail cell makes the reader feel the sad tone that Miller is striving for. The last instance of diction used in the opening paragraph, “inevitable as rain”, further portrays the negative tone that is intended by Miller. Miller uses this phrase to explain that he knew his play was going to be made into a movie sooner or later, and that he wasn’t happy about it. Rain itself creates a gloomy tone in the reader’s mind, and rain being inevitable makes the negative tone even more blatant. Miller effectively uses rain being inevitable to further demonstrate the dejected tone that he is shooting for. With three simple phrases, Miller significantly set up his audience to realize the main point by revealing the tone right off the bat.
