Moral Struggle in The Crucible
Moral Struggle is common theme in literature in which characters face internal conflicts which can lead to serious or trivial outcomes. Arthur Miller's play, “The Crucible,” is partially fictionalized and written about the Salem Witch Trials that occured in the year 1692 in Massachusetts. “The Crucible” emphasizes the idea that doing the right thing can cost the villagers their lives .
Reverend Hale is a significant figure in the play because of his moral struggles that he faces involving the innocent townspeople. He is a nearby minister who is summoned by the villagers to determine if witchcraft is present in Salem. His unpersuadable beliefs are displayed when he says, “No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it. ” (Miller 22). In the beginning of the play, his obstinacy and religious values defines him as an individual, wheres later on his confidence lacks.
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Although he is portrayed as a highly respectable, intelligent man, he internally struggles with the decision to keep condemning the accused or set them free. His ultimate decision to leave Salem when he says “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court..” shows his dynamic characteristics in the play and the importance of telling the truth and trusting your gut (Miller ). Mary Warren is yet another character in the play who struggles with guilt and self questioning. She is depicted as a innocent pushover but summons up the courage to talk to her intimating friend Abigail about the recent turn of events, “Witchery's a hangin' error, a hanging' like they done in Boston two year ago!” (Miller ). Mary’s moral conflict is shown when she cannot pretend to faint in the court upon command by saying, “I—can't faint now, sir... I—have no sense of it now, I—”(Miller ). During this time the girls acted as a manipulative, cohesive group where one girl would play off of another and since Mary was abruptly asked to faint she couldn't perform because she was put on the spot and also because she was trying to stand up for her moral values. However, Warren fears backlash for telling the truth from her fellow friends, so she continues to lie about what happened in the woods for her own personal tease, but mostly so she can remain innocent. Her moral struggles are important to the play because they emphasize the idea that telling the truth or not, can lead to deadly predicaments. John Proctor suffers many moral conflicts throughout the course of the play in which therefore decides his future of life or death.
He is conflicted about whether or not to speak the truth about his affair with Abigail and also whether or not he shall confess to witchcraft. “I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem- vengeance is walking Salem, but now the crazy little children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law.” He understands the brutality that takes place in Salem now and acknowledges the fact that confessing can mean execution. Proctor explains in court that he would rather keep his good name and be hung than be condemned by his fellow people when he says “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller ). John’s personal struggles display his desire to keep his good reputation in the strict Puritan town, and therefore disregard his value of
life. The moral struggles involving Reverend Hale, Mary Warren, and John Proctor build the complex characters and forever change Salem, Massachusetts. All of the characters struggles impact the storyline of the play and further develop the notion of honesty and vanity. “The Crucible” emphasizes the idea that doing the right thing can cost the villagers their lives . The play will forever be important because of its historical context, religious impact, and moral perspectives on society.
The Salem witch trials were a time period in which there was mass chaos and very little reason. In, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, there were an elect group of people that overcame this hysteria of the trials. Among the people of reason arose, Reverend Hale, who displayed both sides of the hysteria. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character as he transforms from a character following the strict law and causing the deaths of many, to a character that understands the ridiculousness of the trials.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
Playwright and essayist, Arthur Miller, in his play, “The Crucible”, utilizes pathos, symbolism, and irony to convey his purpose of how the events of the Salem Witch Trials had detrimental effects on the society and how far the elites went to protect their reputation . Miller’s reasoning is to expand Parris’ and Danforth purpose for their side of the argument during the witch trials. He adapts a contrasting tone in order to appeal to similar feelings with reasoning in his american readers.
John Proctor: “God in heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor”. John is a man of strong moral beliefs, concerned only for the safety of his family and personal welfare. He cares of nothing for the beliefs of any of the other people in the town and what his supervisor which is the Reverend, thinks either. After trying to avoid involvement in the witch trials he is later prosecuted for witchery and sentenced to hang. John trys to avoid any involvement in the Salem witch trials. His reason for doing so is to protect his image because he is afraid he will be committed of adultery with Abigail Williams. Following these events he trys to save everyone’s lives by admitting to this horrible offense adultery and ends up losing the trial along with his life. He did have a chance to live but instead of signing away his name and his soul to keep his life, he wanted to die honorably with his friends not without a name, a soul, and with guilt. “John Proctors decision to die is reasonable and believable”. Reverend Parris, the Salem minister and Proctors immediate supervisor, which says “ there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning.” “The church in theocratic Salem is identical with the state and the community and will surely crumble if unquestioning obedience falters in the least.” Proctor, on the other hand, “has come to regard his self as a king of fraud,” as long as he remains obedient to an authority which he cannot respect.
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.
Throughout The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a faithful and intelligent minister. He comes to Salem as the spiritual doctor to respond to the rumors of witchcraft, which have been flying in Salem after the strange illness of Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty Williams. Hale never declares witchcraft, but he relies on people’s evidence of it because of the large amount of evidence. As the play goes on, Hale’s intelligence leads him to other sources of hysteria and accusations. The change in the character of Reverend Hale is noticeable throughout the play. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale grows from a confident, authoritative figure, trying to end witchcraft in Salem, to a regretful, fair character who wants to end injustice and save innocent lives.
Honor, dignity, and integrity are traits that are becoming more and more rare in our society. The Crucible, a play written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, is based on the Salem witch hunts of 1692 and parallels the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the 1950s. In the play, Miller attempts to focus his themes around traits such as honor, dignity, and integrity, and as a result, the theme "is it better to die honorably or live dishonorably" becomes vital to the story and well conveyed throughout it. The characters that exemplify this idea are John Proctor and Giles Corey, both of whom die by the end of the play, and Reverend John Hale and Abigail Williams, who live through the trials.
To start, Reverend Hale experiences extreme guilt for helping with the witch trials. When Hale returns to Salem, he explains his guilt by saying, “There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!” (131). Hale is saying that he feels he is the cause of all the deaths in Salem. He is taking blame for them and is showing how remorseful he is. Second, Hale realizes that what he has been doing is wrong. He explains to Elizabeth that he is no longer with the court by saying, “I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (131). Hale is finally owning up to his actions and seeing where he was mistaken. He is making up for his mistakes by trying to convince the accused to confess so they will not get hanged. Last, Hale comes back to work for the people to finally get his redemption. Hale tells Danforth, “I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel the Christians they should belie themselves” (131). Hale is able to regain his goodness when he helps the accused witches fight for their lives and confess to a crime they did not commit. He is able to walk away a better man, as he is able to help some people live longer, instead of signing their death warrants. In conclusion, Hale comes to his senses late, but he is still able to free himself of his guilt by working for the
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is set in Salem village where an atmosphere of enmity and mistrust has been created through the conflicts and disagreements many villagers experience throughout the play. Many of these are caused by or, similar to the conflict between Parris and Proctor, are inflated by the many accusations of witchcraft occurring in the village.
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 play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that discusses many issues and spurs contemplation within the reader. While reading this play, because of the controversy of many issues detailed within, it is difficult for one not to take a look at one’s own morals and determine what one would do if placed in a similar situation. The key issues discussed within this play, the effects of hysteria, marital betrayal, and the murderous powers of lies, are portrayed intriguingly and effectively. The lessons that can be learned from The Crucible are still quite applicable today.
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.
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.
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