Character Development in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Character Development in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

The Crucible deals with significant events in Salem and significant

changes and developments in the characters that appear in the play.

Every character in the play undergoes some kind of change whether it

is for good or for evil. Arthur Miller considers good and evil in The

Crucible he shows that all the characters think they are doing "God's

work" but are in fact encouraging the devil. Also many characters are

hypocritical, they are "good honest Christians" but many can't even

follow the Ten Commandments. How are you meant to survive in a society

which is so hypocritical?

Miller is safely addressing present day issues, by setting the drama

in the past. He is exploring the McCarthy witch-hunts by setting his

play in 16th century Salem, the audience can relate to what is

happening in the present to what was happening over 300 years ago.

Also Miller is highlighting the fact that history is repeating itself,

in 16th century Salem the same thing is happening to what is happening

now. The Crucible has a clear theme; Miller was trying to emphasise

that we should not go down the same route as Salem, he was trying to

wake everyone up to what was happening to the people in the

entertainment industry, using the entertainment industry.

It is more difficult to write a play and influence how it is

interrupted. Miller is very particular with his stage directions I

think this is because he had a perfect idea of how it should be

performed and didn't want any directors to interrupt it a different

way. In a play the director and actors interrupt the play for the

audience making it harder f...

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...o the dramatical effect in every scene. He adds tension in

the first scene with the questioning of Tituba and then encouraging

Tituba to confess and then to give names of whom she has seen with the

devil. This makes Abigail shout out and confess that she has seen the

devil. In act two he adds to the dramatically effective with

questioning again but this time it is friendlier but all seems to do

is infuriate Proctor.

"Proctor, if she is innocent, the court- if she is innocent! Why do

you never wonder if parris be innocent or Abigail? Is the accuser

always holy now?"

They are talking about when Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft. Every

act seems to start off slowly and it builds more and more tension

until the end where it is very dramatically effective. You remember

the end of each act rather than the beginning.