Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible because he was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities after he was accused of being a communist. This experience prompted Miller to write about the Salem witch trials. Many people in America during the 1950’s were suspected to be communist and were subject to series of investigations. This created fear in, and suspicion in the American society, just like fear and suspicion was raised in Salem during the witch trials. McCarthy’s hunt for communist was nothing compared to the hunt for witches in Salem. In America there were actually communist but there were never any witches in Salem in the 1600’s. Witchcraft is the belief in and practice of magical …show more content…
Abigail Williams was the person who was most responsible for the boisterous witchcraft situation in Salem. Abigail was in the forest dancing when Parris caught the girls. In The Crucible, act 1 page 1093, Abigail says, “ We did dance, Uncle, and when you leaped out of the bush so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted. And there's the whole of it”. This quote is Abigail admitting to Reverend Parris that she was dancing in the forest. Reverend Parris assumes them of practicing witchcraft. Dancing in the forest at night in Salem because they were strict. This creates the topic of witchcraft in act 1 of The Crucible. Abigail accuses Tituba of calling the Devil. In act 1 of The Crucible page 1108, Abigail says, “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba …” . This is important because it brings another character into the situation. Tituba is accused of being a witch. This is going to cause her to act chaotic because she is going to be denying it. Being accused will also lead to her being whipped or killed. It will also lead to her accusing other women. Abigail accuses more girls to be witches. in act 1 of The Crucible page 1111, Abigail claims, “ I saw Goody Sibber with the Devil!... I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil!... I saw Goody Booth with the Devil!”. This brings more chaos to the situation. The girls accused of witchcraft will accuse others which will lead to …show more content…
Tituba was blamed for the girls dancing in the forest. When Tituba is confronted it creates an argument between her and Abigail. In act 1 of The Crucible page 1109, Abigail claims, “ She comes to me every night to go and drink blood!”. Tituba responds, “ You beg me to conjure! She beg me make charm -” ( pg. 1109). Others will say Tituba is the cause of the commotion. She is stirring up the pot of pandemonium. Abigail, Parris, and Reverend Hale are yelling at her making it more chaotic. Tituba says “... And then he come one stormy night to me, and he say, ‘Look! i have white people belong to me’ And I look-and there was Goody Good”(pg. 1110). This leads to a total of about 10 girls accused of being witches which makes the situation longer. The point of view seems convincing at the first but Abigail Williams is most responsible. What this argument fails to consider is Abigail got Tituba involved in the situation. Abigail was responsible for Tituba being accused. Tituba then went on to cause a boisterous situation but without Abigail she would have never had to flip out. Abigail accused more girls after Tituba accused more making the situation worst. Tituba would not have been able to cause commotion without Abigail. In act 1 of The Crucible, Abigail Williams was the person who was most responsible for the boisterous witchcraft situation in Salem because she
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials stems from human failings, particularly the need for vengeance, greed, and fear. Abigail Williams is an example of all three. Her fear prompts her to first accuse random women, her need for vengeance directs her toward Elizabeth, and her greed for power affects the lives of everyone around her. Individual flaws, when acted on collectively, inevitably cause the downfall of Salem.
Her accusations were the reason why the entire witch hunt in Salem came to be. “She comes to me while I sleep; she 's always making me dream corruptions!” This quote from Abigail falsely accusing Tituba of witchcraft is the main reason for the messed up justice in the town of Salem. The good and the innocent start to be accused and convicted by those without integrity. The audience starts to realize the deep problems in Salem. Eventually later on in the book, Abigail comes to realize the power she possesses over the people. She realized that she had the power and control to run the entire town and get what she wanted. This same situation is seen with Corporate America after 9/11. After the attack of 9/11 they saw that people were very paranoid when it came to wanting safety which is why the Bush administration took advantage of Americans by getting them to believe certain laws they wanted were necessary for their safety. Also, the Bush administration tried to get more control of the people by passing a bunch of unneeded laws to Congress. They lied to get what they wanted. The same scenario is shown by Abigail’s followers as they helped lie for her
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, focuses on the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that follows the trials. Miller shows how the dark desires and hidden agendas provokes such extreme behavior. The Crucible was written in a time when the anti-communist movement was strongly protested. During the Salem witch trials, a person was guilty until he proved himself
The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller was written in response to McCarthyism in the 1950’s. In 1692 and 1693 the Salem witch trials took place in Salem Massachusetts. Girls believed to be involved in witchcraft were responsible for these trials. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s senator McCarthy came to office. Senator McCarthy and some of his allies were responsible for hysteria in the United States of America in the 1950’s. The scare was also in result of a communist scare after World War II and leading to the cold war. The behavior of the people of the Salem witch trials and Americans in the 19050’s resulted in a big scare in reaction to hysteria.
The Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century believed lies to be deadly sin. They were of the opinion that the smallest false-telling could turn a person from a path to Heaven to one straight into the arms of the Devil. However, during the Salem Witch Trials in the spring and summer of 1692; lies, deceit, and false accusations became common currency. The character of Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller’s 1952 play, The Crucible, illustrates this type of behavior. Abigail Williams’s lust for John Proctor and her desire for attention motivate her to falsely accuse innocent women of witchcraft, resulting in the regret and desperation she feels in regard to the choices she made, and subsequently her decision to run away from Salem to escape the pain she has caused for herself and for others.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1952 and first performed in 1953. It’s a partially fictional story based on historical events: the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. As seen in the online videos attached to the play, it’s an allegory for the intolerance of McCarthyism and for the persecution of communists who were blacklisted and banned from employment in the late 1950’s. In 1956 Miller himself was summoned before the HCUA (House Committee on Un-American Activities) questioned and blacklisted for refusing to denounce others.
He wrote The Crucible in the early 1950’s, during the Red Scare and finished the play in 1952. The famous play was about the Salem witchcraft trials. Many thought that Miller was trying to attack McCarthy. Miller responded with, “It was not only the rise McCarthyism that moved me, but something which seemed much more weird and mysterious.” Miller wrote the Crucible because his reaction from the Red Scare, it reminded him of the Salem witchcraft trials. The playwright went to Salem and completed research and with the research he wrote his play, The
make a living of themselves while trying to feed a family. In “The Crucible” we see this
Parallels between Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, and his article Why I wrote the Crucible, can easily support Miller’s reasons for writing this classic play. Miller’s purpose in writing both the play and the article was to emphasize the similarities between the 1692 witch hunt and the 1950’s Red Scare. Miller simply wanted to convey the message of fear over reason, express himself in a new language of old English, to warn of mass hysteria, and most importantly compare his life in the 1950’s to the irrational trial in 1692. Miller’s reasons are numerous, and while they are all stated flat out in his article, they are also clearly stated and understood in the play.
Abigail Williams started the witch trials in Salem all because she and a group of her friends wanted some attention from their town. Abigail thinks she is superior to some people, specifically Tituba and has no problem accusing people she feels superior to. "They want slaves, not such as I. Let them send to Barbados for any of them!"(24). Abigail's first victim in her accusation spree was Tituba. Tituba was easy first target because she is a slave and practices voodoo, both things combined make her the easiest target in Salem. "Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with-"(27). Abigail targets Tituba first so she can gain so...
The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is based on the actual people of the Salem witchcrafts trials. Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible in the early 1950s in response to experiencing his own modern “witch trials” in the United State. During this time, the panic of Communism has arisen in the United Stated and Senator Joseph McCarthy convinced himself that the American government was slowly being taken over by communists. He began hunting them out, forcing them to confess, and getting them to name their associates, which is very similar to the events in Salem witch Trials. Although Miller researched on the historical records of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible displayed many historical inaccuracies regarding
In 1953, the play called “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller created hysteria in all parts of the country. This play describes the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 and the irony of a terrible period of American history.
Miller completed "The Crucible" in the 1950's. At that time, America was engulfed in the civil rights movement. Racism was a huge issue and people were fighting for equality and respect. African Americans were among the minorities that were persecuted by society. Miller touched on the subject of racism and related it the present time by his characterization of the woman, Tituba. Historically, Tituba was a native woman; however, in the story she was portrayed as a black woman. Tituba was a servant of Reverend Parris and one of the first to be accused of witchcraft. She was an easy target because she was a minority and did not have a lot. Her different culture made her stick out which caused people to surmise that she was witch. Abigail whined, "I could hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me..." Tituba's language was different, which made it seem evil to the sheltered community. Miller included the present day struggles of African Americans by changing the character of Tituba to a black woman. Although she was not persecuted only for being black, the fact that she was a minority made her easy to blame.
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.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.