Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
sexism in the salem witch trials
describe the title crucible and explain the use of symbolism in the play
sexism in the salem witch trials
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: sexism in the salem witch trials
Events carried out through the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller had a major effect on the society within that time period. Salem is a strict, hierarchical, and patriarchal society. The men of the town have all the political power due to difference between men and women during that time. Their rule is buttressed not only by law but also by the supposed sanction of God. In this society, the lower rungs of the social ladder are occupied by young, unmarried girls like Abigail, Mary Warren, and Mercy. Powerless in daily life, these girls find a sudden source of power in their alleged possession by the devil and hysterical denunciations of their fellow townsfolk. The Salem Witch Trials played a major role in giving the people a sense of power. It gave them a voice which they previously didn’t have. The Witch Trials were a sign of rebellion from the people; it was something to believe in.
In the Crucible, the girls were previously God’s representatives in a strict town where there was no other choice but to follow God, but in the presence of the witch trials, these girls are suddenly treated as though they have a direct connection to a divine power. In a political cartoon, it shows a witch on trial saying, “It makes no difference what I say. You’ve already decided I’m guilty.” The man replies with, “Gasp! The witch can read minds!” This example proves how much power the people think the witch obtains, when in reality the witches were just not naïve or oblivious. They were realistic, but for some odd reason that had a great impact on the people. They believed that the witches had powers that they didn’t actually obtain, so without hesitation of course the witches were going to use this to their advantage to have power over the people....
... middle of paper ...
... causes chaos during the brief period of the hysteria and trials, the social order of Salem is turned on its head.
Eric Christ published a literary analysis of The Crucible, where he portrayed his idea that, “Another aspect of the play that struck me was the blatant wrong-headedness of an otherwise intelligent and fair man, Danforth. He sincerely believes that Abigail and the other girls are telling the truth. In fact, he believes the girls’ testimony is from Heaven and therefore cannot possibly be false. He is, quite frankly, duped. In this case, Miller very effectively portrays the raw power superstition can wield over normally reasonable people.” Here, proved in this quote, he provides with proof that the girls had a power over the people that made them feel obligated to believe their statements. Superstition is clearly a powerful thing that can alter judgment.
Sometimes people are so narrow-minded that they do not see the whole picture. People see what they want to see because they cannot handle the actuality or do not like the truth. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Danforth refuses to come to the truth that the witch trials in Salem were the result of a cover-up, and that the court hung a handful of innocent people because of a lie. Miller once said, “The tragedy of The Crucible is the everlasting conflict between people so fanatically wedded to this orthodoxy that they could not cope with the evidence of their senses.” In other words, the tragedy of The Crucible involved the theocracy’s failure to control Salem’s witchcraft mania. At the time, Salem was governed by a theocracy, in which the ministers also had judicial power over society. Because the judges were ministers, religion took precedence over realism and pragmatism; they were unable to come to their senses and realize that the accusations of witchcraft were out of human emotions.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was written during the early 1950s.It was the time of The rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s.All throughout history, accusations of witchcraft have been used as an excuse for the discrimination of people who cultures, traditions, race, and ideas were not easily accepted nor understood by the society even if it was untrue.In today’s society students are taught this because it show’s how important “The Crucible, and McCarthyism were and what changes they went through because of the human condition.It is extremely important and appropriate because it allows students the opportunity to respond in terms of their own experiences .The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism had many similarities. In The Crucible Abigail
The Salem Witch Trials marks a vulnerable era in history. The play allows us to see that uncontrolled rage, pride, and even religion at times, can lead to destruction and mayhem. With these factors, it’s quite clear to see why Salem was vulnerable to these
Power and fear can affect people´s sense of what's wrong and what's right. In “the Crucible” by Miller, we can see how the trials affected every individual in a negative aspect. people suffered because of such power and unfairness the authority had. The witch trials affected a lot of individuals from an emotional aspect to a psychological trauma.
Imagine how hard it would be to live in a Puritan society. This means that one could never skip a day of going to church, and would have to maintain a good reputation. This was the reality of society in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The story was set in Salem, Massachusetts, where the government was based greatly on religion. Anybody who had been accused of witchcraft would either be hung or sentenced to jail. Several girls in Salem faked illness, and pretended to be bewitched. The town went into hysteria when these girls started accusing others of witchcraft and summoning the devil. The hysteria was a result of the town’s puritan belief system in which everybody was very religious and concerned with keeping a good reputation. Abigail Williams,
Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.
Someone once said ‘those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it.’ In The Crucible the girls reflected the half of the community that had been suppressed by men and retrained by religion. In their journey to escape the shackles of their restricted future, the girls abused the power they gained from manipulation and exploitation, to present one of the darkest times in the history of man. Stripping the reputation, personal liberty and integrity of many innocents of Salem, it was power that subsequently dismantled the the pillars of society that Salem thought were most strong such as theocratic justice; to reveal an ugly truth of human existence, that powerlessness can be as potent a catalyst for change as excessive power, but it is abuse of power that will always prevail over
The Salem Witchcraft Trials began not as an act of revenge against an ex-lover, as they did in The Crucible, but as series of seemingly unlinked, complex events, which a paranoid and scared group of people incorrectly linked. And while there were countless other witchcraft trials, Salem’s trials remain the best-known. In Salem, fears of witchcraft perpetuated by popular writings were personified when two girls were said to be bewitched. A hysteria overcame the people of Salem, whose trials went awry. In less than six months, 19 men and women were hanged, 17 innocents died in filthy prisons, an 80-year old man was crushed to death, and two dogs were stoned to death for collaborating with the Devil (Richardson 6).
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The togetherness of the community, the church and legal system died so that the children could protect their families' social status.
...w. Ultimately all order is lost and cannot be redeemed by the high court because Danforth “cannot pardon when twelve are already hanged for the same crime” (4.129) Chaos wins the battle against order and thus breaking the power of theocracy in Salem.
The reputation of a person is very important to their standing in the community, and especially in a religious community. In the play the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows the importance of social standing by religious beliefs and contemporary social dynamics. Therefore, the play was based off of a historical context, witchcraft, some characters represent as a scapegoat while others act as an antithesis of being a witch to meet the society’s standards.
The theme of reputation and quest for people is also portrayed clearly in The Crucible. In the old days, children were considered unimportant. They weren't allowed to speak until given permission to, and they didn't make important decisions at all. However, during the witch court trials, Abigail and other girls had the power to say who was innocent and who was guilty. Probably, for the first time in their lives, they had power over Salem and they wanted to maintain it. Moreover, the authorities of Salem were afraid of losing authorities and power. For example, the judges, Governor Danforth and Ezekiel Cheever didn't want to admit that they were being fooled by a bunch of girls so they insisted that witchcraft existed in the town of Salem.
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 witch hunt in the crucible is initiated when Abigail and her friends fear the consequences of their ‘dancing’ in the forest. This connects to McCarthyism as the HUAC is represented by the judges and the ‘accuses’ (the girls) are representatives of Elia Kazan and others like him. The theocratic society of Salem is what the girls fear as the forest is seen as the devils resting place and the puritan nature of the town forbid dancing as it was seen as ‘vain enjoyment’ which as Miller himself states at the beginning of the novel to not be allowed. The character of Mary Warren begs the girls to just admit they were dancing as “…you’ll only be whipped for dancin’…”, but as Abigail is questioned and Parris mentions the kettle and how he believed “…there to be some movement- in the soup…”, the devil becomes prominent in the conversation. This is due to Abigail fearing that she will be blamed for devil worshipp...
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.