Arthur Miller's title for 'The Crucible' could be argued to be derived from from the name of a small piece of chemistry equipment used to melt and combine substances, a place or situation in which different elements interact to produce something new, but especially a place or occasion of severe test or trial. The play is seen as a metaphor for the Salem community which was made up of many different, conflicting events. The events which transpire cause and allow many of the characters in this enclosed space to change. Miller wrote 'The Crucible' in the 1950s, with numerous allegorical connections between the Witch trials of Salem and communist trials in America. In the United States during this time there was an irrational fear of communism. This caused many figures in the government to become blacklisted, or fired from their jobs although many did not even belong to the communist party. Paralleled to Salem, citizens feared of witchcraft but it was not only their reputations that got damaged in real life, but many lives were lost without a just cause.
Although Salem is shown as potentially creating evil for evil, in the end it also
shows potential for causing good. Arthur Miller creates many characters who seem to be flawed in one way or another but they are able to change. For example, Giles Corey is characterized as being just a bit naïve (despite his age) but shows great strength of mind and of character towards the closing of the play. Even when he is in the face of death with stones crushing his chest, he calls out "More weight!" rather than to harm his innocent friends. Reverend Hale comes into Salem acting arrogant, "like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion." He is quite cocky of his knowledge of w...
... middle of paper ...
...reed, vanity, and other human flaws give Salem the capacity to turn dancing in the woods into the deaths of innocent people.
Through the use of powerful characterization in this kind of historical
setting, Arthur Miller has successfully shown that the society had the ability to turn what started as just girls dancing in the woods to cause the deaths of many innocent people. He created the feelings of of fear and deceit to show that these people had the capacity for evil. In any society, it is the human events and accidents that create these kinds of evil and tragic misfortune. Although the society of Salem had many good people within it, human's natural behavior at its worst that brings about their own downfall. By the end of the play we can believe that the people of Salem have hopefully been purified by these severe trials (or the "heating up" of the crucible).
Salem Village, Massachusetts was the home of a Puritan community with a strict moral code through 1691. No one could have ever anticipated the unexplainable events that were to ambush the community’s stability. The crisis that took place in Salem in 1962 still remains a mystery, but the accusations made by the young girls could be a result of ergot poisoning or the need for social power; this leads the people of Salem to succumb to the genuine fear of witchcraft.
We have all heard the tales and seen the movies of evil witches cooking little kids up for supper. For the people of salem in 1692-1693 this was a reality. In the matter of less than a year more than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and more than twenty were executed. In these historic events author Arthur Miller wrote a play about the people and events in this play there is a man, Reverend Hale is well versed in the study of witchcraft and has come to try and save the girls that have been gripped by the Devil. Miller has Hale change very much throughout the event of this play. In the beginning he believes that the Devil is at work in Salem, how ever near the climactic ending of this play he realises that this witch talk has gotten completely out of hand
In “The Crucible”, the author, Arthur Miller, conveys what he believes Senator Joe McCarthy is doing during the Red Scare. The Salem Witch Trials were true events, while this play uses these trials and adds a fictional twist to show a point. Witchcraft was punishable by death during this time. Once names started flying in town it was like a chain reaction, people were accusing others of witchcraft because they were not fond of them or they had something they wanted. Some definitions state mass hysteria as contagious, the characters in this play deemed it true. In this play, innocent people were hung because some of the girls in town cried witch.
The Salem Witch Trials marks a vulnerable era in history. The play allows us to see that uncontrolled rage, pride, and even religion at times, can lead to destruction and mayhem. With these factors, it’s quite clear to see why Salem was vulnerable to these
The Crucible by Arthur Miller The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century, yet is as much a product of the time in which Arthur Miller wrote it, the early 1950s, as it is description of Puritan society. At that particular time in the 1950s, when Arthur Miller wrote the play the American Senator McCarthy who chaired the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ was very conscious of communism and feared its influence in America. It stopped authors’ writings being published in fear of them being socialist sympathisers. Miller was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and that human beings were capable of such madness. In the 1950s the audience would have seen the play as a parallel between the McCarthy trials and the Salem Trials.
Unresolved conflicts between people can have tragic results leading to many sad and unnecessary deaths, marriage conflicts among people, and towns physically and mentally unraveling. Overall, people should set their differences aside and not take it out on each other. Innocent people are dying in Salem because of a few girls’ lies that went too far. That elaborate story they created ends in a lot of death, and it will remain a tragic story throughout history
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
In the end, the Salem Witch Trials didn’t have a very good effect on anyone in Salem. These trials also left a major imprint on Salem.
Choose three of the characters in the crucible and show how Miller presents the motivations for their actions.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that was first performed in 1953 in the United States of America in the midst of the persecution of alleged communists during the era of McCarthyism. Although the play explicitly addresses the Salem which hunt, many find that the play is an analogy to McCarthyism due to the striking similarities in which the people behaved. Miller highlight the different groups of characters in order to reveal overlying ideas of the play such as: Self preservation, power, and hypocrisy.
Many people look back on the events of the Salem witch trials and laugh at the absurdity of the allegations. It seems crazy that society could be fooled into believing in things like witches and deal with the events in such an extreme manner. It is a common belief that witch hunts are things of the past. Many people would agree that they no longer exist today; however Arthur Miller, author of the play, "The Crucible", points out that society has not come very far from the days of the Salem witch trials. In his play, he used the Salem witch trials to represent the McCarthy Era because he saw that the nation was facing the same events that Salem went through back in the late 1600's. Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" in an attempt to create moral awareness for society. He did so by making a few small changes to the history and creating parallels in the play with racism, human tendencies, and H.U.A.C.
As Arthur Miller tells us in the introduction to Act 1 'no one can really know what their lives were like.' We would never be able to imagine a life with 'no novelists' and 'their creed forbade anything resembling a theatre or vain entertainment.' ' They didn't celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer.' They led a very austere and bleak life. The people of Salem - from which the audience derive their "good" and "evil" characters - were superstitious and highly religious, and their Theocratic form of government offered them security and unity.
“Miller’s characters and their actions serve as a warning to the play’s audience. Danforth refuses to admit his own error. He says, “While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.” If a group of young girls coached by a mistaken respected adult could manipulate the entire town of Salem, Miller seems to say, then what is it to stop similar manipulations in other locales in the present time? He wants us to fear the power of the group. He wants us to fear coercion. He wants us to question the “bandwagon effect” in society.” (56)
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.
Arthur Miller cleverly picked the title "The Crucible" for his play about the Salem witch hunts of the 1660's because of the word's many meanings. Throughout the play, Miller has characters face severe tests that make them question their own self. A crucible is also an earthen pot that is used for melting metals. In a way the town of Salem was a crucible as people were brought before the court and blasted with allegations from others as being witches. They were either forced to give in and live a lie or be hanged.