Life in Salem, Massachusetts back in 1692 could prove very difficult for its residents. John Proctor, a married man living in this setting has to combat his society for what he believes is just and right, and in doing so sacrifices his life for it. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller illuminates the conflict between the individual and society by using John Proctor as his protagonist. Despite the fact that Proctor does die in the end, Arthur Miller believes that the individual does triumph over society in the end. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, society was greatly centered around the church and its teachings. In this community there was little to no religious diversity, mostly everyone were Protestant. This religion had many restrictions on its followers and influenced how they should behave as well as determine what they are allowed to do. The townspeople took their religion to such an extent to appoint “…a two-man patrol whose duty was to ‘walk forth in the time of God’s worship to take notice of such as either…may be accordingly proceeded against’”(4). The church was also strongly against “vain enjoyment”, restricting Protestant and prohibiting actions such as dancing. The so-called “witch hunt” of 1692 started with Abigail and her friends going into the woods to worship around a fire and saying love spells. Due to fear of the judgment of their society and possible consequences, the girls that were with Abigail that night decided to go along with her story and accused the outcasts of the town of witchcraft. All of the girls, except Mary Warren, conformed to the idea of witchcraft because that was what they were taught growing. However, Mary Warren saw through Abigail Parris’ lies and threats and eventually accu... ... middle of paper ... ...become Salem, Massachusetts. This act of heroism gave hope more than anything, as more and more people started to tell the honest truth that there was no witchcraft, and not live within their society’s boundaries of what is truthful and accepted. Proctor also kept white what was most important to him, that being his name. Since he didn’t blacken his name, his children can still have the life that he wanted them to have. In conclusion, Proctor stood up for the truth. He was not a perfect person, and much less a perfect Puritan, however when it came down to it he knew what was right, for his family, for himself, and for the future of his community. Proctor successfully accomplished what he wanted for his family, without blackening his name or selling out his friends. Although it cost him his life, his individuality still triumphed over the grasps of society in the end.
The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts can be considered a horrendous period in American history, yet is also viewed as the turning point in what was considered acceptable in a contemporary society. In a documentation of a trial against a woman named Sarah Good, the reader is able to see the way in which such an accusation was treated and how society as a whole reacted to such a claim. Sarah Good fell victim to the witchcraft hysteria because she was different, and that fear of her divergence from the Puritan lifestyle led to her eventual demise.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, both pride and excessive pride influence the characters throughout the play. Pride is a sense of one's dignity and worth. Excessive pride is being overly confident of one's own self worth. Throughout, pride influences the actions, reactions, and emotions of the characters in such ways to establish the outcome of the story. Three characters are impelled by their pride. Hale, who takes pride in his ability to detect witchcraft; Elizabeth Proctor, whose pride makes forgiving her husband difficult; Proctor, whose excessive pride causes him to overlook reality and the truth.
likelihood of victory is small.” It is a person’s mental or moral strength to resist extreme
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.
The Crucible, takes place in the small Puritan village called Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witchcraft trials grew out of the moral system of the Puritans. This split the town into two, those who were considered witches and those who wanted good.
The crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem witch trials and how people react to hysteria created from the fear of witches. In the play, after hysteria breaks out, the Salem government starts persecute and hang people it believes are witches. This prompts people to start to accusing people of witchcraft. Some people who accuse others of committing witchcraft are Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam. They do not accuse people of witchcraft to stop witchcraft, but for personal gain or to hurt others. Thomas Putnam, one of the many characters who takes advantage of the witch trials, is able to use the fear of witches to bend the court to his will. Hysteria causes people to believe claims that are clearly false. This allows Putnam to persecute his enemies. He and many other are able to get away with this because hysteria driven persecutions are not run like regular courts and the fact that witchcraft is an invisible crime allows evidence to be made up. The theme of The Crucible is when any persecution is driven by fear and people can and will manipulate the system so they can gain and hurt another.
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 saint; on the other hand, it can more easily be seen as the height of human stupidity in the face of pride.
The Salem witch trials happened in Colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were suspected of being involved with witchcraft or the “Devil's magic” and more than 19 were executed. Ultimately, the society confessed the trials were an inaccuracy and remunerated the families of those who were found guilty. Since then, the tale of the trials has become indistinguishable with fear and discrimination, and it remains to lure the general mind more than 300 years later. These rare trials intensely change the way that people look at their world. These witchcraft trials in Salem during the summer of 1692 did just that. The misfortune of Salem, which saw nineteen alleged witches hanged and some more accused witches die in prison, caused colonists to reconsider both their association with the supernatural world and the sort of procedural devices necessary to protect accused persons. It is commonly assumed that madness similar to that seen 308 years ago in Massachusetts could never again poison our justice system.
Another important work Miller wrote, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 17th century. It is a time when jealousy and suspicion poisoned the thinking of an entire town. Neighbor turned against neighbor when events happened that could not be explained. Accusations turned into a mad hunt for witches who did not exist. One of the main characters of the play is John Proctor, a well-respected man with a good name in the town. As the play develops, John Proctor’s moral dilemma becomes evident: he must decide whether to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to save his life, or to die an honest man, true to his beliefs.
We have all heard fairy tales about witches and wizards. You know, the ones that ride brooms and have that evil laugh! Well, in Salem, Massachusetts, the people there believed in them too. They might not have been the ones that can be seen in the books or popular movies, but they were considered a legitimate threat to the people of Salem. The “witches” of Salem have become a famous part of history, as the trials began in January of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were some of the darkest times in human history because they caused unjustified hysteria and fear of the unknown; as a result, this caused physical, mental, and emotional harm as well as a great loss of human life.
Setting, time, and place were among the most obvious of details in The Crucible. As with each time period, the era in which this book took place brought with it unique characteristics of the people and places associated with that decade. Through the use of cleverly constructed characters, Arthur Miller was able to capture the past and give us a glimpse of what it would have been like to live in the late 17th century. Among those characters include John and Elizabeth Proctor, spouse to one another, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Thomas Hale. Through these five people and more, the customs and general aspects of the Salem community are represented. One way the town expressed itself was through the way its inhabits dressed. The clothing that the people of Salem wore seemed very conservative and down to earth. There were no bright colors, but rather dark reds and browns which matched with the altogether oddities of Salem in Autumn. John and Elizabeth Proctor’s clothes generally were designed to be rugged for the man and yet comfortable to the woman. Most of Salem’s women, like Abigail Williams, were dressed as ladies should have been during those times; her accouterments were designed so they would reveal nothing to those who may have been curious. Among the unique and industrial designs such as Abigail’s bonnet and dress, Judge Danforth was to wear an outfit just as suitable. His dress consisted of a long gown and wig which was typical for a Judge to wear at the time. Like most of Salem, Reverend Thomas Hale tended to dress just as comfortable and casual as any of the other men.
Proctor's morality, and loyalty also contribute to being a good person. When the marshals Herrick and Cheever came to arrest his wife, he stuck with her to protect her, even though she was accused of being a witch.
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
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.
It's shocking how people die for no reason. It was happening in Salem in 1692 for the witch trials. Rebecca Nurse was a woman with good reputation, and because of spectral evidence she was sentenced with death. The only way to escape from death was to accept that she was a witch. This is still happening now. Osama Bin Laden was the reason for 7000 people's death in New York. We have to look at the society of Salem and pity them because of the repressions that made order and freedom imbalanced, as we are going to be pitied some day.