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Social implications of Arthur Miller
Literal and symbolic meaning of the crucible
Literal and symbolic meaning of the crucible
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Why is the play called the Crucible? Webster and his book the dictionary defines a 'crucible' as, 'A container in which metals are heated, involving a change. A severe test or trial.'; Author Miller in his play, uses the title 'The Crucible' as an analogy for the situation. The actual container- the crucible, is the town of Salem Massachusetts. The contents of the container are the people of Salem, the emotions and feelings of these people are what change. The events that take place in the town are what fuel and heat the people's emotions and are what affects their actions. Miller also puns on the other meaning of 'a crucible' which is: 'a severe test or trial'; to tie in with the events that take pace in the play- the trials of the accused witches and the extent of the consequences (death by hanging.) The 'severe test or trial ' referred to above is an inquiry carried out to see whether people's souls are still with God. This shows the extremity and extent of the trials. It shows how important a part religion plays in the community. Seeing as people's life styles revolved around working and praying. If people were not working or farming their lands, they are praying. On holidays they pray, there are hardly any moments of recreation or 'fun.' The people of Salem are deeply religious and to drift on to the side of the devil is the most serious 'sin' or 'crime' imaginable in the community. Just as it was a sin drift on to the side of the devil in the time of the crucible, it was the same to drift on to the side of communism in the 1950's, when Arthur Miller wrote this play. In the 1950's Senator Joe Macarthy set up a campaign to rid the United States of all communist supporters. These communist trials would be broadcast on national television. It would involve the accused to admit their guilt even though they were completely innocent, and give the names of 10 other would-be communists or face exile, torture, invasion of family privacy etc. Arthur Miller uses the events of the Salem witch-hunts to represent and show what the communist trials of the 1950's were. They were both based on false premises and paranoia, and as more people got involved, more people suffered, this can be summarised by calling it the 'Snowball effect.
A major difference between the film and play versions of The Crucible is the setting of the first encounter between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. In the play, John had been in the room with Betty, Abigail, and others because he was curious what was going on. Everyone else then gradually left, which suggested their meeting was more happenstance. In the film, however, John was outside getting ready to leave when Abigail snuck out to tempt him. This portrays Abigail as more actively seeking him out and more invested.
This conglomerate of tests and trials, legal and internal, display a deeper side of humanity, one that we often do not like to show. Sins of one come to haunt another, and sins of the past strike at the very heart of Salem. Sin is the open rebellion against God, which is what these people of Salem did by asserting themselves as the divine and holy judges of creation’s soul. However, these trials are not bound to fictional Salem nor are they dead in the real Salem. These trials are being held all over the world at different times and places as well as different hearts and minds. Internal confliction and past mistakes destroy the livelihood of people everyday, and The Crucible is one of the greatest fictional portrayals of this. The characters use the circumstances of the period for personal gain and to hide their sins. Gallows once used to deliver godly punishment become a dark place, absent of the deity, which destroys the lives of those hanging from the noose and their families. If it could happen then, would it not be accurate to assume it is happening
At that time in American history, paranoia spread around the concept of communism and its potential threats. People began to wrongfully accuse others of being communist or supporting communism, similar to how the characters in the play wrongfully accused people of being witches. Just as those accused of being witches were asked to name whom else they knew of to be witches, those accused of communism were asked to do the same. With this system came the spread of uneasiness throughout the country of America and the town of Salem. Miller wished to showcase the crazy nature of McCarthyism in a way that people would be able to comprehend. The hysteria in both cases was caused simply by fear and not by actual
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their own personal gain in their individual ways. This hunger, be it for wealth, land, love, power, revenge, or pride, can, and will be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his play 'The Crucible';. This essay will explore the motives of characters within the play and even the motives of Arthur Miller himself and therefore show how conflict stems from certain recognisable human failings including those mentioned above, fear, and hysteria.
What does the word crucible, mean to you? In fact, crucible has multiple meanings. A play called The Crucible, tells of the Salem witch trials that took place in 1692. Many innocent people died during the trials or admitted to accusations that they truly never committed, just to save their lives. The witch trials were a devastating time for the people of Salem. The play fits the multiple definitions all too well. This essay helps prove that all three of the definitions clearly make the title The Crucible, the perfect name for the play. A pot made of porcelain that can be heated to high temperatures, but not break, a severe test, and a place or situation that influences change or development are the three definitions of the word crucible that fit perfectly with the plot of the play, the major themes, concepts, and characters, making it the ideal title.
Explore Miller’s dramatic presentation and development of the theme of power and authority. Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court
Nicholas Hytner is the director of the film The Crucible. The movie came out November 27, 1996. The time frame in the film is 1953. The film gets more in depth of the Salem witch trial than the play. The Crucible film has more star reviews from professionals and random people than the play itself does.
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller; he also wrote a screenplay. Arthur Miller was very purposeful when he wrote the Crucible. He encountered some incidents that related to this historical story, and that is where he got his inspiration. The text and the screenplay had some major differences between them, along with some minor differences. Some differences altered the story while others had little to no effect.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that was first performed in 1953 in the United States of America in the midst of the persecution of alleged communists during the era of McCarthyism. Although the play explicitly addresses the Salem which hunt, many find that the play is an analogy to McCarthyism due to the striking similarities in which the people behaved. Miller highlight the different groups of characters in order to reveal overlying ideas of the play such as: Self preservation, power, and hypocrisy.
John( Salem farmer) is a man that had a affair with a girl name Abigail
We often test the limits and try to see how far we can go. As you grow with age you realize how much your limits have been tested, but at least for me I haven’t been tested to the extreme of the death of you or others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how far the falsely accused people of the Salem Witch Trials would go to prove their innocence; in some instances it required lying and damning themselves, similar to the situation created in Milgram's Experiment. The root of this conflict is in the pressure coming from the people whether to sacrifice themselves or others which can all be avoided if all sides were treated fairly and weren’t pushed to see how far they would go.
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.
This world is not like what it used to be. Many people in today’s world are judgemental and not accepting. This world is full of hurting and sorrow. This world will forever be corrupt. When are people going to start getting along? Will there ever be peace? Will we ever live the life God wanted us to from the beginning?
The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.
Arthur Miller cleverly picked the title "The Crucible" for his play about the Salem witch hunts of the 1660's because of the word's many meanings. Throughout the play, Miller has characters face severe tests that make them question their own self. A crucible is also an earthen pot that is used for melting metals. In a way the town of Salem was a crucible as people were brought before the court and blasted with allegations from others as being witches. They were either forced to give in and live a lie or be hanged.