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Analyse crucible by arthur miller
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Miller's portrayal of John Proctor in the Crucible
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The Crucible, penned by Arthur Miller, a four-act dramatic play based on events of the Salem witchcraft trials, takes place in a small Puritan village of Massachusetts in 1692. The witchcraft trials grew out of the particular moral system of the Puritans, which promoted a repressive code of conduct that frowned on any diversion from norms of behavior. The play opens with the reader finding out about a young girl who is inert in her bed. The villagers automatically suspect witchcraft. However, they do not know that all the girls in the village sneaked out to the woods the night before where they made a potion to let them have the man they love. The black slave who helped the girls make this potion was Tituba. It was fine until Abigail went too far and wished death on the wife of John Proctor. The girls went crazy, dancing and stripping but then Abigail's uncle walks in and finds them. This is the real reason the girl is unable to move, fear. The girls turn on the rest of the village and blame them for the witchcraft. John Proctor is the tragic hero as he has many positive traits about him, such as his noble characteristics and his honorable and righteous qualities. He also has a darker side to his otherwise pure nature by having an affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor’s actions lead to his eventual fatal downfall and the downfall of others as a result of his sin. However, he was very willing to reverse the effects of his actions to save others around him. The more shocking reality is that these events were factual, which just further fuels the tragedy of the play, especially towards John Proctor. Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915, in Harlem, New York. The early years of Miller’s life did not go smoothly. Miller did not e... ... middle of paper ... ...he Puritans disapproved of the Quakers because they believed that God could speak to individuals and inspire them to communicate on his behalf. Consequently, the Quakers avoided hierarchical forms of church government. The Puritans, in contrast, believed that God would only speak through his ordained ministers and accordingly placed great importance on their work. In the town's hysteria at the beginning of the play lies a parallel to the frenzy that communist "witch-hunting" caused in America in the 1950s. And in John Proctor's trial, confession, recantation, and refusal to name his associates, are incidents that regularly occurred in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. However, because of its broad sweep of moral themes, the play has also has an underlying meaning beyond the immediate and specific historical circumstances for which it was written.
I feel that the most important part of the dialogue is the last quotation by Hale showing this idea of theology not being allowed to have cracks in it. This is not only is general theology, but also is a metaphor for their Quaker society. John Proctor is seen as a crack in their society because he can only say nine of the Ten Commandments. Judging by his tone, however, he knows the tenth commandment, but since he broke it he is unwilling to say it. However, Hale doesn’t know this and just believes that he doesn’t follow the Theocratic rule. Proctors’ actions in this dialogue are pivotal to the understanding of the reasoning behind the Salem Witch Trials because it shows how much of an emphasis was on religion. They were unwilling to accept those who did not fit with the societal norm and instead of accepting those people; the people instantly assumed that they were witches just because of the societal norm. This led to a large amount of people being accused because they were outcasts. This is very hypocritical because the Bible speaks of tolerance and Salem is executing people who are
Proctor exemplifies an ordinary second class Puritan of Miller’s adaptation of the bloodthirsty town of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller fabricates the character of Proctor to appear wholesome and scrupulous, however, acts of sacrilege in the form of adultery tarnish the character’s reputation, thus bringing to light the scepticism of an exclusively Puritan society. Proctor embodies the qualities revered by the Puritans; diligence, integrity, and frugality. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is an advocate of John’s morality, describing her husband as “a good and righteous man. He is never as drunk as some are, nor wastin’ his time at the shovelboard but always at his work” pg. 100. Miller skilfully constructs a well-rounded character epitomising the ideal Puritanical figure, however, man’s tendency to be fallible resulted in a fatal flaw in the character of John Proctor. This flaw, also being a sin, is his lust and infidelity. Miller demonstrates the influence of cultural relativism through Proctor’s incapacity to absolve his own sins, despite his wife’s forgiveness, “I do not judge you. The magistrate that lives in your heart judges you.” pg. 55. This ‘magistrate’ is denoted by Miller to symbolise Proctor’s conscious, which was moulded and cultivated by the Puritans of Salem. The
Salem citizens in general were afraid of all ungodly things with their Puritan views. They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop: here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life, 'A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.'; but it is a religion that lacks the ritual of confession. Here and throughout the play we see how this affects John Proctor, a man so proud of his name that guilt eats at his very heart, as he will not let out his secret pain in a vain attempt to keep his integrity.
The Crucible is one of the most bizarre accounts of a historical event to date. The naïveté of the townspeople leads them down a road of madness and confusion, led by a shameless Puritan girl. Abigail Williams was a ruthless girl who showed no mercy upon accusing her victims of witchcraft. Knowing the entire town of Salem would believe her and the other girls, she would not hesitate at charging anyone she wished with the crime of the Devil’s work. However, a challenge arose to Abigail when she decided to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, and eventually her husband John, of witchcraft. The Proctor marriage was not just any simple marriage; it had its times of cold shoulders, heartfelt truth, and undying love.
The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller based off the Salem Witch Trials, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. During this time period, women weren’t as significant as men. Men held the authority and worked while women were to work in the home as servants. Beginning with the protagonist, Abigail Williams goes to Tituba, a slave, to get revenge on John Proctor. Abigail and Proctor had an affair, committing adultery due to the fact that Proctor is married to Elizabeth Proctor, which is against the Puritan beliefs. Once after the affair, Proctor tells Abigail that they mustn’t continue any longer and that it was only a one-time event. Unsettling Abigail, she goes to Tituba with a motives for a spell to kill Goody Proctor in the forbidden
The presence of several themes aids the author in connecting to the readers. This play’s purpose is to critique McCarthyism yet, the overall setting of the play takes place during the Salem Witch Trials.Why would Miller use the Salem Witch Trials as the setting of his play? Miller uses the historical event to portray his opinion on the political attitude at that time and to indirectly demonstrate his criticism. Furthermore, the role of the Puritan church in the play is to dig up hidden sin in the society by forcing the members to either confess or be hung. This caused John Proctor to dissent from the community and voice his beliefs rather than conform ultimately leading to his death. Not only do the brave actions of this tragic hero demonstrate the conflict between the Puritan society and the individual, he also bring about the theme of pressure towards conformity. Miller develops this further by including an intriguing plot in the play. The constant accusations that Abigail makes towards other characters in the play, further shows how during the period of McCarthyism the accusations without evidence also occurred in the United States. As more accusations happen in the play and unexpected actions begin to happen, the reader becomes intrigued and therefore, Miller fulfills his purpose by creating a captivating plot. Miller utilizes powerful quotes
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. Arthur Miller was an American playwright, who was born in 1915. He grew up in a Jewish family in New York City. While attending the University of Michigan in the mid 1930’s, he began to characterize himself as a distinguished writer. His first plays were Honors at Dawn and No Villain. The Death of a Salesman, which he wrote in 1949, won him the Pulitzer Prize for literature.
In the play, Puritanism and their beliefs and values ruled Salem. Puritanism are a close community that follow a strict set of rules; there is little freedom for individuals. Individuals who are independent or do not conform to their values are immediately seen as threats to the community. The character of John Proctor is an example of a non-conformist as he believes in justice. Proctor’s sarcastic remark against Reverend Parris: “I like not the smell of this ‘authority,’” highlights his disagreement with Parris’s power and values. The sensory imagery emphasises Proctor’s non-conformist attitude and shows his deviance towards Parris, who is considered the highest power in society as he is the man closest to God. Proctor’s blasphemous exclaim: “I say God is dead!,” is a subversion of the Puritan society and theocratic values. The high modality emphasises his rebellion against Puritanism and emphasises his nonconforming nature. His refusal to conform to the Puritan values ultimately ends in his demise. The ripping of his confession and death symbolises his refusal to conform and his integrity; he does not want to be used to justify the witch hunt and the injustices the court has done. He does not want the other people to be seen as guilty for their crimes, when they weren’t; he does not want to be seen by others as a symbol of falseness
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of girls go dancing in the forest with a Bajan slave named Tituba. While dancing they are caught by Reverend Parris. He is the local minister who believes that drama follows him wherever he goes. Rumors of witchcraft fill the town after Betty, Reverend Parris’s daughter, falls into a coma. As she is in the coma, another minister, Reverend Hale, is called in to get the demons out of Betty. Abigail, the girls ringleader threatens the others telling them not to admit to anything they are asked. While working in Proctor’s home the previous year Abigail had in an affair with John, which led to her being fired by his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail still wants him, but
In “The Crucible,” Written by Arthur Miller, for tells the story of a witch hunt that took place in the small puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1962. Reverend Parris is walking down the forest, when he spots a group of girls, including his niece, dancing around a fire. He was convince that they were practicing witchcraft, which was true but he didn’t know it. Abigail wanted to kill a woman named Elizabeth, who was John Proctor’s wife. Proctor was a local farmer who had an affair with Abigail. Abigail and the girls worried to be punished for practicing witchcraft, so they started lying and accusing other people of being witches, including Elizabeth. John Proctor tried to get his wife out of jail by confessing his affair with Abigail, but when they asked Elizabeth if Proctor have been unfaithful, she said that it wasn’t true to protect her husband. Proctor got arrested as a liar and a witch. Elizabeth and John talked and agreed in confessing everything John knows, he denied it and went to the gallows for his death. Overall, the novel is worth your time, because first and foremost is really short. It’s about 200 pages long and only takes you 2 hours to read it. “Reading this novel is like waiting for your movie to be release, it keeps you in the edge, and you want to read the whole thing to see
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.
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies and injustice of the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. The restrictive Puritan society of Salem in the 17th century was based upon religious intolerance, where faith was demonstrated through physical labour and by strict adherence to religious doctrine. Material, physical and sexual desires were considered the Devil’s work and a threat to the very fabric of society. In summary, it is said that Puritanism discouraged individualism on all levels. The literal way in which the Bible was interpreted by the Puritans, provides a paradox within the play. This is because although the Bible says “thou shalt not kill,” the people of Salem are willing to sentence innocent people to death without trial or proper evidence. The play explores the extreme behaviour that can result from desires and hidden agendas within the Puritan society of Salem. In the context of the play, the title, The Crucible, takes on a new meaning. It is defined as a severe test, one which is designed to reveal an individual’s true character. The wit...
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.
The play, set in the 1600’s during the witch hunt that sought to rid villages of presumed followers and bidders of the devil is a parallel story to the situation in the US in the 1950’s: McCarthyism, seeking the riddance of communist ideologists. Miller sets this story more particularly in a village called Salem, where the theocratic power governed by strict puritan rules require the people to be strong believers and forbid them to sin at risk of ending up in hell. However, the audience notices that despite this strong superficial belief in God, faith is not what truly motivates them, but it is rather money and reputation.
In the novel The Crucible, author Arthur Miller uses varying degrees of goodness and evil to control the flow of the story while showcasing a Puritan town's superstitions and fear of the devil to justify the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The central character in Salem is John Proctor, an outspoken, successful, and well-respected farmer who chooses to maintain a certain distance from the church. Religious at heart, this man who has sinned, openly condemns the witch on his contempt for Reverend Parris, his love for his wife, and his need to take responsibility for his actions to gain the strength of character it takes to publicly confess his sins, denounce Abigail Williams, and save his soul. & nbsp; As soon as Reverend Parris is appointed to the church in Salem John Proctor begins to resent the minister's superior attitude and greed. An outspoken man, Proctor takes every opportunity to criticize Reverend Parris and the now corrupt church. This resentment leads John to use his wife Elizabeth's illness as an excuse to stay away from Sunday services learns that Parris has sent for the Reverend John Hale, an expert on witches, without calling a town meeting first. A firm believer that the citizens should decide on Salem's course of action; John uses this situation to let everyone know that he feels talk of witchcraft is ridiculous and that the minister is over stepping his bounds. The confrontation leads to a discussion about the reverend's demands for money and housing, a conversation that Proctor resumes with Reverend Hale when he visits the Proctor home at a later date. Led by his desire to punish any one who would oppose him, Reverend Parris directs Reverend Hale to the Proctor home. In his search for devil worshippers, Hale questions the devil's demands for money and housing.&nbs Proctors about their absences from Sunday church services. John eagerly responds to the inquiry stating, "since we built the church there were pewter candlesticks upon the altar;. but when Parris came, and for twenty weeks he preached nothin' but golden candlesticks until he had them. I labored the earth from dawn of day to blink of night, and I tell you true, when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at his elbows - it hurt my prayer to explain his absence by denouncing Parris'.