Society Vs. The Individual In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

The easiest way to solve a problem in society is to dehumanize it and publicly murder it for the support of all present peers. At least that is how the problem is solved in The Crucible play by Arthur Miller ,written in 1953, that recounts a historical fiction story of the town Salem, Massachusetts enveloped by hysteria during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play is very unique in the way the drama unfolds. Jean-Marie Bonnet , a scholar, explains this very phenomena in an article she wrote titled ,” Society vs. The Individual in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. “ In the Article, she explains that Individual conflicts and societal conflicts run concurrent to each other in the play, yet I find the societal conflicts vastly more intriguing

in their natures. The play is most interesting when one focuses on the societal drama of the play because of the complex problems that arise from the society of Salem at the time and contribute to mass hysteria such as: a mass catharsis due to the communal suppression of fear, a strife for cultural unicity, and a radical obloquy of the community on itself.
Jean-Marie Bonnet is the author of an article titled, “ Society vs. The Individual in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible “ which explains the concurrent dramas in the play. In Bonnet’s article, she outlines the play as a set of various conflicts happening simultaneously involving an individual and societal conflict. Bonnet explains the concurrency in this quote:
Thus we have the Putnam’s greed for land, and Mrs. Putnam’s cantankerous bitterness for having been able to keep only one of her numerous children alive. All these squabbles seem to be occasions seized upon by individuals in an order to assert their rights in a basically oppressive society ( Bonnet par. 6)
Essentially, Bonnet explained the fact that a society is a group of individuals, so if the individuals are experiencing problems, then the society will most likely express conflicts as well. The societal drama becomes very interesting when one starts to consider some specific trifles.
The mass catharsis in the town makes the societal conflict very relatable and intriguing.

At the time of the Trials, the town, as Bonnet mentioned in paragraph six of her article, was experiencing a multitude of petty quarrels involving anything from land to the possible “ murder “of children. Not only does the town vent its emotions in a time of strict, rigid Puritans , but individual societies within the town grieve as well such as the young girls in the play. In Paris’s attic, Mercy Lewis , Abigail, Betty, and Mary Warren all fret and vociferate their fears of being killed to one another. They cried about Abby drinking blood and the possible disclosure of their acts by Mary Warren ( Miller 16-18 ). Little did they know, this specific communal catharsis along with Tituba’s confession were the catalysts that would light the fuses of all the townspeople, and perpetuate this simple lie into a chaotic goose chase. I have found myself in a similar situation in which I experienced quite the communal outcry. A group of friends and I had broken a window and were trying to formulate an explanation for it. It was one of the most chaotic experiences I’ve ever been in, I can’t imagine what we would have done if the punishment was hanging. These outcries were not the only types expressed in the community as the community expressed quite the obloquy once the Witch-Trials

commenced.
Another intriguing and cordial example of societal drama is the obloquies that took place during the trials.

Although an obloquy is similar to catharsis, the main differing factor is that malicious, aggressive intent directly backs the obloquy. In the play, during the courtroom settings, the girls were constantly trying to pin blame on innocents and falsely testify to save themselves. Many of the court trials proceeded as one innocent telling a conflicting truth against another, the other being the girls, Danforth’s court, etc. Then in a sporadic turn of events , the accused would turn upon the innocent maliciously with even greater lies, like when the girls pretended to see a specter of Mary Warren haunting them after she confessed to the girls’ fabrication of the witches ( Miller 100-103 ). Whole sects of the society turned upon a single person in a ventilation of evil accusations. Similarly yet more moderately, I have also been in a scene of great confusion and blaming such as this. Once, my dad had lost the keys to the family car and left with his truck without informing us of the misplacement of the keys. Hours later because of the keys missing, a verbal battle royale was ensuing in the household between my mother, sister, brother, nephew and I. It was later resolved when he returned but still the grief was already amidst us. Society thus far has been explained to be intriguing due to its outbursts and responses, yet one of the most fascinating parts of the society

comes from one of its fundamental roots, culture.
The influence of society on the plot of the play becomes even more intriguing when one factors in the culture of the time. The community of Salem started the Witch-hunts based on a single passage in the bible that states that witches are products of the devil and live among us. The puritan society was immensely based on religion and culture. Puritans went to school to learn to read so they could read the bible. They were only permitted to write literature and poetry on God ( Babusci 1-10). They were also extremely sensitive to outside influences as they had a major problem with keeping cultural unicity. The community was so afraid of the wrath of the devil that they were waiting for a chance to stomp him out. Personally I see the same strife for culturally unicity in my life. Living in South Louisiana, all ideas that are not of conservative, Catholic origin are immediately demonized and labeled as wrong and foreign no matter the substance. People lose their minds when one mentions same-sex marriage in Louisiana. I find this societal dilemma very fascinating and intriguing because of it is relatable to my life.
The play, The Crucible, is a play about a hysterical community in the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Many scholarly articles have been written about the play such as Jean-Marie Bonnet’s “ Society vs. The Individual in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible”, which explains how the two types of conflicts run concurrently. The town experiences differing types of societal drama including: a mass catharsis due to the communal suppression of fear, a strife for cultural unicity, and a radical obloquy of the community on itself. All of these instances are moderately relatable to me in my life which further fascinates me about the society. The societal conflicts in The Crucible are the most intriguing to me because of the persevering themes and deep,involving conflicts of the town.