Discuss how fear undermines the moral integrity of many of the

Discuss how fear undermines the moral integrity of many of the

characters involved

'The Crucible' is a play based on the 17th century Salemwitch hunts.

It is also a parable for the events in McCarthy's era in the U.S.A

which was a high profile topic at the time it was written. The play is

about people who are wrongly accused of helping the devil. 'The

Crucible' was written by Arthur Miller and was first performed in

1953, New York. It is set in a puritanical society where the people

believe in hard work and little luxury. Their life is based around

God, the Bible and the 'Ten commandments'. They're joyless and

God-fearing. Pride and integrity are extremely important to them.

They're obsessed and fearful of sin, damnation and the devil.

Fear is an abstract emotion, it causes people to worry, become nervous

and sometimes act in an irrational manner. People can be 'fearful' of

many different things. It could be that you or someone you care about

is in danger or that you are scared of someone or something. It makes

people conscious and aware of what is happening around them or what

could happen. It is induced by something frightening, whether it be

justified or not (it could be about nothing, paranoia). Fear is often

provoked by the unknown, for example the devil in 'The Crucible'.

People are very cautious of phenomenon that they are ignorant of or

that cannot be explained. A fear that is particularly relevant to the

play is, fear of losing their good reputation. Fear can have a major

effect on society, especially one as puritanical as Salem. It fuels

existing tensions and turns people against each other. People become

suspicious of everyone and trust no-one. They accuse their enemies and

even their friends. Fear causes people to protect themselves and their

pride even at the expense of other of other people's lives! One lie

can lead to a dozen as an allegation spirals out of control.

People pride themselves on their moral integrity in the town of Salem.

'Moral integrity' is where people live by God's rules and their own

principles. They try to keep a good reputation and do the 'right

thing'. It is a sort of 'standard' amongst the locals. However, once

"the devil entered Salem", the moral integrity of people was at risk,

as many people lost the integrity they had as it was all undermined by

fear of the Devil, and of being accused.

Mary Warren loses all moral integrity she once possessed at the end of

'The Crucible'. Mary is one of the only girls who does not join in