The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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Arthur Miller based The Crucible upon the seventeenth century witch hunts that took place in the community of Salem – a small Puritan colony near Boston, Massachusetts. At that time Salem was a theocracy in which Christian moral was interpreted by the citizens as supreme. Miller this play as an allegory for Senator Joe McCarthy and his notorious “Red Scare” hearings of the twentieth century which accused many high-profile Americans of being dissident communist. In both situations people were being accused of heinous crimes with not much proof. Miller begins the action early in the year of 1692 when a collection of girls from the colony fall victim to supposed hallucinations and seizures after dancing in the forest with a black female slave named Tituba. Suspicion surrounds Tituba and soon accusations and fears of witchcraft fill the staunchly religious colony. Abigail Williams, 17 years old and beautiful, appears to be the girls’ ringleader, and when Tituba and Abigail begin accusing various townsfolk of conspiring with the devil, the other girls join in. Soon, Salem is beset with jealousies, bitter quarrellings, and deeply held hatreds rise to the surface. Local farmer, John Proctor, is a deeply honest man and he suspects Abigail of being a fraud. However, Proctor has a guilty secret to protect – an affair with the juvenile Abigail when she was a servant in his house. This proves to be his tragic flaw. Jealous and vindictive, Abigail accuses Proctor’s wife of dealings with the devil, and as the hysteria grows, Proctor hesitates to expose Abigail in fear of having his secret exposed and losing his good name. Old grudges and religious zeal result in tragedy, as innocent people are hanged for witchcraft, others are jailed, and a c... ... middle of paper ... ...o witnessing witchcraft before his good conscious prevails. Elizabeth asks for John’s forgiveness while on the cliff which is ironic because all that she did was tell one lie and her first one at that. The movie ends with John being hung for a crime that the whole crowd watching knew he did not commit. When in the river, John yells “God is dead.” Miller uses this statement illustrate John’s belief that the theocratic laws that governed Salem were not working or “dead.” All of the characters in the movie knew they were not telling the truth. To the citizens of Salem telling the truth is less important that the life of one’s neighbor. The accusations that define McCarthyism could not be any closer to the barbaric accusations that define the Salem witch trials. This parallel is well illustrated by Miller and explains why his film deserves the high acclaim it gets.

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