In 1953, Arthur Miller, wrote a play called The Crucible. This play was written to compare the witchcraft trials to McCarthyism, which was the practice of holding people accountable for being communists without actual proof. The Crucible became very popular in the 1950’s due to the relatable plot of the story since most feared the accusation of Communism. This story takes place in the city of Salem, where people of a true Puritan community live. There, people have strong religious beliefs and restrictions to what is acceptable in the community. One of those regulations was children were not permitted to play; if one was ever caught disobeying they would face serious public punishment. This punishment became a reality for children when caught dancing in the woods. The entire town became hysterical while trying to find the root problem to the children’s behavior.The faithful people of Salem determined that they had found witchcraft. As the hysteria arose, people started to worry about their reputations, questioning the actions of others and becoming delirious in attempts to save
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.
The unfounded accusations that Joseph McCarthy and the girls in The Crucible make are what fuels the widespread hysteria in both situations. McCarthy is quoted as declaring in a speech, "I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who, nevertheless, are still working and shaping policy in the State Department." This is the first of the many unwarranted charges that he claims. The girls in The Crucible, all make unwarranted charges against people for witchcraft, especially Abigail Williams. The leader of the accusations, she accuses various people from Elizabeth Proctor to Tituba. Joseph McCarthy and the girls earn the respect and awe of the people, instead of being riduculed for their unfounded accusations.
Crucible” Abigail was accused of being a witch. Abigail got out of being called a witch by scape-goating
All of these examples of modern day witch hunts link to the crucible in different ways. No one is literally being hunted like in the crucible. The court isn’t going out and searching for these people, they are just looked down on by American society. These “witch hunts” happen in everyday life, some people don’t take the time to look and notice. Take the time one day to look for these things, guarantee you will see the modern day “witch hunts”.
Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Reputation. Reputation is the general opinion of either a private or public group of people or all people involved in a position of anything relevant to a situation. For example, a great reputation in a sport will get you either paid more or chosen for a better team. Reputation is an important issue in much of everything. It is an important issue within virtual communities, businesses, schools, social status, and more.
The salem witch trials were a crucial part of the 1600’s at some point. As many people know, several people were put to death because of the trials. Judge Sewall, being in an important state of power decided what would happen to the people who were being accused. Miraculously, Judge Sewall’s journal was found which contained several entries that involved the Salem witch trials. In Judge Sewall’s apology, he admits his wrong doing of putting an end to the lives of innocent people. Sewall writes that he recognizes his cruel injustices in several ways.
Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"
'The Crucible' was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was brought
before a committee in 1956 to answer charges of 'communist sympathy'
and to name the people he had had meetings with up to twenty years
before. Liberal writer, film directors, actors and actresses were all
called before the committee. The committee often had lists of names of
people who had attended meetings yet they still forced witnesses to
recite names, to see if they would comply and give the right names.
This action and others performed by the committee lead Arthur miller
to associate his treatment and the treatment of others with the
witchcraft trails that had taken place in Salem, Massachusetts, USA,
two centuries before.
Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Drama is often made interesting to the theatre audience by the author
using characters of a certain type (Hero, Villain). Choose two
characters from the play that you feel might loosely fit these two
categories. Consider how Miller reveals the type of characters people
are in the play.
Arthur Miller was born on October 17th 1915 in New York City (U.S.A).
Arthur Miller's The Crucible
In The Crucible there are many different ways in which Arthur Miller
captivates the interest of the audience. These include the reasons for
which Arthur Miller wrote the play, and various themes within the play
such as love, hate, lies, betrayal, lust and injustice. There is an
interest in the nature of the community, the ways in which the law
operated and the moral and reasoning behind the people of that time.
This is also of interest when we look at the main characters within
the play.