The Crucible’ provides a powerfully dramatic conclusion to the play.

The Crucible’ provides a powerfully dramatic conclusion to the play.

How does Miller achieve this and how does he make the audience respond

to John Proctor?

Act 4 of ‘The Crucible’ provides a powerfully dramatic conclusion to

the play. How does Miller achieve this and how does he make the

audience respond to John Proctor?

Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible in 1953, although the play is set in

Salem in 1962. Salem is a highly religious village and believed

strongly of witches and the devil. As did the whole of America. At

this time many people in Salem where being accused of being witches,

at this time mass hysteria swept across the remote village of Salem

like an evil plague. Matters where getting completely out of hand,

resulting in the imprisonment of hundreds and the hanging of 19 people

and 2 dogs. This is evidence of how stupid this is!

Miller aimed the title at John Procter (‘the Crucible’), John Proctor

is a very important character and he includes a lot of attention to

make this play give the effect that its supposed to do, Miller, when

he wrote the story was thinking what to call it. He thought of an

appropriate title; The Crucible. This name gives great meaning, it is

not what most people are lead to believe at early stages of the story,

most people refer to The Crucible as a caldron. Instead it’s a

metaphor to a heat proof container to purify metal. It is heated to

high temperature and the impurities are separated leaving only the

pure metal, this responds to John Procter ‘after all the faults he has

done at the end of the story he is ‘pure’ at the end of the play this

is why he is so appealing to the audience. the story’s main character,

becomes so enthralled with the trial and all the pressure that he

signs his own death warrant just to get it over with. In 1962 lying is

one of the most sinful things you can possibly do.

At the start of the story John was a sinful man, everyone in the

village kept to the 10 commandments like a magnet to metal, but John

disobeyed 1 of the 10 commandments ‘YOU SHAL NOT COMMIT ADULTRY’ you

can see his emotions in the play and tell that he is deeply sorry for

his faults, but Abigail Williams is not at all ashamed about breaking

Gods code of commandments. Abigail is a very evil and vicious

character, she is 17 and she is an orphan that lives with her uncle, I