The playwrights of ‘The Crucible’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’, were J.B Priestly and Arthur Miller, these plays are very different but have one in common which was the main theme of the play, this is what I will be talking about in this essay. The similar things about these plays is that both of them link to their playwrights past, such as J.B Priestly, he wrote a play that was set in 1912, showing that people who were selfish can change to someone who cares, this links to when he was at war as he recognised that the higher class was giving orders to lower classes and didn’t care about most of them, but after the war these people changed to someone who felt guilty, as they saw how devastating the war was. This is what Priestly wanted to show to …show more content…
Arthur Birling is a man who is very big headed and unworthy. On the other hand, Abigail Williams is a vengeful, selfish, and a manipulative young lady, both these characters share a similarity, which is that they fail to admit their wrongdoings and keep secrets for the sake of their reputation, as he doesn’t want it to be ruined. Mr Birling cared most about his reputation, as he only cared about protecting his company and doesn’t see what he has done wrong, we know this as in the text it says “But I’d a special reason for not wanting any public scandal”. Through the play his selfishness gets the better of him, he is only worried about the public scandal and accuses Sheila of disloyalty, we know this because in the text is says “If you’d had any sense of loyalty” and he also wants to hide the fact that Eric stole the money as he said “I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can” this shows that he is very keen on keeping his reputation in the public. For Abigail Williams, she believes she’s got a good reputation and she wants to keep it that way, we know this as in the text it says “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled...” Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. She began to accuse the townspeople of …show more content…
The Inspector, has a reputation of a figure of authority and he wants to keep it. Inspector Goole is a man who is very eerie and mysterious. Like I said before, he is a figure of authority as he deals with each member of the family very firmly and several times we see him taking charge we know this because in the text (stage directions) it says “ taking charge, masterfully”. His character doesn’t change throughout the play, however, he seems to gain more control over the characters as the play progresses. He uses aggressive, shocking language to make the characters feel guilty for the part they played in Eva Smith’s death “she died in misery and agony”. At the end of the play, his final speech was a message for the family; he says “We are responsible for each other” and warns them of the “fire and blood and anguish” this means that that will be the result if they do not pay attention to what he has taught them. For Abigail Williams, she has an eerie sense of how to manipulate others, to gain control over them. For example when she manipulated Tituba to put a curse on Elizabeth we know this as in the text it says “You beg me to conjure! She beg me to charm…”Abigail's main skill seems to be finding people's flaws, and weaknesses, then manipulating them to her
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.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” People tend to behave and deal with life differently according to the situation that they are in. In most cases when a person is in a very blissful and comfortable point of his or her life, they tend to act pleasant towards themselves and other people. This is why it is not fair-minded to judge people when they are in a contented part of their lives. It is during times of trial and suffering where the true soul of a person is revealed and judgment can be made. Readers can see the actions that are made by characters through times of hardship that reveal what they truly are in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Crucible by Arthur Millar.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how authority is a characteristic that can easily become a problem throughout a society. Many subjects were addressed in The Crucible such as guilt, hypocrisy, justice, hysteria, and courage. However, the most important subject throughout the play would be the nature of authority. There is a fine line between the concept of having authority and having power. In the book, the authority weakened and led to the antagonist Abigail Williams leading the law as opposed to the law leading Abigail Williams.
In his play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller illustrates a great number of human emotions and tensions within the Salem community which, when combined, result in the execution of many people on the grounds that they are... ... middle of paper ... ... he dangers of forgetting the past. Elizabeth's life seems so tranquil compared to that of Stephen Wraysford but the fact that the Second World War followed so shortly after the First demonstrates how easy it is for mankind to repeat the errors of the past.
There are many themes prevalent in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, with all of them manifesting in the actions and decisions of characters at some point in the story. One of the most outstanding themes in the play has to do with the connection between past experiences and future actions. Individuals lashing out at others because they felt they have been wronged, a guilty conscience causing someone to make a drastic decision, or even a person choosing a path due to possible social repercussions are all examples from the play of someone 's past effecting their future.
Also important to the play is how Arthur Miller depicts how one selfish, evil person like Abigail Williams can bring others down and make others follow her to commit evil acts. These evil acts affect even the most honest people in the town like John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Rebecca Nurse who cannot fight the accusations made against them by those following Abigail. Those following Abigail are considered to be holy men that are full of honesty and justice, but the play shows that even those who are thought to be respectable and right, like people of government or community leaders can bring death to innocent people if they are driven by something wrong. II. Plot: The plot begins with the inciting incident where Rev. Parris finds his niece Abigail Williams and his daughter Betty along with his slave Tituba doing some dance in the forest.
The Crucible is a play which brings to our attention many timeless issues. The nature of good and evil, power and its corruption, honour and integrity and our tendency to create scapegoats for all manner of problems are all brought up through the course of the play - sometimes in very dramatic fashion.
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.
In every family, there is one child that is always very misleading and evil, and besides that, they get away with everything that they do that is unsound. The certain person in the family may break on of you mom’s favorite plate, and then end up placing the blame on you, and then persuades your parents that he or she is telling the true. Abigail Williams is the poor duplicate of that sibling or relative. She influences everyone that she is an innocent teenage girl, but that is not the case throughout the play. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail is the bona fide misleading and evil teenage girl.
To further complicate matters, John decides not to reveal to the court that Abigail has admitted to him in private that they were just sporting in the woods. Abigail spreads additional accusations and false rumors about her neighbors. These accusations have no basis in truth and their only purpose is for Abigail’s own benefit. Furthermore, Abigail is jealous of John’s wife, Elizabeth, and she schemes to get rid of her in order to take her place. Abigail’s plot is to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.
Parallels between Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, and his article Why I wrote the Crucible, can easily support Miller’s reasons for writing this classic play. Miller’s purpose in writing both the play and the article was to emphasize the similarities between the 1692 witch hunt and the 1950’s Red Scare. Miller simply wanted to convey the message of fear over reason, express himself in a new language of old English, to warn of mass hysteria, and most importantly compare his life in the 1950’s to the irrational trial in 1692. Miller’s reasons are numerous, and while they are all stated flat out in his article, they are also clearly stated and understood in the play.
Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, and the movie with the same name have many differences and similarities, all of which contribute to the individual effectiveness of each in conveying their central message.
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged.
The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.