In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, there are many themes concerning human actions and the driving forces behind them. Among the most prominent concepts represented in the play are courage, weakness, and truth. These concepts are seen in nearly all the characters through either a struggle for courage; an acceptance of, or escape from, weakness; or a fight against, or for, the truth. The character through which we can see this struggle for courage displayed most notably would be John Proctor. Proctor is in a constant wrangle with himself throughout the entirety of the play, first seen with his regret and shame over his affair with Abigail. He does not have the courage to meet this conflict head-on, either by facing it in himself, in his …show more content…
wife, in Abigail, or in the village. To own up to such a thing would be the complete dissolution of everything about himself that was admired: his respectability in the village, his integrity as a husband, and his goodness in the eyes of God. To face all of this was too much for John to handle. This guilt, however, was always teeming on the edges of his mind, refusing to let him be, just waiting to be confronted fully. In the end, he finally finds his courage in owning up to his sin as a means to save Elizabeth. In doing this, he receives the forgiveness of not only his wife, but more importantly, of himself. And though his name in the village is soiled, his name in the eyes of himself, Elizabeth, and God, has been cleansed. Weakness shows itself in many different forms through the characters in The Crucible.
In fact, it could be considered the most fundamental aspect of any of the character’s motivations and driving forces. Most characters are controlled unconsciously through their refusal to look themselves in the face and accept something they wish had not happened. In terms relatable to this essay: their weakness. Abigail is controlled through her desire to have John Proctor, though he has no longer has interest in her. She will not accept this and so goes about doing everything she can to make this truth become untrue. To ignore the weakness this loss of love leaves her with and to create her pain in anyone (the people she accuses of witchcraft) but her. A very similar situation is what drives Ann Putnam to be so nasty. She feels very hurt about the unfairness of the situation that leaves Rebecca Nurse with so many children and her with only one. But instead of confronting her own hurt over this situation, she ignores her weakness and instead surmises that for such an injustice to occur it must be through some fault of Goody Nurse. John Proctor also has a weakness to work through: his affair with Abigail (as discussed above). But he manages, unlike Abigail and Goody Putnam, to confront this terrible thing he sees in himself, and benefits because of
it. The issues with truth are also major motivators in this play. It holds neck-in-neck with weakness for being the top creator of conflict. Everyone has a different idea of what truth is, and thus, many disagreements are born. Some people’s truth is revenge, some people’s truth is justice, and some people’s is just a universal one. The most obvious example of someone with a truth of revenge would be Abigail. Her whole purpose at this point is to get revenge on the Proctor’s for humiliating her. This may not apply to the traditional definition of truth but it is Abigail’s truth; the only thing she can really see.
At times, fear motivates people to behave unscrupulously. Personal fears instigate some characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible to cry witch. Reverend Parris fears losing his job, Abigail fears prosecution and losing John Proctor, and Tituba fears physical retribution. Fear induces people to defend their personal whims and use their power to harm others.
"Power tends to corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" - Lord Action. In "The Crucible" composed by Arthur Miller control, power, fear and greed were the main factors that began the Salem witch trails. Power brings out the true nature of a person and we see that happening to Abigail throughout the play. That brings me to my next point fear, Abigail used the fear of accusing people of being witches to gain power and control. It all started with Abigail misunderstanding lust for love. John Proctor thought softly of her and she began dreaming of replacing his wife willing to go to any needs necessary.
Inside us all there is a deep dark fear this is what grabs us by the thresh hold of life. It controls the most important aspects of our lives. This is found within the deepest and darkest chasms of our souls. The very creature that wreaks havoc in our minds we cage and never confront we lock this beast away to afraid to overcome it. If the beast is not confronted it begins to contort and change who we are as a person and how we interact with others. Even the very decisions we make as a person to affect those around us and are loved ones to also suffer the consequences of our actions. Such as the crucible and how each person was warped into their own monster by greed.
Based on the Merriam Webster dictionary, courage is defined as the,“mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In the play, the characters are tested and forced to make life or death decisions, with
likelihood of victory is small.” It is a person’s mental or moral strength to resist extreme
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their own personal gain in their individual ways. This hunger, be it for wealth, land, love, power, revenge, or pride, can, and will be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his play 'The Crucible';. This essay will explore the motives of characters within the play and even the motives of Arthur Miller himself and therefore show how conflict stems from certain recognisable human failings including those mentioned above, fear, and hysteria.
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.
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.
The title of the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is appropriate because it refers to various themes that are critically explored throughout the play. A crucible by definition, is a metal or ceramic container or pot in which substances or objects may be melted in. Also, a second definition of a crucible is severe tests or trials. Both these definitions can be applied to the title, The Crucible. The title has a metaphorical meaning which connects it to the play’s conflicts. Some conflicts that are in the play is, witchcraft, hysteria, theocracy, land disputes, blackmailing, and the dangers of scapegoating.
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.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller raises many thought provoking issues throughout the play, including the importance of personal integrity, injustice in society and the rights of the community versus the rights of the individual.
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.
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
The Crucible is a play which brings to our attention many timeless issues. The nature of good and evil, power and its corruption, honour and integrity and our tendency to create scapegoats for all manner of problems are all brought up through the course of the play - sometimes in very dramatic fashion.
Adversity is a constant in The Crucible. It is everywhere and destroys almost all courage. Everyone but a few is trying to save themselves or gain from others misfortune. Having courage to do what is right and save others is like being a deer no longer camouflaged amidst a pack of wolves. Those who display it stand out and are attacked. Giles Corey, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor are some of the few courageous enough to do what is right in the face of danger.