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The importance of the play the crucible
Short esaay on the dramatic purpose of the crucible
The importance of the play the crucible
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The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller gets the point across that sex has a significant role of retaining power over people, officials, and decisions that towns make. Miller portrays that even in the Salem Witch trials, sex conquers and influences all. Sex even causes hysteria in people's minds, towns, and political officials.
No matter the culture, time period, or circumstances, sex will always conquer the playing field. Sex is the number one thing to control one's thoughts and actions in certain circumstances. As shown in The Crucible sex determined power. “Women were inherently sensual, sinister, carnal and prone to evil” (Tanfer 266). Sex determined power because of the history that was laid down in a man's favor. In the 1600s men were
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the dominant sex, that is why no men were crucified in The Crucible, but that took a turn when a woman caused the mass hysteria. In The Crucible, the theme of sex and power is what created the Salem witch trials. Sex in both forms of power, and sexuality thrived in the success of the the crucifications of women. It all started with Abigail, who accused dozens of women of witchcraft. But she was able to get away with it because the one person who knew the truth could not say it, because of their sexual preferences with each other. The only one who knows the truth was John Proctor but was unable to tell the truth because that would destroy his name and his reputation in the town. So the sex of Abigail had complete control on the situation, and complete control over Proctor. The women were persecuted because at that time they were the only ones to go crazy. Because hysteria was only able to be in women. “The persecution of witches in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 was directly linked to the persecution of female sexuality.” (Tanfer 266). As just stated, only women were persecuted so they can persecute the female sexuality. The judges only persecuted women who were different, who today would seem like normal women. “Women who yielded any sort of power, such as healers who possessed knowledge about sexuality and its implications (pregnancy, childbirth, and infant mortality)were particularly susceptible to accusations of devil worshipping and witchcraft” (Tanfer 266). Most mothers were persecuted because it was believed that since they had a child they worshiped the devil, but they were just doing their womanly duties, at the time, to have children and raise them in the household. Maybe that's why they listened to Abigail, because she didn't have a child. Sex is male and female, power concerning sex deals with men and women. Men determined the fate of these women but one women put them there. The Crucible not only depicts the message and story of the Salem witch trials, but also McCarthyism in the United States. Through The Crucible Miller was able to show the world the McCarthyism really is, and how it treated innocent people like himself. “The tropes of official signatures and public testimonies in the 1950s strongly resemble the pattern of ‘naming names’ in Salem 1692. Likewise, there was a clear affinity between the arrogance of the prosecutor in both the Salem and McCarthy periods” (Aziz 169). Through The Crucible Miller made connections to the McCarthy trials, and maybe what he was going through that that time. Just like Proctor, his name and reputation could be destroyed, and in the end it was. This play was Miller's outlet to show the world the McCarthyism trials. “The Crucible Miller used the famous Salem Ritualistic witch trials of 1692 to expose the analogous nature of the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s” (Aziz 170). Even though The Crucible was theatrical it had many hidden political meanings that connected with the McCarthy trials. “The witch hunt, exploited so memorable in Arthur Miller's The Crucible as an allegory of McCarthyism, might legitimately be used to describe to any number of follies of our national life today”(Schiff 417). “Millers play was thus a theatrical intervention into an ideological force field that served to puncture and expose the veil of this spectacle” (Aziz 169). As stated by Aziz, Miller showed the McCarthy era through entertainment. Even though he was being accused of being a communist in America, through this work he was able to show what it was like being on the list (even though there wasn't a list). Miller even wrote this piece of literature to distract people of the Red scare, or even showed the country what they were doing to these innocent people like himself. The Crucible showed what was happening to innocent people when they were accused of being on the list. They were socially crucified. “From standing up to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Communist-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee” (unknown). That quote from People Magazine tribute to Arthur miller explains that, Miller was a risk taker by writing The Crucible he was defending himself against one of the strongest committees at that time. In The Crucible, women held all of the power. But in the McCarthy trials the men, well just one man. Through the power of this one man he was able to create mass hysteria throughout the United States. Senator Joseph McCarthy is the Abigail of the 1950s. McCarthy and Abigail both used their sex and knowledge to control all of the power over a town and a country, McCarthy was able to use his sex through the time period, at that point in history men were dominant and everyone believed what a man said. So he used that power to his advantage. Abigail used her sexuality in her favor because through her sexuality she determined who she would have control over. McCarthy used his sex gender wise to control power in this country. In the McCarthy era he was able to use what power he had and destroy lives, families and careers. Millers career was almost blacklisted when McCarthy said he was on the list. Similar to Abigail, who destroyed lives, ruined names, reputations and families. At that time in history people didn't care about your money or your land they cared about your name. Your name at that time was everything so once your name was brought up in the witch trials, you would be ruined forever. The blacklist, when one is put on that list their career, social life, reputation is all destroyed. Because now you are blacklisted from society nobody's supposed to employ you, hangout with you, because now being in company with someone on the blacklist, you are now blacklisted. “They were propagandists or defenders of evil and that, far from being hanged, the victims of the resultant blacklist were simply to one degree or another temporarily denied employment within the very capitalist system against which they railed, except when cashing its checks” (Smith 41). The “witches” were punished by being hung. The people on McCarthy's list was blacklisted. The women who were hung did not confess that they were witches, because they were telling the truth. They refused to tell the judges what they wanted to hear, so they told the truth.very similar to the people placed on McCarthy's list, they were telling the truth, but once you were on the lost, there was no way of getting off of it. Once your name is mentioned their name is now ruined. The common theme between The Crucible and the McCarthy era is mass hysteria. In The Crucible they classified the witch hysteria to be female hysteria, because only females were accused and persecuted. The McCarthy hysteria was a mass hysteria concerning the whole country. Because everyone was on watch to expose someone who might be a communist. Meanwhile in both cases, no one was. In The Crucible all of the 49 people persecuted no one was a witch. But every one believed Abigail because “The word of a single hysterical woman can cause ruin to those whom she accuses of evil acts” (Smith 40). What Smith said does not only pertain to Abigail, it also concerns McCarthy because just because of one hysteric man, the whole country is going crazy and believing every single word he said. Meanwhile he was just paranoid of communists. Ironically he made the whole country even more concerned about communists with the “list”. Sex is one of the most influential thing to controlling power.
Sex as in male and female can influence things in a town, country, and the lives of people. Sex throughout life determines who gets control and who remains in control of it. In The Crucible one women controlled the power of people's lives and decisions. One women was able to cause hysteria in the town Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Abigail is just like Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was able to control everyone's thoughts and decisions on other people. By creating a mass hysteria that there was communists living and working among them in the 1950s.
The Crucible demonstrates how easy it can be for sex to be the one characteristic to determine power. Also how easy it can be for one person to cause a mass hysteria. Just like Senator Joseph McCarthy and Abigail Williams.
Work Cited
Aziz, Aamir, and Frans Willem Korsten. “Theatricality, the Spectacles Veil and Allegory-in-Reverse in Arthur Millers The Crucible.” English Studies, vol. 99, no. 2, 2018, pp. 183–193., doi:10.1080/0013838x.2018.1433350.
Tunc, Tanfer Emin. “The Healer and the Witch: Sexuality and Power in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.” The Explicator, vol. 71, no. 4, 2013, pp. 266–270., doi:10.1080/00144940.2013.842144.
Women on the Verge
Smith, Kyle. New Criterion. Vol.
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Although women were beginning to work the same jobs as men, their wages were drastically different, with men being paid a lot more for the same job. More women started to go to university in order to gain the qualifications that would enable them to do the jobs that men did. Some parts of the play reflect the feminist issues that were happening at the time the story was written. In 'The Crucible' the issues surrounding the time of when the play was written was McCarthyism. Arthur Miller was interested not only in the Salem witch trials, but also the more current affairs of the USA.
The focus of Miller’s The Crucible is an appalling witch trial that morfs the once-peaceful town of Salem into a cutthroat slaughterhouse. As a lucrative playwright and a not-so-subtle allegory author, Miller is a seasoned wordsmith who addresses people akin to himself, and is not secretive about that information. The Crucible best serves its purpose as a learning device and a social statement, especially at the time of its publishing. Miller‘s piece showcases the appeals in an easy-to-identify manner that is perfect for middle or high school students who are new to the appeals, or for English majors who have no problem pinpointing them, making this play ideal for a classroom setting.
The Crucible showed me the lengths a person will go to get what they want and there willingness to do anything. Abigail wanted one thing that was to replace John Proctor's wife's. She tried to kill his wife with chants in the
The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how authority is a characteristic that can easily become a problem throughout a society. Many subjects were addressed in The Crucible such as guilt, hypocrisy, justice, hysteria, and courage. However, the most important subject throughout the play would be the nature of authority. There is a fine line between the concept of having authority and having power. In the book, the authority weakened and led to the antagonist Abigail Williams leading the law as opposed to the law leading Abigail Williams. At the instant that Abigail was granted authority over the townspeople she acted on it in order to have power. Not only is there power that comes with authority, but there is also responsibility which was demonstrated
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
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.
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.
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 play The Crucible is set in a puritan society; a society which is a theocracy, where priests and church figures have all the power. Abagail; a servant girl becomes the antagonist of the story. Abigail’s character is the victim of the Puritan society in which she rebels.
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.
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 women portrayed in The Crucible do not present women in a positive way, nor does it support the feminist theories. It reinforces the stereotypes of the 1950’s. Women from both time eras had difficulties with their rights and proving their worth in this world. But as time progressed, they found out there is more to life rather than changing diapers, keeping the house clean, and the man satisfied.
The Crucible is an incredibly influential play no only in the fact that it displays many important themes, but it also portrays how a theocracy impacts societal actions. The Salem witch trials were the culmination of the problems with theocracy. The actions of society, not only are impacted by their personal thoughts, but also in religious undertones affect them. Act two in the play portrays not only all of these themes, but also some important events leading towards the witchcraft hysteria. Act two in the play portrays how theocracy ultimately leads to chaos.
The desire for power and authority has always been a part of the human nature. Today’s society most often use power to dominate one another and fulfill one’s personal intentions, which can affect other people in many ways. Having power and authority is truly gratifying but it is terrifying if abused and used for selfish acts. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is an example to illustrate the consequences of abuse of power. The characters Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris use their power over society by manipulating people and using their authority to fulfill their personal intentions, like material gain, vengeance, maintaining social status and reputation, and attention, which eventually lead into a mass hysteria.