In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows how a repressed Puritan town in 1692 can be turned upside down when the threat of witchcraft is taken seriously. The Puritans believe the forest is where the Devil lurks, and they are fearful of the Devil. So when Parris, the town of Salem’s Reverend, catches a group of girls dancing and magic spirits in the forest, the town suspects that some sort of witchcraft is being practiced. The girls deny this accusation initially and Abigail, Reverend Parris’s niece, blames Tituba, a slave from Barbados. Abigail blames Tituba to keep herself out of trouble. Consequently, Tituba confesses because she is afraid she will be beaten to death. Tituba’s confession is the start of the mass hysteria that begins in Salem, Massachusetts. For this reason Reverend Hale, an expert on witches, is called from Beverly to investigate these suspicions. Reverend Hale is an “eager-eyed intellectual” (Miller 38), who is full of pride to have finally been called to Salem to ascertain witchcraft and purify the town of evil forces. Another character, a respected judge named Danforth, arrives from Boston and contributes to the mass hysteria seen in Salem when he relies heavily on spectral evidence presented in court to rid the town of evil. Both Reverend Hale and Danforth are allies against witchcraft trying to condemn the accused. However, as the play progresses, the two men become opponentswhen Hale realizes the flaw in his initial judgment, and Danforth rejects valuable information to protect the authority of the court and his reputation. Reverend Hale’s investigations outside the court room lead him to doubt that spectral testimony in court is true, while Danforth’s refusal to consider outside information leads hi... ... middle of paper ... ...llapsing authority on the town. Conclusion: In the beginning both Hale and Danforth want to get rid of the “witches” in Salem, but after some time Hale tries to become the savior of those convicted. Overall, Hale’s opinion throughout the story changes because he uses reason and relies on information he gathers to come to the conclusion that Abigail is merely trying to take out her vengeance on John Proctor. Danforth, on the other hand, relies on spectral evidence and is unwilling to examine evidence critically or act upon it when he could have stopped the hysteria. Danforth and Hale begin on nearly identical thought process; Hale faces a paradigm shift in both belief and perspective and breaks his allegiance with the court, whereas Danforth’s stubbornness and refusal to seek truth from sources besides the spectral evidence provided in court the madness of the trials
Confessions within the play The Crucible are driven essentially by fear and are not based on the truth. Arthur Miller uses the concept of self-benefiting confession to show the dark side of Salem, creating a sense of dramatic tension and suspense. The confessions are used to drive the play towards the objective of Miller’s story, the crumbling of the Salem community and continuous hangings. Within the play The Crucible confessions are seen as a sign of purity as admitting guilt suggests personally extricating the devil. However, the confessions create a climate of frenzy and cause Salem community members to accuse others of witchcraft to save themselves. The confessions bring the case of witchery from the court to the homes of the villagers. Tituba, Reverend Parris’ slave, is one of the first characters to confess, after being falsely accused by Abigail Williams. Tituba ‘is in her forties, from Barbados’ (Act Ι, pg. 6), she is an intelligent woman who observes that if she were to confess to being an agent of the devil, the village, Reverend Hale and members of the church would forgive her and try to find other agents of the devil within the community. Abigail ‘a strikingly beautiful girl, aged seventeen and an orphan with an endless capacity for dissembling’ (Act Ι, pg.6) notices this and decides to follow Tituba. As she sees this as an escape, Abigail commences to falsely accuse female villagers of Salem, such as; Goody Proctor. In this case, her accusations and confessions are purely for her benefit, her life and to re-ignite her love affair wi...
After Hale acknowledges his flaw, his character changes to a minister who wants to save the lives of the false accusations, so he goes against the “flawless” court. After Danforth accused John Proctor of witchcraft and sent him to jail, Hale “denounce[d] these proceedings” (120). Danforth had said that a person is either with the court or against it, and Reverend Hale chose to go against it although he was a faithful minister. Also, he tried to save John proctor’s life by asking Elizabeth to make John confess because Hale had signed seventy two death warrants and regretted it. The reason that Hale gave to Elizabeth to save Proctor’s life was that “life is God’s most precious gift” (132). At this point Reverend Hale wanted to bring justice to the court even if Proctor had to make a false
John Proctor and Reverend Hale are similar as they have both detected the corruption beneath the witchcraft accusations and attempt to prevent false testimonies and innocent people being hanged. John Proctor easily realizes the truth of the witchcraft trials because of his affair with Abigail Williams, one of the leading culprits of the hysteria in Salem. Abby exclaims that “Elizabeth hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman” (Miller 12). Abigail feels this way, not because Elizabeth has mistreated her, but instead because Elizabeth is Proctor’s wife, a nuisance to Abigail and Proctor’s relationship. Additionally, after Elizabeth found out about the affair, she fired Abigail, thus ridding Abigail
He is no longer enthusiastic and his attitude starts to change when he first came in the Proctor’s home. He was “drawn a little, and there is a quality of deference, even of guilt, about his manner now.” In first act, Hale was very energetic and excited, but at this point he seemed like he’s strained from guilt. He came with the mission to expel witchcraft, and the trails are supposed help with that, but he started to think that the witch trials are not the right way to go anymore. He started to realize that the trials are unfair and can ruin people’s lives and since he is a man of morals he starts to question the trials. When John Proctor came in and presented his case to the court, Hale tried to be rational and urged other to be so as well. He said to Danforth “stop here; send him home and let him come again with a lawyer.” Hale knows that the trials are unfair, so to prevent any more people from being hurt by the court, he wants the people to be represented with lawyers, so the process can be fair. The court wants to get rid of witchcraft, but Hale is the only one who thought about how it will affect the people being accused. As that trial continued, Hale exhibited courage because he left the court since no one wanted to change to things right. As he tries to talk to him, Danforth exclaims “I will have nothing from you Mr. Hale!” Now he was completely unvalued as a member of the court and
Analysis of The Crucible by Arthur Miller ‘You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor.’ Assess the developments in John Proctor’s character that validate this statement. How does Miller create a sense of tension and suspense in the build up to this climatic moment in Act 4? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible he has used many dramatic devices in order to create tension and build up to the climaxes of the story.
Context: This part of the text is included at the beginning of the drama, telling the audience about Salem and its people. The author explains how a theocracy would lead to a tragedy like the Salem witch-hunts. This is the initial setting and is based on the principle that some people should be included and some excluded from society, according to their religious beliefs and their actions. This is basically the idea that religious passion, taken to extremes, results in tragedy. Miller is saying that even today extremes end up bad- communism, like strict puritans, was restrictive and extreme. It only made people suffer.
Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.
There are many secrets and hidden feuds circulating in the town of Salem that he is unaware of when he first arrives. It takes Hale a long time to come to terms with how wicked the town has become, and how they use witchcraft as an excuse to get even with those they feel have wronged them. He gets caught up in the trials, even acting alongside the court. Once the truth about Abigail Williams and her followers is revealed by John Proctor to be a scam, he vocalizes what he’s really thinking “I believe him! This girl has always struck me as false!” (50), “You cannot believe them!” (51), and finally “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!”
Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The setting is important because it takes place during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play begins with the town’s girls, led by Abigail Williams, gathering in the forest and starting to dance around a fire, chanting. Reverend Parris catches them dancing, sending the girls into a panic and causing two of the girls to go into a coma-like state. The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid the town of all witchcraft. John Proctor, a local farmer, asks Abigail to stop accusing innocent people and start telling the truth about what happened in the forest. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife, excused Abigail from their house because she found out about an affair between Abigail and John. She lies to the court when she is asked about John’s affair to save him from any punishment. In doing so, they were both sent to jail for witchcraft because they knew she had lied. Abigail and the girls continued to lie about people in the town being witches, causing many innocent people to be killed, including John Proctor. Miller shows the dangers of scapegoating when lies that are regarded as the truth, and can kill innocent characters.
The test that Reverend John Hale faces is whether he can change his character early enough to redeem himself for the lives he has caused to be lost. He is the character that shows the most significant transformation overall. When he first comes to Salem, he is eager to find witchcraft and is honored that his scholastic skills are necessary. He feels that as an exorcist, it is his duty to help pe...
In 1692, the colony of Massachusetts was infected by witchcraft that would lead to the executions and imprisonments of a myriad of people. In particular, in the small parish of Salem Village, many called upon witchcraft when Reverend Samuel Parris, the town’s minister, is kneeling next to a bed while, “His daughter, Betty Parris, aged ten, is lying on the bed, inert.”(Miller 1234) It becomes known around the town that Betty Parris and numerous other girls were found dancing with the minister’s slave, Tituba. Because of these events, Reverend Parris summons the so-called witchcraft hunter and expert, Reverend John Hale, to examine his daughter. Reverend John Hale was a man of great knowledge, who experiences a major transformation over the course of the crucible, a severe trial or ordeal.
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.
A group of teenage girls were secretly dancing in the woods with a black slave, named Tituba. When they were discovered of what they were doing, the girls started accusing certain individuals in the village of dealing with witchcraft. Within a blink of an eye, the entire village is controlled by a devil that exists within the fear of each person. A drama of suspense and impact, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, explores through the individuals' vengeance, fear, reputation, and quest for power.
Although The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is set in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts during the seventeenth-century, its intention is to provide insight to the events occurring during Miller’s own time. In 1947, Alger Hiss, a State Department official, was accused of espionage, increasing the fears of the communist party among the public. Additionally, in 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb and China recently became a communist nation. Furthermore, Joseph Stalin controlled half of Europe, and the threat of an atomic war was ever-present. In 1950, three years before the play was first produced, Senator Joseph McCarthy launched a mass epidemic of hysteria throughout the country by publicly accusing 205 Department of State
A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.