The Crucible

911 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The history of the play the crucible

Introduction The Crucible – It can withstand extreme conditions. While heating metals in it, the impurities come up to the surface and the pure substance can be obtained. It basically helps in separating pure and impure substances. Link – In Miller’s play, the character of John Proctor is tested. Eventually he decides to sacrifice his life, rather than betray his beliefs. In 1953, at the time the book was written, the Second World War had just ended but still there was a clash of democrats ands communists. The Cuban Missile Crisis – Between Russia and America. Russia supported Cuba and was going to aid Cuba by supplying nuclear arms. America was totally against it and threatened to start a nuclear war with Russia if it did this. The witch-hunts and the House Un-American Activities Committee was similar in the sense that in both the cases people wanted to get totally rid of the witches and communists respectively. At that time, the science of psychology had not developed as much and so people did actually one can actually be possessed by spirits. However, modern day psychiatrists would consider what the girls did in the forest as a psychosomatic phenomenon which means that its just the brains of the girls that are seeing it but no such activity is actually taking place. A Puritan Society is a orthodox society and has strict moral codes. It refers to practicing or affecting strict religious or moral behavior. This might be one of the reasons why the girls did this, as they were curious to try what was “not allowed”. Act 1 Abigail is quite rebellious with Parris and does not even care about him – Refer page 11. She even asks him if he has a problem with her staying in his house. Parris is incredibly concerned... ... middle of paper ... ...reaking wills. Proctor – Very smart. Respected and even feared in Salem. He is always going to be remembered for defaming people. Regarded himself as a fraud as he has committed adultery. Not involved in the church affairs, perhaps, because he doesn’t believe in it. He keeps himself aloof as a result. Round character. Rebecca Nurse – Respected a lot as she was the wife of Francis Nurse. Francis Nurse was like an unofficial judge in disputes. Rich. The Nurse clan was against Bayley’s taking of the office. Reverend Hale – He accepts that there is good and bad, God and Devil. He doesn’t ignore the Devil, rather he believes in finding the Devil and getting rid of it. He’s not just in Salem for witch hunting, he’s also there to know about the factions in the village. He is a disciplined and a fair man. He is proud of the work he’s done in getting rid of witches.

Show More
Related

  • Overview of The Crucible

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Ethos In The Crucible

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    During a time when Salem was overrun with witchcraft hysteria, very few people were resilient enough to stay devoted to their religion/morals. Miller frames history by demonstrating how a few individuals were devoted enough to combat the communist trials regardless of the consequences. Since the confession required John to blame another person in Salem of committing witchcraft, he chose to hang instead of betraying his comrades, for he did not want to fuel the witchcraft hysteria/blacken his name. Ethos were of high importance to Proctor and he valued his character above all else. He used an ethos tool called screw up recovery to enhance his character through his own errors. By describing how he failed to meet his own high moral standards throughout the play, Proctor corrected the mistakes he made and he appeared to be a highly virtuous character to the audience. Miller depicts John Proctor as a hero because he was able to rise above the trials/actively defy them. Although John intended to make a false confession to spare his life, he refrained from blaming his innocent friends such as Rebecca Nurse; therefore, his confession did not count and he was sentenced to hang. Proctor uses a logos tool called reduction ad absurdum to prove to Hale and Danforth that making a false confession is absurd/illogical; therefore, he justifies his decision to hang. He

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Danforth And Hale

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Reverend John Hale is not a resident of Salem, he approaches the accusations and rumors without any prior opinion. Hale is introduced as extremely arrogant and proud with his goal being “light, goodness and its preservation”(Miller 34). This phrasing strengthens his role as a man of God, but this is not actually displayed in his personality until later. He is very book smart and this leads to some signs of immaturity. This is shown in Act I when Parris questions why the devil would come to Salem. “Why would he [the devil] choose this house to strike?”(39) In response Hale says, “It is the best the Devil wants, and who is better than the minister?”(39) This shows he enjoys the position better than he does its purpose. He is also very eager.

    Read More

  • A Test of Character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.

    Read More

  • The Change in Character of Reverend Hale in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Moral Struggle in The Crucible

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is apparent that Miller focuses his play around the moral struggles of the protagonist, John Proctor. Throughout the play, Proctor has many struggles that he must deal with and look deep into his soul to find the resolution. He undergoes a major survey of his character and it is only this way that he can gain redemption for his sins. By abiding by his own moral code, John Proctor makes many hard decisions that will affect the outcome of the play. Proctor's struggles reflect upon the central message that Miller is communicating through the play.

    Read More

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century, yet is as much a product of the time in which Arthur Miller wrote it, the early 1950s, as it is description of Puritan society. At that particular time in the 1950s, when Arthur Miller wrote the play the American Senator McCarthy who chaired the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ was very conscious of communism and feared its influence in America. It stopped authors’ writings being published in fear of them being socialist sympathisers. Miller was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and that human beings were capable of such madness. In the 1950s the audience would have seen the play as a parallel between the McCarthy trials and the Salem Trials.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on The Crucible: The Lessons Learned

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reverend Hale arrives in Salem thinking that he will become a hero and rid Salem of the devil. Hale is speaking to the townspeople when he says, "Have no fear now--we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!" Hale thinks that there is an actual devil in the town, and they must defeat it. He is trying to show the people of Salem that he is their savior, and that he knows exactly what to do.

    Read More

  • The Miracle on Ice: The US Hockey Team

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Soviet Union and the United States were very distant during three decades of a nuclear arms race. Even though the two nations never directly had a battle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, amongst other things, was a result of the tension. The missile crisis began in October of 1962, when an American spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union in Cuba. JFK did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles, so he made his decisions very secretly. Eventually, Kennedy decided to place a ring of ships around Cuba and place missiles in Turkey. Eventually, both leaders superpowers realized the possibility of a nuclear war and agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba if the US didn't invade Cuba. Even though the Soviets removed took their missiles out of Cuba and the US eventually taking their missiles out of Turkey, they (the Soviets) continued to build a more advanced military; the missile crisis was over, but the arms race was not.

    Read More

  • The Crucible

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.

    Read More

  • The Crucible

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Rebecca Nurse was a babysitter of Mrs Putnam babies, when the babies would die of illness or other reasons that couldn't be treated, it was blamed on Rebecca Nurse. Rebecca Nurse gave birth to many children with no problems. When Ann Putnam gave birth to her babies she dies, this caused envy to Rebecca Nurse which caused her to get arrested. Parris [trembling] Rebecca, Rebecca, go to her, we're lost. She suddenly cannot bear to hear the Lord's ".

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many years ago, the culture and atmosphere was amazingly different. The expectations of people and communities are extremely high. During the Puritan times, many laws and regulations existed pertaining to government, religion, and witchcraft. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the one word that best describes the Puritan beliefs and the community structure is strict.

    Read More

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    The crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem witch trials and how people react to hysteria created from the fear of witches. In the play, after hysteria breaks out, the Salem government starts persecute and hang people it believes are witches. This prompts people to start to accusing people of witchcraft. Some people who accuse others of committing witchcraft are Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam. They do not accuse people of witchcraft to stop witchcraft, but for personal gain or to hurt others. Thomas Putnam, one of the many characters who takes advantage of the witch trials, is able to use the fear of witches to bend the court to his will. Hysteria causes people to believe claims that are clearly false. This allows Putnam to persecute his enemies. He and many other are able to get away with this because hysteria driven persecutions are not run like regular courts and the fact that witchcraft is an invisible crime allows evidence to be made up. The theme of The Crucible is when any persecution is driven by fear and people can and will manipulate the system so they can gain and hurt another.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Salem Witch Trials Persuasive Speech

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Character: Concerned citizen of Salem just before the hanging of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor

    Read More

More about The Crucible

Open Document