Introduction The Crucible – It can withstand extreme conditions. While heating metals in it, the impurities come up to the surface and the pure substance can be obtained. It basically helps in separating pure and impure substances. Link – In Miller’s play, the character of John Proctor is tested. Eventually he decides to sacrifice his life, rather than betray his beliefs. In 1953, at the time the book was written, the Second World War had just ended but still there was a clash of democrats ands communists. The Cuban Missile Crisis – Between Russia and America. Russia supported Cuba and was going to aid Cuba by supplying nuclear arms. America was totally against it and threatened to start a nuclear war with Russia if it did this. The witch-hunts and the House Un-American Activities Committee was similar in the sense that in both the cases people wanted to get totally rid of the witches and communists respectively. At that time, the science of psychology had not developed as much and so people did actually one can actually be possessed by spirits. However, modern day psychiatrists would consider what the girls did in the forest as a psychosomatic phenomenon which means that its just the brains of the girls that are seeing it but no such activity is actually taking place. A Puritan Society is a orthodox society and has strict moral codes. It refers to practicing or affecting strict religious or moral behavior. This might be one of the reasons why the girls did this, as they were curious to try what was “not allowed”. Act 1 Abigail is quite rebellious with Parris and does not even care about him – Refer page 11. She even asks him if he has a problem with her staying in his house. Parris is incredibly concerned... ... middle of paper ... ...reaking wills. Proctor – Very smart. Respected and even feared in Salem. He is always going to be remembered for defaming people. Regarded himself as a fraud as he has committed adultery. Not involved in the church affairs, perhaps, because he doesn’t believe in it. He keeps himself aloof as a result. Round character. Rebecca Nurse – Respected a lot as she was the wife of Francis Nurse. Francis Nurse was like an unofficial judge in disputes. Rich. The Nurse clan was against Bayley’s taking of the office. Reverend Hale – He accepts that there is good and bad, God and Devil. He doesn’t ignore the Devil, rather he believes in finding the Devil and getting rid of it. He’s not just in Salem for witch hunting, he’s also there to know about the factions in the village. He is a disciplined and a fair man. He is proud of the work he’s done in getting rid of witches.
The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.
Reverend Hale was correct, John Proctor possessed an excessive sense of pride. Proctor choose to be hanged because he didn’t want to put his name in vain by claiming to have associated with the devil. As Proctor refused to confess he was acting honorably. Thus, earning himself respect in Salem by dying. His actions were foolish he committed adultery with Abigail Williams. He misled Abigail into falling in love with him. He refused to have a relationship with Abigail, in return she accused people of witchcraft. John Proctor was hung due to the conspiracy of black magic. However, John always said that kind of magic never existed. Miller’s behavior parallels Procter’s behavior because they follow a similar
It is apparent that Miller focuses his play around the moral struggles of the protagonist, John Proctor. Throughout the play, Proctor has many struggles that he must deal with and look deep into his soul to find the resolution. He undergoes a major survey of his character and it is only this way that he can gain redemption for his sins. By abiding by his own moral code, John Proctor makes many hard decisions that will affect the outcome of the play. Proctor's struggles reflect upon the central message that Miller is communicating through the play.
...isapprove of, however he is a good father and does care for people. I think that Salem would say he was a bad man. Elizabeth on the other hand would say he was a good man because although he has done bad things in his life, he feels guilty about doing these things and knows he did wrong, which some would say is more important than the crime itself. I think that John Proctor would think himself as a bad man because he is put across as very modest so he would think about the crimes he committed rather than the good things he has done. Doing a bad thing does not make him a bad man. I think that John has lots of good points and lots of bad points but he did the right thing in the end and he knew that what he did was wrong as soon as he did it, he loved his wife and she loved him, he was a good father and he lived a good life, so I think that John Proctor is a good man!
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.
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.
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.
"'A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.'" Act 3, Scene 1 pg. 87 . The characters in the play are either portrayed as good or evil with no in between , which makes life even harder for them . Salem mislabeled people in town as good or evil , but they had very little or no evidence at all to support it . Salem labels Rebecca nurse as a witch and evil , when really she was innocent and took care of everyone's babies. Abigail was an evil character who was a liar, vindictive and careless , the people of Salem viewed her as good character .
The Puritans were Englishmen who chose to separate from the Church of England. Puritans believed that the Anglican Church or Church of England resembled the Roman Catholic Church too closely and was in dire need of reform. Furthermore, they were not free to follow their own religious beliefs without punishment. In the sixteenth century the Puritans settled in the New England area with the idea of regaining their principles of the Christi...
Character: Concerned citizen of Salem just before the hanging of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor
A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.
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.
Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.
...fess to them Elizabeth” (238). He’s thinking about giving in to the corrupt church to save his own life like everyone else. But when the Judge Danforth asks him to sign his name on a document confessing of witch craft he won’t do it because he explains, “It is my name I cannot have another in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies. Proctor finally stands up for what’s right and he shows that he won’t taint his name in order to save his own life. So they send him to be hung but he dies with his honor and his integrity.
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.