Research Paper On The Crucible

If you were falsely accused of murder, would you take the blame knowing you would get the death penalty or would you fight for your cause? In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, many innocent people in Salem were accused of witchcraft and later hung with no evidence to actually back it up. In this play we eventually figure out why the play is called The Crucible through McCarthyism, the severe trials, and how they betrayed the puritan religion.

In order to understand The Crucible, you have to know a little about McCarthyism. This belief dated back to the 1950’s where the term referred to senator Joseph McCarthy. During this time there was communist influence spreading across America and the American’s were getting lied to. McCarthyism is a term

that means to make an accusation without having proper evidence. Throughout this play, I always wondered why it was called The Crucible. McCarthyism actually ties in very well to this topic. In the play Hale says, “You most certainly do, and you will lose her from it now! When did you compact with the Devil?” (24) In this part of the scene Abigail is falsely accusing Tituba of witchcraft and Hale is starting to believe it and go on Abigail’s side. This is a perfect example of McCarthyism except that it was in the 1600’s. Abigail is beginning to gain power throughout the play. All she has to do is accuse some people then act like she is bewitched then the judge will send that person away. She is falsely accusing the Salem community. These false accusations soon went to the court and the trials were starting to become very severe.
At this time in Salem, trials became very severe and their judges were boasting about how many people they could hang. The power of the judges was high, and they often thought of themselves as some of the best people in the town. People feared them because they always believed Abigail. In court Danforth says, “And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature.” (54) In this scene the Salem people are in court with Judge Danforth. He is bragging about how many people he has sent to jail. He is trying to put fear in the eyes of Salem because he knows the power he has as a judge. This shows how severe and willing the jury was to hang people and put them in a jail cell. These trials start to reveal why the book is called The Crucible. Webster Dictionary says a crucible is “a severe test or trial”. These trials often get tied to people’s religious beliefs. In this case, the Salem witch trials involved the Puritan religion.
Sometimes in the play the characters had to choose between confessing or going with their religion.

It is very clear in this book that the Puritan culture is very strict. Many people in the book are interrogated by others because of their religion. Others are often faced by the decision in court to lie which would go against their religion, or confess and still die. In the play Proctor says, “I have no knowledge of it; the Bible speaks of witches, and I will not deny them.” In this scene. Hale came to Proctor and was questioning how much he knew about his religion. Proctor was often tested by Hale because Hale did not believe Proctor was a true Puritan. Hale tested him by making him recite the commandments, and how ironic was it for Proctor to forget the commandment of adultery. Hale tested Proctor more about the bible and Proctor admitted that the Bible speaks of witches. Proctor starts to question whether to confess to the people of Salem and die knowing that he lied. Which in the Puritan culture they rank their sins, and he knows he will not go to heaven. Or he can confess to the court and not go to heaven because he knows he committed adultery. Either way Proctor knows that he is not going to heaven, but it is the decision of trying to save his wife and the people around

him.
In The Crucible we learn why the title is named that way because of Joseph McCarthy, the severe trials, and the Puritan religion. Throughout the play we got to see how the people of Salem were falsely accused. Then we got to see how severe the trials got with the arrogant judges. The way we look at a title is the way we perceive it’s information. It gives us clues to what the book is about.