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Characterisation in the crucible
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Recommended: Characterisation in the crucible
George Bernard Shaw, a writer and critic, once said, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” In many cases, this is true. Many believe that old and archaic works only apply to the past, but in reality, any past art can help people of the modern era. One famous work, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is specifically a good literary text that can help Americans of today. Firstly, literature is not limited to a certain time period. Although the background of a classic work is written in a specific time period, it can apply to any person of any era. Reading an older text can allow someone to understand the historical and cultural context. This allows them to also apply it to their own lives. It can help one to draw connections and comparisons from their own culture to the setting of the text. Reading classic literature can also expand one’s creative knowledge as they are accessing another era of people that thought somewhat or completely differently. …show more content…
Specifically in The Crucible common human flaws are portrayed. For example, Abigail uses her youth and beauty to her advantage as she constantly lies and deceives people. Reverend Parris is shown multiple times to be conceited, prideful, and very demanding. However, there are more relatable characters such as Elizabeth, who forgave her husband for having an affair and even displayed her sense of humility by admitting it was mostly her fault. Humans can better draw connections and resonate better with people that display the same heart. Also, similar and even the same events still happen. George Bernard Shaw’s quote is proven true in saying we do not learn from the
Each character has a certain failing that they represent in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, more than anyone else. For Thomas Putnam his failing is how he would do anything to get vengeance on Francis Nurse. John Proctor failing is dishonesty to protect which undoubtedly cause his own down fall. Reverend Parris whose materialistic ways for money will end up with him having nothing. Putnam’s vengeance, Proctor’s dishonesty to protect, and Parris’ materialism all show a failing that will have consequences for someone in Salem.
1. What is the difference between a. and a. In The Crucible, two characters that serve as foil for each other are Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail. Elizabeth Proctor is known as an honest woman, while Abigail is consistently seen as a dishonest person whose lies result in the widespread paranoia of the Salem witch trials. For instance, after she dances in the forest with other girls, she forbids them from telling the townsfolk about it and accuses other people of witchcraft, which leads to their deaths. Another example is the fact that she had an affair with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband, and tried to conceal it because she did not want her reputation to get ruined.
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.
ruinously impact a whole community, is very aptly titled. By definition, a “crucible” is “a severe test,” and the challenges faced by Miller’s characters are many. The historical events dramatized in the play reflect how core human values, including truth, justice and love, are tested under life and death conditions. The trials of the characters and the values they hold dearly come when their simple, ordered world ceases to be black and white and easily deciphered, and is turned upside down in the gray shades of ambiguity.
Context: This part of the text is included at the beginning of the drama, telling the audience about Salem and its people. The author explains how a theocracy would lead to a tragedy like the Salem witch-hunts. This is the initial setting and is based on the principle that some people should be included and some excluded from society, according to their religious beliefs and their actions. This is basically the idea that religious passion, taken to extremes, results in tragedy. Miller is saying that even today extremes end up bad- communism, like strict puritans, was restrictive and extreme. It only made people suffer.
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.
The issues of power, that Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, portrays are concerned with, who has the power, the shifts of power that take place and how power can consume people and try to abuse it, for either vengeance, jealously, material gain or sexual desire.
Arthur Miller wrote plays as a way of showing people the real picture of what life was really like during the Great Depression and after World War II. Before the Great Depression many Americans were living in a significant time period, the Roaring Twenties. People had radios, automobiles, and movies with sounds. Then it all suddenly came to an end with the Stock Market Crash, leading to the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, Americans faced poverty, and had no income because jobs weren’t available. Throughout his life Miller influenced many people with his plays, and his contributions to this day because people want to read and understand what was truly happening in past history. For example, “The Crucible” is a play about the Salem Witch Trials, giving a good understanding of the basics that went on in this time period. Another example of Miller’s influential work is “The Death of a Sales Man”, which is his way of showing what life was like when people were struggling financially during the Stock Market Crash. Overall, Arthur Miller is one of the leading American playwrights of the twentieth century.
However as time progresses, people begin to understand that other people’s well-being is as important as their own. The Salem Witch Trials began when people started to suspect one another for being witches. Similarly this relates to present day 2015 where many Muslims and Middle-Eastern people are prosecuted for being terrorists. Hopefully over time, people will come to realize that not all people in a single race are susceptible of performing such crimes. In The Crucible, Miller uses description in the monologue and dialogue of different characters in order to portray people’s eventual change from selfish to selfless. He presents the transformation from selfishness to selflessness in the characters of John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Giles Corey. Although humanity can appear to be bleak, it will eventually realize its faults and change for a better
John and Elizabeth continue to argue. John Hale appears at their doorway. He is traveling to each house, talking to those who were mentioned in court, trying to find out more information about them. John says that he knows that Abigail and the other girls are not telling the truth. Two Salem citizens that have had wives arrested show up and a short time passes before a party comes to arrest Elizabeth.
Although the individuals’ personal struggles in The Crucible are brought by society, ultimately they affect society as well. Abigail’s personal desires were forbidden in society which brought her struggles, ultimately causing her to lie, and then initiating the witch trials. Mary Warren is unable to keep her personal commitment to John Proctor because of her fear of Abigail and the girls, eventually harming John Proctor. Lastly, John Proctor deals with his guilt over his affair with Abigail, and he confesses in court, but Elizabeth testifies he has not had an affair. All of these personal and social struggles are relevant to our society today because the witch trials are still a very controversial
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
Many years ago, the culture and atmosphere was amazingly different. The expectations of people and communities are extremely high. During the Puritan times, many laws and regulations existed pertaining to government, religion, and witchcraft. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the one word that best describes the Puritan beliefs and the community structure is strict.
The crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem witch trials and how people react to hysteria created from the fear of witches. In the play, after hysteria breaks out, the Salem government starts persecute and hang people it believes are witches. This prompts people to start to accusing people of witchcraft. Some people who accuse others of committing witchcraft are Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam. They do not accuse people of witchcraft to stop witchcraft, but for personal gain or to hurt others. Thomas Putnam, one of the many characters who takes advantage of the witch trials, is able to use the fear of witches to bend the court to his will. Hysteria causes people to believe claims that are clearly false. This allows Putnam to persecute his enemies. He and many other are able to get away with this because hysteria driven persecutions are not run like regular courts and the fact that witchcraft is an invisible crime allows evidence to be made up. The theme of The Crucible is when any persecution is driven by fear and people can and will manipulate the system so they can gain and hurt another.
Literature also gives us glimpses of much earlier ages. These glimpses take our imaginations back to the roots of our culture, in some instances. The study of Literature, through our history, enhances our understanding of our modern world.