Abstract

This study analyzes the 1956 Congressional hearing of American playwright Arthur Miller before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Drawing on the principles of critical discourse analysis, it examines the discursive process whereby HUAC members attempted to elicit a confession from Miller and get him to “name names,” as well as the resistive strategies Miller utilized in response to the Committee’s hostile, leading questions. The study illustrates how language can be used by disempowered individuals to struggle against, resist, and even attack oppressive institutions and power structures.

Key words: House Committee on Un-American Activities, Red Scare, witch-hunting, critical discourse analysis, confession, Arthur Miller