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The crucible reflecting the character of a society
The crucible reflecting the character of a society
Characters in the crucible and the human experience
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Writers may use literature as a vehicle of social criticism. In which ways does Arthur Miller criticize society? 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. Self-preservation is an underlying idea throughout the plot of The Crucible. In the society during the witch-hunt, one could only avoid being blamed falsely for non-existing crimes was to claim that others (usually a smaller group of individuals) were the ones to blame as they force the accused to carry out deeds. This led to an era of false accusations just as during McCarthyism where someone’s good name was easily diminished. Miller introduces self-preservation in Abigail’s response to harshly interrogated. Abigail realizes the error she has made in her actions in the past and sees that she will get into trouble; thus, she quickly changes her stance by shouting “She made me do it, She made Betty do it”(43). This is a great example of how people in societies being governed or manifested by hypocrisy deal with deflecting blame as they can easily without a just claim blame others for their own wrongs. As a result to Tituba’s accusation of being a witch, Parris (his master) repeatedly shouts at her “Their names, their name!”(47) in order wash away Tituba’s affiliation with witchcraft, as her confession and ... ... middle of paper ... ...l, Miller attempts to criticize societies that are governed by hypocrisies as they open the gateway for many to attain previously unreachable levels of power and are able to commit a crime without paying for it by blaming it entirely on someone else on false charges. Miller’s The Crucible does an excellent job in reflecting not only the society in its direct context of Salem but also other societies such as the society of the U.S during McCarthyism. Miller even though being accused of being a communist, is able to pass on his views about how hypocrisy is a dangerous yet immensely famous tool to which societies sometimes fall to in order to achieve almost an anarchy where people’s survival are based on their ability to blame others. "I lie and sign myself to lies! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" (Miller 133)
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
In 1953, a book/play called The Crucible was published. It was written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of the McCarthyism era. It talks of the causes and effects of the Salem witch trials in the late 1600's. The story is told in a way that made the people of the 50's realize how crazy they were actually acting.
All in all Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible was written to be a perfect allegory to the McCarthy era. Many of the events, strategies and people on both sides are similar in the play and the McCarthy Era itself. Many similarities can be drawn between the two including the basis upon which of the victims were persecuted, the strategy to lessen their sentences and the driving factor behind both conflicts, fear. The Crucible was written as a silent but obvious rebellion to McCarthy because during the McCarthy Era Miller was accused of being communist as well. The Crucible was a play, an allegory and a rebellion to and about the McCarthy Era.
...n whether to confess to witchcraft or not. His unwillingness to sign his name to the confession is because of his desire not to dishonor his fellow prisoners’ decisions to stand firm.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century, yet is as much a product of the time in which Arthur Miller wrote it, the early 1950s, as it is description of Puritan society. At that particular time in the 1950s, when Arthur Miller wrote the play the American Senator McCarthy who chaired the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ was very conscious of communism and feared its influence in America. It stopped authors’ writings being published in fear of them being socialist sympathisers. Miller was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and that human beings were capable of such madness. In the 1950s the audience would have seen the play as a parallel between the McCarthy trials and the Salem Trials.
Arthur Miller expresses the concept of oppression being present in every society through the characters of The Crucible. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." As discussed, personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs are the roots of the maltreatment in Salem. Miller’s statement and message is valid and applicable in every society, and for every
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.
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
Arthur Miller’s allegorical play, the Crucible, reflects on the dangers of totalitarianism during the Red Scare, where strong opposition to communism lead to the use of tactics such as publicizing unsubstantiated accusations about individuals thought to be subversive. Similarly, the play portrays a highly volatile community in which selfish personal motives of individual characters lead to the deterioration of society. Specifically, Miller portrays the powerful and lustful motives of Abigail, whose selfish desires set the whole play in motion.
I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (Miller 12).
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.
Many people look back on the events of the Salem witch trials and laugh at the absurdity of the allegations. It seems crazy that society could be fooled into believing in things like witches and deal with the events in such an extreme manner. It is a common belief that witch hunts are things of the past. Many people would agree that they no longer exist today; however Arthur Miller, author of the play, "The Crucible", points out that society has not come very far from the days of the Salem witch trials. In his play, he used the Salem witch trials to represent the McCarthy Era because he saw that the nation was facing the same events that Salem went through back in the late 1600's. Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" in an attempt to create moral awareness for society. He did so by making a few small changes to the history and creating parallels in the play with racism, human tendencies, and H.U.A.C.
In the Crucible, persecution exists between friends and enemies in the play. The girls could falsely accuse the people they hate for practicing witchcraft so that they are persecuted. In addition, friends whose friendship had ended also accused their former friends of witchcraft. An example is Abigail who persecutes not just her enemies but her friends and family too. She accuses Mary Warren of bewitching her when she admitted her lies to the other girls.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible It is shown that judgment is centered around. Judgement flourishes when Abigail blames Tituba and Tituba is quickly judged. When Abigail accuses her, Tituba denies power over the children. Hale then says “you must certainly do, and you free from it now! When did you compact with the devil?”(Miller 1284) This shows that all the people need is an accusation; to
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.