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Religious aspects of the crucible
Symbolism in the Crucible by Arthur Miller
Symbolism in the crucible
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As Dan Shechtman once said “[s]ustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource”. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 affect the moral development of the characters, which ultimately affects their beliefs, relationships, and virtues. Reverend Hale is a committed minister who is an expert at witchcraft, and Mary Warren is a meek servant to the Proctor household. Reverend Hale grows righteously strong in The Crucible by modifying his beliefs about the witch trials, whereas Mary Warren declines in moral stature because she is easily influenced by her malicious acquaintances. Reverend Hale questions his faith about the validity of witchcraft as well as his knowledge regarding
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is about mass hysteria of witches being in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. An educated man named Revered Hale arrived in the town with his exclusive knowledge of witches to help the town eliminate the presence of the Devil. He became a member of the court and aided in putting innocent people in jail or hung. As Hale started to see the consequences of his actions, he struggled with fixing his mistakes. The change in his perspective of the witch trials caused his overall personality and attitude to change as well. Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man motivated by good intentions; furthermore, his mission to help Salem destroyed evil in the beginning and his attempts
A story is only as good as its characters, because the characters are what capture our attention, they are what keeps our attention. A good writer pressures us to feel empathy for those beyond redemption; as a story advances, the characters evolve with it, and sometimes we do as well. These characters may not change in a favorable manner, they may go back to their old ways, but they change at some point, and even the tiny changes matter. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Mary Warren changes for the better, until she goes back to her old ways. Yet that's what made her so realistic, she wasn't invariably good or honorable, she wasn't heroic. Mary Warren was unequivocally, without a doubt, a coward, and a selfish one at that. Nevertheless, she
In the beginning, Reverend Hale strictly follows the law to maintain law throughout Puritan New England. For example, he enters the home of Reverend Parris with hopes that he can cure Parris’ niece of any spells that might have been cast upon her. He is carrying an ar...
Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
When examining Reverend Parris’s daughter, Reverend Parris claims it was the doings of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale merely states: “We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise” (1231). Then while questioning the other girls, one of them mentions that Tituba, Reverend Parris’s servant, was the one doing witchcraft against them. In anguish Tituba confesses of doing witchcraft. Reverend John Hale convinces Tituba to go back to God and in this moment Reverend John Hale thinks he had caught a witch and saved the “afflicted girls” and in t...
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. Based on the Salem witch trials. The Crucible contains the lust, greed, false accusations, and lies of this time period. Preserving one’s reputation is a prevalent theme in The Crucible. If one of your loved ones were accused of witchcraft would you be genuinely worried about their well-being or more concerned with preserving your reputation? Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth and Abigail Williams were three characters who were more concerned with their reputations staying good than the well being of others and the truthfulness of the court.
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.
Prior to the beginning of the trials, Reverend Hale arrives in Salem with an unquestionable devotion to authority and the law. He has come to Salem in order to scrutinize the situation at hand and to employ his expertise in witchcraft to assist the citizens of Salem in a time of turmoil and disorder. Reverend Hale is not only known for his extensive knowledge on the subject of witchery, but he also believes himself to be more than well-versed on the subject. Unmistakably prideful, Hale holds himself to high standards, working
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory written about the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. The play includes a number of characters, both those who fully conform to the trials and their consequences, and those who do not conform and decide to fight it. Naturally, all stories have characters that are doubtful of which side to pick. They play along with it, not wanting to take a stand, but in their minds they are not entirely sure whether or not what they’re doing is correct. The best example of this outward conformity and inward questioning is Reverend John Hale, one of The Crucible’s principle characters, a member of the religious court that investigates accusations of witchcraft and tries
“What a grand peeping courage you have!” This quote was said by Mercy Lewis referring to Mary Warren in The Crucible during 1692. Mary and the other girls were dancing in the woods when Reverend Parris found them. When the girls were asked who all danced, Mary said that she was just watching. Mary Warren and I have a few of the same personality traits and that we both are caring, shy, and honest.
Hale does not start out as such however. In fact he is the reason the witch hunts are started. In the beginning of the play Hale is called to Salem to determine whether or not witchcraft is afoot. Witchcraft is expertise, and Hale, eager and naïve, wants to determine whether or not the devil is in Salem. His analysis is that Tituba is controlling the girls’ souls, leading the girls, starting with Abigail of course, to shout out various people they saw convening with the devil while they were under the control of Tituba. Hale, blindly and unquestioningly conforms to the rest of the town and believes the girls. In fact he leads the way, resulting in fourteen arrests. He is completely unphased by this, and wholly believes that they are all witches and that by arresting them he is doing God’s work.
Reverend Hale is believed to be a witch hunter of sorts. He believes himself to be a specialist and othe...
Arthur Miller weaves many events into the story that contribute to the alteration in Hale’s mindset. In the middle of Act 1, Hale arrives and is perceived by the town as “The truth seeker”. Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft, if any, is occurring (Page 33-35). Hale arrives admired by the people, who all want him to claim it was witchcraft that has occurred. Although unsure, he understands he is being led toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the town’s false pretences and mass hysteria.