Numerous works of art have been produced by great American artist. "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and Edith Wharton’s "Roman Fever" are two stories that can easily be compared and contrasted to the movie Easy Rider. Easy Rider is the 1960’s "Road Film" tale of a search for freedom in a corrupt and conformist America. "The Crucible" can relate to the world seen in Easy Rider. Unlike "The Crucible" Edith Wharton’s "Roman Fever" would not understand the world represented in Easy Rider.
In the movie Easy Rider Jack Nicholoson’s character George Hanson comes in contact with two long-haired social misfits Wyatt and Billy. Wyatt and Billy are different from George and are accustomed to an alternative lifestyle. This alternative lifestyle is appealing to George and he decides to travel with his new friends as they journey to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Along the way the trio run in to trouble. They travel through a small American town and the local townspeople who do no like them because of their appearance. Later on, the three men are attacked by the townspeople and George is brutally beaten to death. This is very similar to the executions that took place in The Crucible. In The Crucible, many people were accused of being witches and worshipping the devil even though they were not. An example of this would be John Proctor. He was accused of devil worship because he was singled out by his peers who were looking for someone to blame. Much like George, John was an innocent man who died because an enraged group of people let there emotions get the best of them. John could sympathize with George because of the similarity of the injustice done to both of them.
In the short story "Roman Fever," the characters Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade are two wealthy widows that are reflecting on their lives together. We see that they are people of a high social standing. They talk about their pampered lifestyles and plan for their daughters futures. These woman would not understand the life of a "hippie" living in 1960’s America, nor would they approve. Wyatt and Billy were used to living on the open road and going where the wind takes them. They were rebellious and completely carefree. Mrs. Ansley and Mrs.
ROUGH RIDERS Ben Kerfoot 3/7/02 Per. 5 The Rough Riders were the most famous of all the units fighting in Cuba during the Spanish, American war. The Spanish, American war started by America wanting to expand their influence in the western hemisphere.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor, a proud and frustrated farmer of Salem, chooses to die rather than to give a false confession to witchcraft. Many might view this act as that of a selfless martyr; on the other hand, it can more readily be seen as the height of human stupidity in the face of vanity and pride.
During the 1690’s in Salem, Massachusetts, one of the most disgraceful events in American history took place. 20 innocent people were sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft (Kortuem). At the time there was a witch scare sweeping across the North East of America in a time we know today as the Salem Witch Trials. The witch trials was one of the most shameful events in American history. In fact, it was compared to another event by a man named Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was a playwright from New York who wrote many famous plays like Death of a Salesman, All my Sons, and of course The Crucible (Kortuem). In The Crucible, Miller was comparing the McCarthy Hearings at the time to the events hundreds of years earlier in the
In the play: The Crucible Miller reveals the effect of the Salem Witch Trials on the people due to their growing fear. Miller shows that fear exasperates man’s innate vices of self-preservation, greed, and hypocrisy. In The Crucible Miller demonstrates these vices through Danforth, a prestigious judge that should represent the peak of human morality and reason.
Arthur Miller portrayed forgiveness in The Crucible in a way I had never thought possible. There were many characters in the novel, but the three that appeared to be most important were John Procter, Abigail Williams, and Elizabeth Procter. John Procter was a farmer in his mid 30's who was married to Elizabeth Procter. The Procter's lived in the outskirts of town and were, for the most part, good Christians. John was a very proud man, who was considered a leader by many of the townspeople. John Procter's one mistake was having an affair with their servant Abigail Williams. Although John confessed the affair to his wife, she never fully forgave him. Abigail Williams was around 17 years old and was a very misleading girl. She was the leader of a group of girls in falsely accusing many innocent people of witchcraft. In all actuality, Abigail just wanted Elizabeth dead because she wanted John. Another reason that she wanted Elizabeth dead is because she had been fired from being the Procter's servant for so long. Abigail knew that Elizabeth had been catching on that she loved John and the only way she could have John was if Elizabeth was dead. If Elizabeth had just forgiven John of his lechery with Abigail and then moved away, none of the Salem Witch Trials would have ever happened.
In the The Crucible by Arthur Miller, justice is raped by the immorality of those who kill for pleasure. Salem 1690’s, an epidemic of accusations is going around the village. Women, Men and Children are accusing others of witchcraft. More than a dozen of girls fell ill, everything attributed to the devil. Men and Women are being killed by immoral accusations, some of them because of land disputes, but others because of forbidden passions. A forbidden passion between Proctor and Abigail leads into the tragedy of the play. Proctor is a man with a lot of moral problems, who always concerns only for the care of his family and social welfare. When avoiding his involvement in the trails of witchcraft, he is accused of witchery and sentenced to death.
Honor, dignity, and integrity are traits that are becoming more and more rare in our society. The Crucible, a play written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, is based on the Salem witch hunts of 1692 and parallels the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the 1950s. In the play, Miller attempts to focus his themes around traits such as honor, dignity, and integrity, and as a result, the theme "is it better to die honorably or live dishonorably" becomes vital to the story and well conveyed throughout it. The characters that exemplify this idea are John Proctor and Giles Corey, both of whom die by the end of the play, and Reverend John Hale and Abigail Williams, who live through the trials.
Imagine that someone is accused of doing a crime and went to jail and died there, but then new evidence came up and that person was proven innocent. The people in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, would have the same fate. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1700s, during the witchcraft trials. People were being convicted of being a witch, just like what happened to John Procter during the Salem witch trials. Injustice of the courts is shown in Miller's The Crucible as well as in the unfortunate case of Robert “Bob” Doyle.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, portrayed a reimagined version of the Salem Witch Trials. The trials took place in 1692 when a group of girls accused innocent women of being witches in order to save themselves from punishment. As the accusations escalated, a court was erected to determine whether or not the suspects were truly guilty. Allegations were made against two hundred people, and ultimately, twenty innocent men and women were tortured and hanged in order to cleanse Salem of ‘the devil’s magic’ (Miller, 33). Arthur Miller wrote this in the midst of the McCarthy Hearings, which pursued the eradication of communist sympathizers
The Crucible is interpreted as an allegory on the intolerance of McCarthyism, allowing Miller to express his criticisms towards the practice through a crucial period in American history. After its publication, it was widely expressed that the Crucible illustrated Miller’s opinion on McCarthyism and its effect on society. McCarthyism is defined as the political practice of broadcasting accusations of disloyalty and undermining power and authority without providing legitimate evidence. This was specifically targeted to communists, who similarly were the innocent citizens falsely accused of witchcraft in Salem. Although Miller does not specifically mention McCarthyism, he incorporates analogies to elements of McCarthyism. A direct connection to it is Danforth states "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” This crucial quote loosely references the aspect of McCarthyism that loosely states a person is either with the government, or suspected of communism. Miller continues to reinforce this technique through the representation of his characters. Abigail reflects on the encouragement of accusations of innocent folk without providing solid evidence, such as claiming “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil!” therefore encouraging the fellow girls of Salem to follow. This parallels to McCarthy’s allegations against anyone regardless of their social status. Proctor however, represents the injustice placed upon the honest citizens who attempted to clear their names. The hangings reflect on the citizens during the McCarthy era who were blacklisted and therefore excluded from society. Although there is no direct symbolism, this practice is clearly depicted in t...
In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.
In Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, many women were being accused of witchcraft. The people of the town knew how controversial it was, but the fear instilled in them caused them to go along with the lies. They are forced to choose between survival and what they believe is right, as Puritans. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller depicts his message that self preservation overrides personal morals through imagery and situational irony.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
In The Crucible, the mass hysteria surrounding the witch trials caused paranoia amongst the people of Salem. Miller uses the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as a symbol and allegory of the fear surrounding the spread of communism during the 1950s in America. The community’s sense of justice was blinded by the mass hysteria and for some, a desire for vengeance and personal gain. The Putnams
The Crucible also brings to light the theme of injustice in society. Not only does Judge Hathorne and Deputy-Governor Danforth have no proof of the crimes other than the word of the girls, but they leave the accused no options -- they either lie to save their lives, and hence 'admit' to the crime, or they die telling the truth which will not be believed by the public anyway. Even when Reverend Hale becomes suspicious that it is a hoax and informs the court of his fears, Danforth and Hathorne ignore his pleads for extra time to investigate and continue on with how they best see the court's proceedings.