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Characterisation in the crucible
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“Sarah Good, confessed y’see, that she sometimes made a compact with Lucifer, and wrote her name in his black book-with her blood- and bound herself to torment Christians till God’s thrown down-and we all must worship Hell forevermore.” (Miller 57). During the Salem Witch Trials, people were accused left and right of being a witch. In 1953 Arthur Miller proceed to write a play entitled The Crucible, which portrayed what life was like during the Salem Witch Trials.In The Crucible, the actions of the characters determine how much justice is truly present in the society. Miller shows this through the actions of the characters in the play. He shows how each of the characters may have or may not have justice and good morals in their life. Thomas Putnam, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor’s actions during the play portray the qualities of justice or the lack of justice. Thomas Putnam is a greedy man who is mainly responsible for encouraging Reverend Parris to proceed with the trials. Ruth and Thomas Putnam lost 7 out 8 children, which gave them motivation to accuse people like Rebecca Nurse for being a witch His
The Crucible is an accurate representation of the time during the Salem Witch Trials. The play also shows how corrupt and unjust the society was at the time. Each one of the characters had a motivation for their actions. Thomas Putnam and Judge Danforth’s actions were unjust and inhuman. Thomas Putnam accused people of being a witch just to take their land, while Judge Danforth never fully investigated the claims of witchcraft by the witnesses. John Proctor, meanwhile showed the qualities of justice and nobility. Proctor stood up for his name and the rest of the accused’s names by not signing the confession and dying like the rest of the accused. Thomas Putnam, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor’s actions during the play portray the qualities of justice or the lack of
¨I have known her, sir. I have known her.¨ A crucible is a test or severe trial, and no trial is more severe than that of a man’s soul. The entire story of Salem is ridden with tests of character and the humanity of the citizens as they respond to the mass hysteria created by someone crying witch. Every single character in this play is given a trial through which they must come to achieve their greater purpose, and these trials expose the skeletons in their closets and the blackness of their sins. However, the similar message is presented in different ways by the cinematic portrayal and Miller’s original play. Lies, unsubstantiated accusations, jealousy, and self-righteousness are the main factors fueling the flame of deceit and hatred. John
Although this was not entirely true, his personal attachment to the trials swayed his judgement and impacted his ability to send innocent people to jail, based on his beliefs. Thomas Putnam played a crucial role in the Witch Trials, influencing many deaths and arrests. Elizabeth Proctor was the third wife of John Proctor, the first man accused of witchery.
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.
...Putnam all played a major role in Salem witch trials, while none of their roles were positive ones they all did what they did for themselves. Abigail Williams did what she did so her and her friends could harvest attention from the people of Salem. Judge Danforth was ignorant to fact that verbal evidence is very unreliable just because he wanted to be correct about every decision in the trials. Thomas Putnam accuses several people in Salem all for personal gain of land and money. Many people were charged as guilty but in reality they were innocent, the only people who were actually guilty are Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. The Crucible shows how honesty may not seem like the popular choice to make but will always be the right one.
All participants in the witch-hunt were influenced by the society that existed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem operated as a theocracy, a government ruled by and subject to religious authority. In a theocracy, people's sins are not forgiven, so that when they commit an indiscretion, they are left feeling guilty. "The witch-hunt was....a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims." (p. 7) Characters such as Abigail Williams and Mrs. Putnam used the witch-hunts in the way cited above, as a method of confessing their sins without being accountable for them. Others used the chaos created by it for their own benefit. Thomas Putnam made his daughter Ruth accuse both George Jacobs and Rebecca Nurse so he could buy the resulting unclaimed land after they were hung. Any character that accused, confessed, or in any way joined the witch-hunt failed his or her test.
A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
Thomas Putnam has a very large part in initiating the Salem witch hunt. He is the first character who blames unnatural causes for the illness among the children. Furthermore, he firmly believes in the existence of 'vengeful spirits layin' hands on these children';(15). 'There is a murderous witch among us,'; he vehemently cries out(16). His action isn't surprising because he has lost seven newborns and his Ruth is sick. He wants to hunt down the witch, but he needs some aid. He lays his eyes on Parris because Parris is the minister and Betty is also ill. Thus, Putnam tries to coerce Parris to witchcraft. 'Declare it yourself,'; Putnam tells Parris, 'you have discovered witchcraft';(16). At this point, Putnam captures everyone's attention, and then he strikes.
One of the first people to be charged, was Rebecca Nurse, wife of Francis Nurse, a well-respected man of the community. This disturbance caused great anxiety amongst the people in Salem, as they would have least suspected Rebecca Nurse to be one to deal with the Devil. "If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." Goody Putnam was the one to accuse her of witchcraft, for the death of her seven babies, but even with no just proof, Rebecca Nurse is hanged for "sending her spirit out on them."
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
"Them that will not confess will hang. While I speak with God 's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering. I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and ocean of salt tears could not the resolution of the statutes." (Miller 129). Judge Danforth is not afraid to kill those that stand in his way. He is very similar to Abigail in that he will have innocent people killed to prove a point or to get what he wants. Its his way or the highway. If you do not cooperate, you will die. He abuses his power to get people to talk and give names. He is also very similar to Parris in his concern for power. Danforth holds all the power in the courtroom and basically forces you to talk and confess. If you don 't cooperate, then you will suffer the consequences. Ergo, it is a win-win situation for the accuser. "You are the high court, you word is good enough!" (Miller 143). Proctor later denounced himself for saying this, but the phrase is completely true. This quote is a reference to Danforth 's abuse of power throughout the witch trials. The high court deeply resembles the courts during the McCarthyism era. They held all the power and had the people 's lives in their hands. Danforth was prideful and believed himself to be a honest man. So whatever he thought was right, was declared as right. If they said you were guilty of being a witch, and hanged you, then no one in Salem did anything about it. They couldn 't say or do anything because the high court was always right. Many innocent people died because Danforth couldn 't admit he was wrong. If he did admit to being wrong, then the high court would lose power and it would of hurt his
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.
The play, The Crucible, is a fireball of guilt, evil, and good compiled into one magnification. It is a play with tremendous feelings, with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the true story. It is a play with emotional feelings; feelings of anger, hate, and evil, yet also feelings of goodness, and pureness. Undeniably, The Crucible is a play illustrating good versus evil. The principal characters, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Ann Putnam and Marry Warren all contain within them elements of good and evil.