In 1953, Arthur Miller, commonly referred to as the greatest American playwright of the 20th century, wrote The Crucible upon being prompted by the events of McCarthyism. He wrote the play to serve the obvious allegorical purpose of relating the absurd Salem witch hunts to the Red Scare. What he likely didn’t intend was the controversy that would ensue his play regarding the race constructs of the 17th century Puritan society, and how racial conflicts have been present throughout history and still are in the modern day. In The Crucible there is only one character that may display the racial situation of the Puritan society (the slave Tituba), but perhaps the lack of racial diversity within the society also speaks numbers of the cultural disparities. …show more content…
The slave Tituba was a South American native was imported as a slave from Barbados for the Parris family.
It is common knowledge that racial equality was not a familiar concept among any American in the 17th century, so there was a clear demeaning nature in and towards her character. What more, she was far less fluent in speaking English than were the townspeople. Her lines typically consisted of her speaking out fear of the white men that featured poor mechanical and grammar usage (Miller 1, 4). If she was not speaking out of fear in the play then she were speaking of her “sinful behaviors”. Today, we know that such behaviors were likely just Tituba practicing the religion of her homeland: vodun. The Puritans being so religiously strict and unfamiliar with other religions outside of Christianity saw this as a sign of devilish behaviors and concluded that the only explanation was witchcraft. A prevalent symbol of sin in the play was the woods in which the girls were dancing in during the opening scene. The woods are representative of unfamiliar space to the Puritans, and if they thought that the girls dancing in the woods was sinful behavior, then it is made clear of how they’d react to seeing Tituba practice her religion that originated in African culture. Overall, the character Tituba can be used to address the racial issues that have been prevalent throughout history and are still slightly present in the modern
day. Though race construct was not Miller’s primary focus in writing the play, the racial conflicts were still a prominent component of the work. Tituba is the only character within The Crucible that allows one to observe the play through the racial lens; however, the lack of racially diverse characters is also notable in discussing how race is addressed in the play. Returning the focus back to Tituba, there is a clear negative connotation in regards to her character relative to the others. What more, Miller gives her lines that are in a broken English to further the negative demeanor about her character. Finally, it is made symbolically clear that Puritans find anything beyond the borders of their town to be the Devil’s territory. The woods surrounding their town for example, are clear representations of sinful actions. Tituba’s religious practices that originated in Africa are so far from the town that the Puritans could not even begin to fathom what is happening and chalk it all up to witchcraft. Overall, Miller may not have meant to write about race constructs, but the concepts he demonstrates using Tituba are both historically and socially significant in regards to our past, present, and future.
The Crucible the film is an adapted version of Arthur Miller’s play of the same name, which was inspired by the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. The two main characters are Abigail Williams played by Winona Ryder and John Procter played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The Crucible’s opening scene is Reverend Parris catching Abigail and her friends dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits. Abigail did not want to get in trouble so she blamed Tituba, a Barbados slave, for making her drink chicken blood, and tempting her to sin.
In conclusion a very important lesson could be learned through Tituba’s character. Things happen for a reason and one could honestly think that Tituba is only human, she lied to protect herself. Later after the Salem Witch Trials the enlightenment period came a long, which was caused by questioning authority and religion. The puritan faith then fades away because of the cruelty of the religion. It could be said that because of Tituba’s actions and all of the deaths that occurred afterwards due to her, could simply be the start of a revolt that got rid of the Puritan
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was written during the early 1950s.It was the time of The rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s.All throughout history, accusations of witchcraft have been used as an excuse for the discrimination of people who cultures, traditions, race, and ideas were not easily accepted nor understood by the society even if it was untrue.In today’s society students are taught this because it show’s how important “The Crucible, and McCarthyism were and what changes they went through because of the human condition.It is extremely important and appropriate because it allows students the opportunity to respond in terms of their own experiences .The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism had many similarities. In The Crucible Abigail
In The Crucible, the mass hysteria surrounding the witch trials caused paranoia amongst the people of Salem. Miller uses the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as a symbol and allegory of the fear surrounding the spread of communism during the 1950s in America. The community’s sense of justice was blinded by the mass hysteria and for some, a desire for vengeance and personal gain. The Putnams
with what you feel are the main themes of the play that you want to
In Maryse Condé novel, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Tituba is the victim of the spread of colonial ideology. Colonial ideology is established early in the novel and plays a role throughout. Colonial ideology is the reason Tituba is a slave to white men throughout the play. Colonial ideology is the reason why Tituba’s opinion is considered irrelevant by other characters in the play. Tituba’s life is filled with lost, misery, and disappointment because of the ideology shared by other characters in the novel. The spread of colonial ideology leads to Tituba’s low role in every society she lives in during her life.
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 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.
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.
Arthur Miller expresses the concept of oppression being present in every society through the characters of The Crucible. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." As discussed, personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs are the roots of the maltreatment in Salem. Miller’s statement and message is valid and applicable in every society, and for every
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.
The Crucible was written in the early 1950s as an exploration of events which took place in Massachusetts in 1692. What does the play have to offer an audience in 2014?
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.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that was first performed in 1953 in the United States of America in the midst of the persecution of alleged communists during the era of McCarthyism. Although the play explicitly addresses the Salem which hunt, many find that the play is an analogy to McCarthyism due to the striking similarities in which the people behaved. Miller highlight the different groups of characters in order to reveal overlying ideas of the play such as: Self preservation, power, and hypocrisy.