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Why is the crucible by arthur miller significant
Why is the crucible by arthur miller significant
The crucible and salem witch hunt
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Every person deserves their rights. A person should not be convicted on another person’s word. People should have the right to explain their side of the argument before being convicted. The Crucible remains important in society today because it’s showing an important message and teaching a good lesson still to this day. Basically the Crucible was based in a Puritan society where religion was the foundation of everything in the community. Everyone feared that the town was taking part in witchcraft behavior, and the drama between pointing fingers at different people who they accused being witches. So the town is turning against one another, it's a lot of anger, lies, and deceit.
Puritans had limited rights in Salem. They had to follow certain rules & procedures and had to abide by them. Although the Puritans left England to avoid religious persecution, they
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The Puritan community considers physical labor and strict enforcement to religious doctrine. Here are two examples from the play that shows how individual rights were limited. In Act II, Scene Two in the Proctor’s household. Proctor becomes angry because he believes that the court is condemning people without solid evidence. Also in Act II, Scene Three, Hales visits the Proctor’s home. He questions Proctor about his poor attendance in church, and asking him to recite the Ten Commandments. But Proctor only remembering nine, showing suspicion, because he forgot about the commandment about “adultery” the sin he committed. Also everyone in Salem is required to know the Ten Commandments. In the Arthur Miller Essay he also gives examples on how individual rights were limited. One example he states “Mr.Parris , only regarding the children as young adults, and until this strange crisis he, like the rest of the people in
Amendments are laws that are mandatory rules/regulations by the people for the people. These articles help keep and protect each individual’s rights at anytime, and anywhere. One of the most important amendment, number five, “addresses the prosecution of a person for a suspected crime.” (Bill of Rights) Essentially, it states that one must be specified by a grand jury before he or she can stand trial. In addition to the right to a speedy trial, this amendment also states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same case, nor can he be forced to testify against himself, and he must be given due process of law” (Bill of Rights). This amendment could have truly helped save Proctor’s life because with reliance to this piece, Proctor would not have had to testify against himself. During Proctor’s trail of witchcraft accusations, Danforth orders Proctor to sign his confession against the church door, however, Proctor denies, stating, “God has witnessed my confession and he is all who matters.” (Miller 132). Proctor is refusing to sign his signature a document that states he confesses to committing a crime that he did not.
The Crucible was written to show people living during the Cold War how ridiculous their thoughts, actions and beliefs were. The sense of panic inspired by the accusations of one girl were very similar to that of the time when Senator McCarthy began claiming that he had evidence that certain people were Communists. For both Abigail Williams and the senator, the “evidence” each accrued was unable to be neither proven nor disproven by authorities due to the nature of the accusations, but was considered truthful as so many people supported it. The support mainly came from those who hoped to gain from the downfall of others, or as to not be accused themselves. This is furthe...
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
Is there any idea worth more than a human life? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor decides that he has nothing left to live for, and therefore becomes a martyr. The question for him or one in his position would be whether or not there exist causes worth dying for and if his position is one such case. There is no principle worth more than a person’s life and therefore principles worth dying for, only principles worth living for.
Proctor exemplifies an ordinary second class Puritan of Miller’s adaptation of the bloodthirsty town of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller fabricates the character of Proctor to appear wholesome and scrupulous, however, acts of sacrilege in the form of adultery tarnish the character’s reputation, thus bringing to light the scepticism of an exclusively Puritan society. Proctor embodies the qualities revered by the Puritans; diligence, integrity, and frugality. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is an advocate of John’s morality, describing her husband as “a good and righteous man. He is never as drunk as some are, nor wastin’ his time at the shovelboard but always at his work” pg. 100. Miller skilfully constructs a well-rounded character epitomising the ideal Puritanical figure, however, man’s tendency to be fallible resulted in a fatal flaw in the character of John Proctor. This flaw, also being a sin, is his lust and infidelity. Miller demonstrates the influence of cultural relativism through Proctor’s incapacity to absolve his own sins, despite his wife’s forgiveness, “I do not judge you. The magistrate that lives in your heart judges you.” pg. 55. This ‘magistrate’ is denoted by Miller to symbolise Proctor’s conscious, which was moulded and cultivated by the Puritans of Salem. The
In the play, Puritanism and their beliefs and values ruled Salem. Puritanism are a close community that follow a strict set of rules; there is little freedom for individuals. Individuals who are independent or do not conform to their values are immediately seen as threats to the community. The character of John Proctor is an example of a non-conformist as he believes in justice. Proctor’s sarcastic remark against Reverend Parris: “I like not the smell of this ‘authority,’” highlights his disagreement with Parris’s power and values. The sensory imagery emphasises Proctor’s non-conformist attitude and shows his deviance towards Parris, who is considered the highest power in society as he is the man closest to God. Proctor’s blasphemous exclaim: “I say God is dead!,” is a subversion of the Puritan society and theocratic values. The high modality emphasises his rebellion against Puritanism and emphasises his nonconforming nature. His refusal to conform to the Puritan values ultimately ends in his demise. The ripping of his confession and death symbolises his refusal to conform and his integrity; he does not want to be used to justify the witch hunt and the injustices the court has done. He does not want the other people to be seen as guilty for their crimes, when they weren’t; he does not want to be seen by others as a symbol of falseness
The Crucible – Characters and Changes & nbsp; Change is good for the future. " We hear the catchy phrase everywhere. From company slogans to motivational speeches, our world seems to impose this idea that change is always a good thing. Assuming that the change is for the better, it is probably a true statement in most cases. The root of this idea seems to come from the notion that we are dissatisfied with the state that we are in, so, in order to create a more enjoyable environment, we adjust.
Great events, whether they are beneficial or tragic ones, bring change in a person. These scenarios can give one an entirely new perspective on life, and turn around his way of thinking. Events such as the Salem Witch Trials show the people involved what they could not see before. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor gain valuable insight into themselves, as well as others.
During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.
In Salem, during the times of the Salem witch trials, the church and the people were very close. This is what led to the hysteria and chaos which was the Salem witch trials. It also led to many conflicts between the characters in this book, because anyone who was against the church was considered a criminal. Some of these conflicts were between; Abigail and the other children, Danforth and the town folk, and John Proctor with himself and his wife.
The Crucible mocks the way society deals with justice. Salem is torn apart, due to the extent of Abigail's imagination and power. It shows the bias of opinions, as it was shown in the court, and how people tend to choose outcomes that suit them. In the end, injustice thrived upon the souls of the community, leaving many innocent people dead. Justice did not prevail, as the heart behind the case, John Proctor preferred to keep his self-respect and integrity, than live a life of lies.
In the Crucible, we are introduced to the main protagonist John Proctor; the way that Arthur Miller presents him by rebelling against the authority in Salem. Out of the entire town he is the only person that speaks out, realising that the authority is unfair and unjust; he is not like everyone else in the town who keeps quiet to themselves. There are many situations where we the readers can see very clear examples of him rebelling against the authority that controlled Salem. One example of Proctor rebelling against authority in Salem was when he did not go to church on a Sabbath day and instead decided to pray in his own home ‘Mr Proctor, your house is not a church; your theology must tell you that’. That is one clear example of him rebelling
Salem Village, a small town in Massachusetts, is a very peaceful society. There are small fights, like when half of the village agreed to have a church there and half of the hoi polloi who doesn’t like the idea. Still, it was a very tranquil village. People there are Puritans. Puritans are strict Christian believers. They believe that women and children are to be seen, not heard. They believe that the devils and witches have specters, and specters can attack people. Puritans blame bad crops, death of others, and dreadful events on witches. It was still a halcyon village, until in 1692, when madness arrived in Salem Village, Massachusetts.
Oppression; an extended treatment of cruelty or injustice towards an individual or a group of people. If looked for, it can be found in every society expressed in a number of different ways. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, puts it in a way that is easy to understand. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." This is evident in his play, The Crucible, demonstrating that within a society, oppression will always be present due to personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs.
I feel that the most important part of the dialogue is the last quotation by Hale showing this idea of theology not being allowed to have cracks in it. This is not only is general theology, but also is a metaphor for their Quaker society. John Proctor is seen as a crack in their society because he can only say nine of the Ten Commandments. Judging by his tone, however, he knows the tenth commandment, but since he broke it he is unwilling to say it. However, Hale doesn’t know this and just believes that he doesn’t follow the Theocratic rule. Proctors’ actions in this dialogue are pivotal to the understanding of the reasoning behind the Salem Witch Trials because it shows how much of an emphasis was on religion. They were unwilling to accept those who did not fit with the societal norm and instead of accepting those people; the people instantly assumed that they were witches just because of the societal norm. This led to a large amount of people being accused because they were outcasts. This is very hypocritical because the Bible speaks of tolerance and Salem is executing people who are