The Crucible
Alright, now before I begin; this is actually more of a teacher/educational institute fail. I really do like The Crucible. It's no where near the radar of fail simply because of how brilliantly it's written (whether you like it or not).
But it showed up on a fail list, and there was disagreement, and it got me thinking: after I first read The Crucible in my Sophomore year in High School, I absolutely hated it. It wasn't until years later, when I became a theatre major in college, that I re-read the play and actually learned, for the first time, that Arthur Miller wrote the play as commentary against the Communist Witch-hunt in the mid-1900s. Reading it with that new knowledge (and probably being a little bit more open and educated in theatre helped) made me actually appreciate and enjoy the play.
So I have to ask the question: for those of you who read The Crucible in school; did your teachers ever even mention why Arthur Miller wrote the play? If they didn't, would knowing what it was actually about (or oh, heck, learning about one of the most interesting times in recent American history that's hardly ever covered in public schools? but that's just more schoolfail) have made reading the play more enjoyable or interesting for you?
But it showed up on a fail list, and there was disagreement, and it got me thinking: after I first read The Crucible in my Sophomore year in High School, I absolutely hated it. It wasn't until years later, when I became a theatre major in college, that I re-read the play and actually learned, for the first time, that Arthur Miller wrote the play as commentary against the Communist Witch-hunt in the mid-1900s. Reading it with that new knowledge (and probably being a little bit more open and educated in theatre helped) made me actually appreciate and enjoy the play.
So I have to ask the question: for those of you who read The Crucible in school; did your teachers ever even mention why Arthur Miller wrote the play? If they didn't, would knowing what it was actually about (or oh, heck, learning about one of the most interesting times in recent American history that's hardly ever covered in public schools? but that's just more schoolfail) have made reading the play more enjoyable or interesting for you?