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The crucible arthur miller character analysis
The crucible arthur miller character analysis
Essay on arthur miller
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Arthur Miller uses the quote “Is it still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions, and the balance has yet to be struck between order and freedom” in order to show that society represses the idea of difference, and that society should function in synchrony, similarity, and unity. The Crucible is a clear demonstration of Miller’s statement. The start of oppression was provided by the community of people who are straining under the restrictions of their theocratic government,and misuse of power all while Igniting emotional isolation, and hysteria.
People of authority gain this authority by society's approval. The abuse of power can lead to difficult situations for those who do not have power or authority. In the town
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of Salem, authority is vital to surviving safely, or being well off. In the novel Salem witch trial,there were two clear demonstrations of the abuse of power, Reverend John Hale, and Reverend Parris. Hale does not have the usual power, like Danforth, in the court, but rather, he determines who is and is not a witch. We are immediately shown Hale’s conceded personality when Parris comments on the weight of Hale’s books. “They must be; they are weighted with authority” (Miller36). Not only does this show how the people live by the Bible, and give the book authority, but they also give Hale that sense of power by giving him that title. Finally when the tables turned, and Hale no longer has power in the witch trials, he then is left vulnerable, and is forced to put all his hope in John Proctor committing adultery, because that is the only way that the murders of all the innocent people of Salem will stop. Witchcraft being the big issue of the novel, was passed around, and forced on the citizens of by placing the tactic of the fear of being alone, running through the veins of Salem.
Arthur Miller uses John Proctor and Abigail as an evident representation of the fear of emotional isolation. Abigail and Proctor are alienated both on social and individual levels, which can be both blamed on themselves and society. From the very start of the book Proctor was alienated from society because he did not support the church as much as others in Salem did, already setting him apart from society. Proctor is alienated from the main social structure of Salem because the church is what the people of Salem live and breath by. When Hale mentions his lack of attendance at church, as well as not having few of his sons not baptized and Proctor having to defend himself, in an acceptant society, its citizens should not have to explain or defend their moral beliefs, to a “higher power” all of which Proctor is being forced to do because he can not live differently. When his affair with Abigail happens, he becomes not sure about himself morally. Proctor has no doubts about how he feels about his wife, but rather how much of a good man he actually is. Proctor questions his self worth for Elizabeth, as shown at the beginning of the novel when he feels guilty around her becasue of the affair. "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life. Because I am not worth the dust on the …show more content…
feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name!" Abigail from the start was not completely sane or mentally suppoerted after seeing her parents murdered as a child, living through the images of her parents murder, leaves her incapable of feeling emotion. Also, the relationship she has with her uncle, Reverend Parris, goes to show that she is literally alone, “And what shall I say to them? That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” Reverend Parris cares only about his reputation, he has no concern for Abigail, so being that she saw her parents murderend infront of her, and she is emotionally isolated to fend for herself, she is alienated from the Salem community. Then when she is said to have become a prostitute, it shows her physical craving of emotion and belonging in a community. When hysteria is created, it becomes a domino effect, and in a small town like Salem, it does not take long for one person spreading it like fire.
Abigail was that fuel for the fire that initiated the entire town of Salem to go into mass hysteria. In the times of the court trials and one of the girls would go into one of their fake mental break downs, the town of Salem was slowly spreading more and more hysteria throughout its innocent people. When one girl would act out, all the others would follow and all the girls caught the emotion like a contagious disease, and would imagine they felt or saw the same thing that was causing the outbreak. Mary Warren who was originally part of the posse of “bewitched” girls, but then ended up telling the judge how it was really happening "I--I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I--It were only sport in the beginning sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I--I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not." Act One, Tituba starts blaming and naming innocent people who “might” be witches, and is then after praised for it. By the end of the act, all of the girls are standing infront of the court, having caught on to the Abigail’s plan and are hysterically shouting out innocent names.The girls then turn on Mary Warren in Act Three, pretending she is evil and then the girls begin to faint at the sight of her evil spirit. The emotion in the room is so
intense that "She and all the girls run to one wall, shielding their eyes. And now, as though cornered, they let out a gigantic scream, and Mary, as though infected, opens her mouth and screams with them.” Mary ends up screaming with them, because she becomes so hysterically scared for her life that she goes along with the idea of evil spirits once again. Arthur Miller's The Crucible focuses on the fearful relationship between society and the individual. Individual: being a witch in the seventeenth century or being a Communist in the 1950's fighting for the opportunity to be different. Society oppresses outsiders, with the misuse of power, hysteria, and the torture of emotional isolation. Miller's quote “ “is it still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions, and the balance has yet to be struck between order and freedom” as a clear demonstration of what society does to maintain that status of one, and united.
Joseph Stalin said, “Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don 't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?”. Stalin was a dictator of the USSR from 1929 to 1953. Under his dictatorship, the Soviet Union began to transform from a poor economy to an industrial and military based one. While still a teen, Stalin secretly read Karl Marx 's book the “Communist Manifesto”, and became more interested in his teachings. When Stalin gained power, he ruled his nations using terror and fear, eliminating those who did not comply with his governance.
The Anti-hero in The Crucible A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre. An anti-hero has the role of a hero thrust upon them.
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.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, justice and injustice is portrayed through the characters of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams. It is also shown through the minor characters of Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis, followers of Abigail Williams, and through Danforth and various townspeople.
The Crucible – Human Nature Human nature was fully to blame for the disaster which took place in Salem in 1692. Human nature is what your character is made of in trying situations, and in 1692 scientific knowledge was extremely poor by today's standards and so all reoccurring problems were blamed on an evil force, whether it be the devil or witches or anything the imagination could conjure, hence human nature was being tested regularly. The decisions people made were critical to the disaster's progression, in today's scene in would have been dismissed within minutes, but the paranoia floating around in the town kept the ball rolling. People were so terrified of the thought of evil that any suggestion of it would create a preordained judgement in the mind of anyone, especially those who made judgement of the accused. To get to the supposed
Imagine that someone is accused of doing a crime and went to jail and died there, but then new evidence came up and that person was proven innocent. The people in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, would have the same fate. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1700s, during the witchcraft trials. People were being convicted of being a witch, just like what happened to John Procter during the Salem witch trials. Injustice of the courts is shown in Miller's The Crucible as well as in the unfortunate case of Robert “Bob” Doyle.
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
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged.
The absolute power of aristocracies is a scourge on society that corrupts minds and imposes too much of an impact on the lives of the majority. At the time when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, society was subject to McCarthyism, the unquestionable authoritative force that could and did ruin the lives of those suspected of communism. Yet, of these people who suffered the brunt of punishment from authority, a numerous percentage of them displayed hypocrisy in accusing others out of survival. In The Crucible, Miller reflects this idea of hypocrisy in an environment where unquestionable authority reigns. His work displays the essentiality in rising out of such an insincere state and acting upon what
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.
In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.
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.