Analysis of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Analysis of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

“ The Crucible” is a play that was written by Arthur Miller in the

1950s. The play was originally produced in 1953 at a time where

McCarthyism was at its peak. This was a time of American paranoia when

Americans believed that the Russians were planning start a war with

them. The Americans accused members of the society of been a communist

spy for the most trivial reasons. It was a situation of hysteria. This

was very similar to the situation in Salem two hundred years earlier.

The people of Salem would believe anyone to be a witch even if they

had very little or no evidence. Salem was governed by theocracy this

meant the church ran the local government, therefore they had orthodox

religious beliefs. Arthur Miller compares these two situations to show

that we all should learn from past mistakes. The past events in Salem

contributed to the situation in 1950s America, this shows Causation.

The title reflects the play because a crucible is a container used to

expose its contents to very high temperatures, this can cause

impurities to rise to the surface, it’s metaphoric meaning is a place

of severe test or trial. In the play eighteenth century Salem becomes

a Crucible, Judge Danforth creates a situation in which he is trying

to force the supposed witches to the surface and purify Salem. Miller

uses dramatic techniques to maintain the audiences’ interest the

message that Miller conveys is to learn from your mistakes and not to

jump to conclusions.

Abigail changes the way she acts when interrogated by Hale. Abigail

has previously been perceived as a dynamic and powerful individual

however when...

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precursor of the climax in act three.

In “The Crucible” the playwright Arthur Miller uses many techniques to

attract and maintain the audiences’ interest. These consist of

dramatic irony, which is used since the audience know that Abigail is

only accusing members of Salem of been witches in order to save

herself. Miller also uses stichomythia, lighting, the stage directions

and choice of characters to attract the audience. Miller wants to

attract his audience to convey his message to the audience when

McCarthyism was at its peak. Miller believed that McCarthyism was

wrong, he wishes to show his dissatisfaction with the political

situation in his contemporary America. He wants to show the audience

not to support

McCarthyism as it is wrong, it is very similar to the situation 300

years earlier in Salem.