The Crucible, by Arthur Miller: A Test of Character

1051 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Courage, weakness, and truth in the crucible

The word crucible describes an event that involves a test or trial of someone or something. In the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, various characters endure a severe test of honestly, bravery, and goodness. Throughout the story, a series of events lead to tragedies, which involve these characters to make important decisions. If chosen incorrectly, it may lead to the death of another innocent person, or possibly even themselves. These events however, will bring out the true colors of everyone in Salem, whether they truly good or evil.

Abigail is a fitting example of someone who was severely questioned throughout The Crucible. One reason is her affair with John Proctor. This affair leads to a trail of corrupt doings. This is because Abigail wanted Goody Proctor dead, since she wanted John all to herself. She knew very well that if she simply never told these terrible lies, she would never be in this situation, and neither would all the other innocent people. She decided to continue lying to save her own skin, which proves that Abigail is selfish, and is willing to do anything to get vengeance on Elizabeth for blackening her name in Salem.

A characteristic that helps Abigail defy that she was dishonest was he talent to manipulate others. She decided to use this skill to convict other innocent people, only to get the blame off herself. She made the gruesome decision to turn her back on god, in confessing lies, while she was falsely looked upon as a hero to the court officials, and anyone else gullible enough to believe her. For example, early on in the story, she falsely confessed to seeing the devil, and writing in his book. She said she wanted to go back to God, and receive his light. She fooled almost everyone in doing t...

... middle of paper ...

...ey refuse to give up their integrity, and go against God. This proves that they are much more courageous than Hale is, because they will die before they sell the soul to the devil. Hale ends up having to live with this corruption he allowed to happen. This proves he wasn’t very brave after all, because he barely did what was right, and lost the battle of good versus

Evil.

A crucible is a severe test or trial. The story The Crucible strongly supports this definition, because almost every character in The Crucible was tested in some way. This is whether it was a test of character, honesty, loyalty, bravery or goodness within themselves. In some cases, they were trialed against their will and others testifying to evil willingly. With others, it was a test within themselves, to find the truth about what evil really is, and to not let it overcome their goodness.

Show More
Related

  • Abigail Adams And John Proctor In The Crucible

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    ¨I have known her, sir. I have known her.¨ A crucible is a test or severe trial, and no trial is more severe than that of a man’s soul. The entire story of Salem is ridden with tests of character and the humanity of the citizens as they respond to the mass hysteria created by someone crying witch. Every single character in this play is given a trial through which they must come to achieve their greater purpose, and these trials expose the skeletons in their closets and the blackness of their sins. However, the similar message is presented in different ways by the cinematic portrayal and Miller’s original play. Lies, unsubstantiated accusations, jealousy, and self-righteousness are the main factors fueling the flame of deceit and hatred. John

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams Influence In The Crucible

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail's necessity for revenge makes her threaten the young ladies into following her idea of deception. “Let either of you breathe a word,” Abigail threatens, “or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”(835). Abigail knows that all the girls in the woods fear her to death. Which made the witch trials easier for her to get by. Another thing is that Abigail ends her affair with John Proctor to try to get revenge on him. “A man may think God

    Read More

  • Differences Between The Crucible

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    What does the word crucible mean? The word crucible means a severe test or trial. Throughout the novel, The Crucible, many of the characters go through their own crucible. These trials have a major or minor impact on the characters life throughout the novel. These trials all come together creating the story based on the calamity in America around 1952, which inspired Arthur Miller to write this well known novel. In the novel, there are many different examples from various characters about life lessons and choices. Although the book and play are very similar they do share many differences.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century, yet is as much a product of the time in which Arthur Miller wrote it, the early 1950s, as it is description of Puritan society. At that particular time in the 1950s, when Arthur Miller wrote the play the American Senator McCarthy who chaired the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ was very conscious of communism and feared its influence in America. It stopped authors’ writings being published in fear of them being socialist sympathisers. Miller was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and that human beings were capable of such madness. In the 1950s the audience would have seen the play as a parallel between the McCarthy trials and the Salem Trials.

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Hysteria And Injustice

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.

    Read More

  • Why Is John Proctor Wrong In The Crucible

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a book that takes place around the 1692 Salem witch trials. John Proctor, a major character in the book, chooses to die without lying rather than sell out the people around him. Proctor did not do the right thing because he did not have to incriminate anyone in immediate danger, it was possible to survive as a social outcast, and he has a duty to his family.

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Crucible Today

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Test of Character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.

    Read More

  • The Many Challenges in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    ruinously impact a whole community, is very aptly titled. By definition, a “crucible” is “a severe test,” and the challenges faced by Miller’s characters are many. The historical events dramatized in the play reflect how core human values, including truth, justice and love, are tested under life and death conditions. The trials of the characters and the values they hold dearly come when their simple, ordered world ceases to be black and white and easily deciphered, and is turned upside down in the gray shades of ambiguity.

    Read More

  • Is The Crucible Still Relevant Today Essay

    436 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials in 1692.salem was a Puritan town where people would be accused of witchcraft if they weren't very religious or had different beliefs. People who weren't very religious would get whipped, tortured and hanged. The Puritans had a very strict religion that created fear in people which led them to follow the religion (Arthur Miller 1952). Modern Americans are entitled to believe in any religion of their choice, unlike the Puritans. Today if you commit a crime you won't be punished until there is evidence that you are guilty. In the crucible people were guilty based on accusations and their beliefs

    Read More

  • The Crucible Critical Review

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Title of The Crucible

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play written in response to the “communist scares” in America in the 1950’s. Miller chose “The Crucible” as the title because the definitions of the words match the play perfectly. A crucible is a container that can withstand high temperatures, often used to melt, and change the shape of metals. The town of Salem can be compared to the container that melts metals. The witchcraft trials can be compared to the severe tests or trials. Also, the severe tests or trials can be compared to how people are fighting themselves, and making moral decisions. (Dictionary).

    Read More

  • The Title of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller cleverly picked the title "The Crucible" for his play about the Salem witch hunts of the 1660's because of the word's many meanings. Throughout the play, Miller has characters face severe tests that make them question their own self. A crucible is also an earthen pot that is used for melting metals. In a way the town of Salem was a crucible as people were brought before the court and blasted with allegations from others as being witches. They were either forced to give in and live a lie or be hanged.

    Read More

More about The Crucible, by Arthur Miller: A Test of Character

Open Document