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Characterisation in the crucible
Characters and characterisation in the crucible
Characters and characterisation of the crucible
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In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the fear of opposing God and the government caused the mass hysteria and accusations resulting in the hanging of nineteen innocent men and women in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller affectively showed multiple personalities of characters in the book to represent how the hangings could of happened.
Hysteria is when a group of people give in to rumors and lies, which cloud their rational thoughts. The more people believe in a fact, the faster hysteria grows, like an exponential growth. Hysteria and fear were used in The Crucible, in order to show how people would be convinced of a fact even if it ignores rational thought, similar to how during the Cold War, people were afraid of Communists within the country, even there weren’t really any. Characters heard of witchcraft and believed it and became suspicious of it; they saw even the most casual or meaningless thing, and would somehow connect it to witchcraft. When Cheever was holding Elizabeth’s doll and found a pin in it he said “it is a needle! Herrick, Herrick, it is a needle!...I had my doubts, Proctor, I had my doubts but here’s calamity” (Miller 70). He then goes on to describe how this means that Elizabeth's soul stabbed Abigail in the gut, right where the needle
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This shows that people in the town of Salem would immediately connect an event to witchcraft, and not even think of another reason, or whether or not the person it connected witchcraft to was actually framed. The more people that got blamed for witchcraft, the more people believed in it and accused others without question. In her article, Laura Staffaroni stated that “The
Hysteria was a very obvious theme shown throughout the play, The Crucible. It was all started by a few young girls in Salem, Massachusetts. They were all dancing in the woods one night and were caught by Paris, the reverend in that small town. The next day two of the young girls were sick and would not move, talk, nor eat . The town began to start talk of witch craft because of the forbidden dancing that took place the other night. When the girls heard of that at first they denied it, but then they realized they could get out of being punished if they put the blame onto someone else. The began to shout out the names of people they clamed to have seem with they devil. It seemed like a logical explanation to the people in the town, so they had the people accused of being witches arrested. The whole town was in an uproar crying out witch craft to gain respect and power in the town and to get revenge on those who they were jealous of . Everyone began to thrive on this hysteria in particular Abigail Williams. She was having an affair with Elizabeth Proctors husband, John Proctor, when she had lived with them as t...
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
20 were executed” (Blumberg). The Crucible setting is based on The Salem Witch trials, but the plot is based on The Red Scare. The author employs strict tone and rhetorical questions to convey power. This connects to the purpose of how a occurring can devastate a whole community and the people in it. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, employs empowerment by expressing the challenges within each character and their influence on the trial through the characters John Proctor, Abigail, and Danforth.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, focuses on the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that follows the trials. Miller shows how the dark desires and hidden agendas provokes such extreme behavior. The Crucible was written in a time when the anti-communist movement was strongly protested. During the Salem witch trials, a person was guilty until he proved himself
“Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion, and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it.” – Elia Kazan. In the crucible, Arthur Miller describes the witch trials and the hysteria that was caused by it. The fear of the devil overwhelms reason and makes the town of Salem even more afraid. In the story, Marry Warren falls under hysteria and through her, Arthur Miller explains that fear causes people to leave behind all their logic and reason.
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.
The Crucible is a novel based on the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, written by Arthur Miller. The Crucible demonstrates forbidden temptation between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, honor and dishonor in the town of Salem, ruthless revenge, and the strive for high social status. The narrative style of this play is standard 1950s everyday language. The Crucible is set in a theocratic society of Puritanism in 1692.
The Crucible by Auther Miller was an event held in Salem, Massachusetts that lead to the executions of innocent people accused of witchcraft. These traumatic events devastated a great portion of the community, because anyone could have been accused. John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor, their relationship transcends to various challenges, and tries to resolve their distant marriage.
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.
In 1692, nineteen men and women of Salem, Massachusetts were suspected under the crime of witchcraft and were sentenced to hang. These hangings came from the result of villagers blaming each other trying in order to save their own lives. Similarly, in the 1950s, McCarthyism and the Red Scare took on a similar outcome as the Salem Witch Trials; many people were wrongly convicted as Communists. However as time progressed, people became less concerned about saving themselves but began to protect one another from harm. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950s in order to relay the message that although humanity appears to selfishly protect their own interests, they eventually become selfless and serve justice. Through the use of description, Miller illustrates how John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Giles Corey transform from selfish to selfless.
In The Crucible, the mass hysteria surrounding the witch trials caused paranoia amongst the people of Salem. Miller uses the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as a symbol and allegory of the fear surrounding the spread of communism during the 1950s in America. The community’s sense of justice was blinded by the mass hysteria and for some, a desire for vengeance and personal gain. The Putnams
In The Crucible, many individuals in the Salem community lost their lives due to the fictitious thought that witchcraft had arisen in the town. Likewise, many civilians died as a result of police officers belief that the general public preyed on them. This type of paranoia can lead to the destruction of lives. Statistics show that rather than the citizens hunting down police officers, the media exaggerated this idea. This media tactic unnecessarily endangers innocent lives. The idea of a “witch hunt” does not only happen in stories, it has a role in the everyday lives of Americans.
Fear holds a great control over any mortal human-being through daunting and restricted words, most commonly seen while anyone is under pressure. While being controlled over fear, you may come to realize that you are being manipulated to the possibilities of a threatened punishment and may also be mislead by lies. Arthur Miller’s classic novel, The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, where a lot of times fear would be used to control anyone to blame another of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller elucidates this through Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren, that fear holds a great torment on the truth.
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.