In the texts Chocolat, by Joanne Harris, and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the author and the playwright use techniques to create central characters who rebel against their surroundings. In The Crucible, the protagonist is John Proctor and in Chocolat, it is Vianne Rocher. Miller and Harris use similar techniques to create these characters, such as imagery, symbolism, titles, nature references and the narrative perspective. In both texts, these characters are seen as corruptive influences who are used by Miller and Harris to rebel against authority, the expectations of society and the Church.
Miller and Harris both use the technique of a symbolic title in their texts. Both titles give the reader an idea of what they will expect in the text. For example, The Crucible is a metaphor which represents separating the good from the bad. In The Crucible, Danforth says to Proctor, "We burn a hot fire here.” This implies that Proctor’s rebellion is represented by the title, The Crucible as it reveals the truth and “melts down all concealment.” This is similar to Chocolat, where the title is...
Miller presents the character of John Proctor in an important way to show two sides to his character. These qualities make him have the most important role in ‘The Crucible.’ The key events that show him in this way is when the audience find out about the affair, how he tries to defend his wife, his confession in court and his hanging for the sake of others. Through the events in The Crucible, Miller then portrays John Proctor’s character with tension and suspense. This then makes the audience question whether or not he is a good man.
‘The Crucible’ is a great example of morally ambiguous characters. A plethora of characters with blurry ethics exist within the world of ‘The Crucible’, this makes it difficult to distinguish who is truly good and who is evil. Arthur Miller has a fantastic approach to how he displays his characters and their moral standpoints. Adultery, lying, and even the suspicion of witchcraft, within the community brings out the worst in the townspeople. John Proctor is an example of how thin the lines are drawn between a complete saint and a damned sinner.
John Proctor plays the leading role in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He was persistent, honest, and full of integrity. He was simply, a man with pride. A wise woman once said, "Do what you feel in your heart to be right--for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." (Eleanor Roosevelt). Proctor was the protagonist of the dramatic piece of literature.
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
20 were executed” (Blumberg). The Crucible setting is based on The Salem Witch trials, but the plot is based on The Red Scare. The author employs strict tone and rhetorical questions to convey power. This connects to the purpose of how a occurring can devastate a whole community and the people in it. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, employs empowerment by expressing the challenges within each character and their influence on the trial through the characters John Proctor, Abigail, and Danforth.
The Crucible is in the format of a play. John Proctor is established as the hero through the use of Miller's contrast in characters. Upon his introduction, Proctor seems to be the only calm, sensible and logical character among the rising hysteria of Abigail's threats, Parris' damnations and babble of the Putnam's. Proctor is easily set apart from the other characters and the beginning of the play due to the obvious differences in character. Miller also builds up the climax throughout the book by making the conversations very quick paced and intense.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, focuses on the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that follows the trials. Miller shows how the dark desires and hidden agendas provokes such extreme behavior. The Crucible was written in a time when the anti-communist movement was strongly protested. During the Salem witch trials, a person was guilty until he proved himself
The Crucible is a story of mass hysteria in a period of time in which men dominated women. However, Arthur Miller portrays Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Procter as two women with drastic roles to play. John Procter is a man who has great influence over the people of Salem. They speak to him because he is a man of truth and integrity. There are many other characters in the novel, although these three stuck out in my mind the most.
Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.
When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible he intended to create a symbolic story. An obvious sign of The Crucible having a deeper meaning is that it was written to satirize the Red Scare of the 1950s. In addition the powerful title of The Crucible has several meanings that relate back to the play. The first meaning of the Crucible is “a container for melting or purifying metals,” and the second meaning is “a severe trial or test.” As a third meaning one could also say that the word “crucible” is related to the word “crucifix” and by extension the word “bible” if we extrapolate. Fourthly and lastly the Crucible can also be thought of as a literal kettle. Upon analysis it is striking at how aptly the title fits the story.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, justice and injustice is portrayed through the characters of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams. It is also shown through the minor characters of Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis, followers of Abigail Williams, and through Danforth and various townspeople.
Why do you think the author chose the title he/she did? Analyze its deeper meaning. If it is an obvious title, rename it something more symbolic and explain your rationale.
Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” to criticize McCarthyism and everything happening with McCarthy. Miller made sure people who read the play can make a connection to the Salem witch hunts. Major characters in “The Crucible” have connections to major people during the McCarthy era. Abigail Williams has a distinct connection to Joseph McCarthy as both are the main starters of both events. Abigail went to accuse many people without any proof because she disliked them for her own personal gain. McCarthy also went to accuse many people without any proof which led to his personal gain, but it was off of anger towards the communists and not individuals. John Proctor and Arthur Miller are also two major people who are alike, as both of them criticized the court and were accused for being a witch or a communist. The two were convicted on false accusations but most importantly Proctor did not want to sell out his friends to the court, which Miller did the exact same with the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). Miller not selling out his friends to the HUAC was the reason for his conviction while Proctor not selling out his friends helped him see the truth in
Although both John Proctor, from Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, and Walter Lee Younger, from Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, demonstrate qualities of the anti-hero, such as being ordinary men who are “disillusioned with the society around [them],” Proctor is less of an anti-hero because his downfall benefits a greater cause than Walter’s.
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.