Brooks’ “Year of Wonders” and Miller’s “The Crucible” explore individuals’ responses when they encounter extreme hardship. While the characters experience different types of crises, both authors illustrate how individuals act in ways that contradict their usual code of conduct in times of crisis. Whilst the spread of hysteria grows throughout both villages and results in supreme displays of self-centred attitudes, there are also some individuals who adopt the principles of noblesse oblige. Brooks and Miller show that the communities' fear of change, death and the unknown, serves to challenge one's morality, with societal conventions threatening the wellbeing of the human spirit. In some instances some behaviours become more extreme and more evident in midst of chaos and hysteria. Driven by the determination to survive and to …show more content…
Instead, those who have not been born to privilege or given official roles are forced to take responsibility and provide direction for their communities. Parris and Bradford are self-centred individuals who are only concerned about their own wellbeing in times of crisis. Worried that his “enemies” will “howl [him] out of Salem”, Parris is desperate to dispel all dissenting views on the court as and is quick to lay blame on others as a way of keeping his position in the theocracy, and within the social power struggle in Salem. Through his behaviour, Miller suggests they act in ways that contradict the norms of ethic as it is beneficial to do so as a means of maintaining power and control. Similarly, in “Year of Wonders”, the Bradfords, who are the first family to settle in Eyam give "neither aims of any sort nor even a kindly word" to the community. Colonel Bradford is described as “intelligent soldier” who has led men with "uncommon valour" through war, but that leadership skill is not applied when the spread of the plague worsen.
The almighty American dream, commonly misconceived as the property of those who reap great materialistic wealth, has been analyzed and sought after through generations. However, this dream, “could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country” (Goldberg), and the numerous success stories of impoverished beings proves this. This subjectiveness stems from the great diversity within human nature and the variation of goals and pleasures. The characters in novels such as The Glass Castle, To Kill a Mockingbird and the play, The Crucible, act to portray several attempts towards achieving this dream. Ultimately, the almighty American Dream manifests itself through the novels as the desire to accomplish stability and content within one’s
I have read the The Crucible, The Scarlet letter, and Of Mice and Men. In two of these stories, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, society was very much alike. They were based on a Puritan background. The Puritans had laws to live by. In the story Of Mice and Men, society showed racism and also that people took the law into their own hands.
At the beginning of the novel, we are expecting to see a secure society, peaceful, tight knit and strongly Christian; however as soon as the curtain rises, we can sense the tension in the town. As the first act progresses, we see through the numerous conflicts between the characters that this society isn’t as close a kinship as it claims to be. We witness Parris’ wish to be included in the community – so strong that he wants to cover up any trace of witchcraft associated with him or his daughter. He is essentially excluding his daughter to assure his own inclusion with the town. The act draws to a close with the girls’ hysterical cries – Abigail is using the accusations against her to gain a position of power in the society. I...
Men and women walk around in the same neutral colored clothing, hand in hand with the lord and their Puritan values. However, these seemingly ordinary Puritans are all similar in one form— sin. In archaic theme-based literature, similarities can be distinguished between two stories and their attributes. Within the works of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, a plethora of correlative elements can be identified by the reader.
It is a given that every piece of work that people read will contain all sorts of characters. Those characters can range from villains, victims, or venerables. Two pieces of work that easily portray those types of characters is in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and in Arthur Miller’s tragedy, The Crucible. It is revealed to the readers that Mr. Wilson in The Great Gatsby takes the role of the victim because of the how he was lied too and deceived throughout the entirety of the novel, and in the end died from it. Also, in The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is almost an undercover villain. It is not revealed to most, but by speculating on her actions she does some things that prove her to be a villain. Lastly, in The Crucible Giles Corey comes off as a venerable,
The Crucible and Good night, and Good luck were two very well made and interesting films. According to chapter 1 of Crime and Justice: Learning Through Cases by Watson-Boyes, witch hunt can be defined as referring to a “powerful conspiracy to prosecute individuals without due process and without protections for individual rights”. As I watched both films, I noticed that both share themes that are important to understand. It is apparent that the one of the themes each film shares is dissent versus authority which is where individuals should have a say and be able to speak out opposing the views of the government without being penalized for their actions. Another shared theme is this idea of mass hysteria and emotional disorder in each of the societies. As seen in The Crucible, individuals in this society are
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that discusses many issues and spurs contemplation within the reader. While reading this play, because of the controversy of many issues detailed within, it is difficult for one not to take a look at one’s own morals and determine what one would do if placed in a similar situation. The key issues discussed within this play, the effects of hysteria, marital betrayal, and the murderous powers of lies, are portrayed intriguingly and effectively. The lessons that can be learned from The Crucible are still quite applicable today.
Power emanates and reverberates through every aspect of our lives, the influence and control that an individual has is often an indicator of their rank in life. Three of the more prominent factors that affect your power and influence are: gender, roles and relationships and conflict. These aspects influence your control over others, structural and institutional power exist in the forms of access to educational, economic, political resources and opportunities. These ideas are presented as truths, in the novel The Crucible which was written by Arthur Miller and the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest directed by Milos Forman.
In society, high beings were and are now still idolized. People that dedicated their lives as agents to these figures abide to certain rules in order fall under their standard of ‘purity’; to live free of sin. Nevertheless, in these unethical societies where religion was more influential than logical reasoning, people feared to be labeled as sinners and used religion in order to obscure around reality. Both Miller’s The Crucible and Kristof’s “Extended Forecast: Bloodshed”, despite subtle differences, exemplify how fear and uncertainness can overpower the minds of people; causing them to think as well as act irrationally.
The sense of absolute dread and uncertainty often chains itself to an individual’s mind causing people to make bad decisions sometimes fatal and hazardous to anyone around them as they lose sight and rationality. Such examples manifest themselves as it can be seen in playwright, The Crucible, and an article, Extended Forecast: Bloodshed, when people become desperate and seek a scapegoat to their problems. The Crucible and Bloodshed manifest similarities as fear and uncertainty overrides the peoples’ decisions, however the reasons behind the decisions greatly differ to their circumstances.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller as well as Gattaca by Andrew Niccol use the protagonist of their texts to show disapproval of the societies that they have created. While both authors vary the presentation of their societies, they both explore the damaging qualities of the societies through their central protagonist. Gattaca, set in the not too distant future explores the effects of compulsory genetic modification on society while, contrastingly, conformity and the rules of the church are explored throughout The Crucible.
In any community, the people rely on the power of law and justice to protect them. When the guardians of the law and order misuse their power it brings tragedy upon the town. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the inappropriate actions of the character of Judge Danforth, the voice of authority of the community leads to the tragedy of social disruption of the town accompanied by breakdown in communal solidarity.
Goode, E. & Yehuda, N. B.1994. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. Oxford: Blackwell.
The corrupting influence of power is explored in The Crucible by the actions of individuals who possess it or seek to abuse it. These individuals act for their own benefit and in turn destroy their community. Power acts as a catalyst in a society which is vulnerable to mass hysteria and causes individuals to favor unjust trials for personal gain. Arthur Miller explores this message in The Crucible by showing how power destroys a society through its own members and causes the unjust death of many
What lengths should one go to in order to survive? This is a question which has challenged the human race for generations and to which no satisfactory answer exists. In the modern world, this issue is examined theoretically, but rarely confronts individuals, with the exception of the most destitute. However, in harsh environments and forbidding territories, this matter becomes very real and pressing. Nature pays no attention to the arbitrary emotions of man, demanding only the forfeiture of the sorrowfully short life granted to him. Many would argue that in order to delay the inevitable conclusion awaiting every man, humans must act upon their primal intuition rather than their emotions. Jack London’s “The Law of Life” includes this naturalistic viewpoint that human survival instinct drives individuals more than feelings or compassion. London shows this through his protagonist Old Koshkoosh’s past experiences and tribal upbringing, his view on life, and the actions of his family members.