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Analysis of the Crucible by Arthur Miller
Analysis of the Crucible by Arthur Miller
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Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During this time period, Salem is in hysteria due to the witch hunts and trials of the seventeenth century. The hysteria of the witch trials paints a picture of Good vs Evil which makes The Crucible a morality play. Furthermore, Miller intended to create his characters this way in order for people to reflect on their current way of life. Specifically, the Red Scare that was taking place when the play was first released. The Crucible is a morality play due to the dramatization of Good and Evil that is shown in the characters. The characters Abigail, Reverend Paris and the Putnams are all painted as the forces of Evil in The Crucible. Abigail Williams, who is selfish, manipulative, power hungry, and intelligent, is the main antagonist in The Crucible. In Act I, it is found that Abigail had an affair with John Proctor who …show more content…
The characters John Proctor strongly represents the forces of Good in The Crucible. John Proctor the main protagonist; a blunt, likable, kind man, made a crucial mistake that set in motion the plot of the play. He had an affair with Abigail Williams, who was jealous of his wife. When the witch trials start, John realizes that he can stop Abigail’s evil plot if he confesses to their adultery. He first tries to name Abigail as a fraud but the attempt fails. John, seeing no other option, blurts out his confession which would ruin his image forever. “She used to serve me in my house, sir. A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you-see her what she is (Miller102).” In the end of The Crucible, John fully redeems himself by refusing to sign a false confession, that would have ensured his survival. His wife Elizabeth stated that he had his ‘goodness’ back in the end. “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him (Miller
20 were executed” (Blumberg). The Crucible setting is based on The Salem Witch trials, but the plot is based on The Red Scare. The author employs strict tone and rhetorical questions to convey power. This connects to the purpose of how a occurring can devastate a whole community and the people in it. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, employs empowerment by expressing the challenges within each character and their influence on the trial through the characters John Proctor, Abigail, and Danforth.
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
John Proctor is an honest, though harsh, man who is clearly the protagonist of The Crucible. Before the beginning of the play, John had an affair with Abigail Williams, a girl who worked in his household, which was abruptly ended when Elizabeth Proctor, John's wife, fired her. This event causes Abigail to desire revenge against Elizabeth while she still pines for John. Once the trials are well underway, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch, which leads to her arrest. John goes to the court in defense of his wife, where he reveals that he did indeed committed adultery with Abigail in an attempt to expose her as a fraud and a liar. Unfortunately, John's appeal falls on deaf ears and he is arrested as well. While his wife manages to get a temporary stay of execution, due to the fact that she is pregnant at the time of the trials, which in the end saves her by insuring her life until the chaos, hysteria, and persecution comes to an end, John is sentenced to death. The play ends with his hanging, but his death puts an end to the trials.
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
Many characters in The Crucible fall under the trap of lying, if not to other people, then to themselves. The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in history, surrounding the Salem witch trials. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Additionally, Miller wrote the play as an allegory to mccarthyism, which is the practice of making accusations without evidence. In the play, Arthur Miller develops the theme of lies and deceit by showing Abigail lying for her own benefit, John Proctor committing adultery, and Elizabeth lying to protect her husband.
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.
This reveals that the lies and deceit told throughout the play drive the plot, as characters, such as Elizabeth and John Proctor, in the play are significantly affected by the accusations made against them. This is revealed, as Proctor is too concerned with his reputation to confess his affair with Abigail and end the witch trials. Throughout the play, the imagery of God and the Devil is directly tied in with lies and deceit. The Crucible is set in a Puritan theocratic society, where every citizen is concerned with religious piety and purity.
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.
In The Crucible Arthur Miller identifies John Proctor as being one of the most important characters in the play. One obvious reason why Proctor would be considered important is that the jealousy that Abigail felt towards Elizabeth would have been nonexistent if it hadn’t been for the affair that John had with Abigail earlier that year. When Proctor says “And why not, if they must hang for denyin‘ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that?” (Miller, Act One) in response to Hales comment about all the women confessing to witchcraft it helps to show him as a voice of reason during this time of hysteria. Another instance in which Proctor is a key character in the story is during Act Two when
The play, The Crucible, is a fireball of guilt, evil, and good compiled into one magnification. It is a play with tremendous feelings, with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the true story. It is a play with emotional feelings; feelings of anger, hate, and evil, yet also feelings of goodness, and pureness. Undeniably, The Crucible is a play illustrating good versus evil. The principal characters, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Ann Putnam and Marry Warren all contain within them elements of good and evil.
to the people of Salem. The comparison of the two time periods led to the writing of The Crucible.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a highly complex tragedy about the Salem witch trials of 1692. According to Aristotle, “ tragedy is an action that is serious, complete, and of certain magnitude; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions” (qtd. in Bowers). The Crucible fills all these elements; it is an imitation of the serious witch trials that took place during the 1600s, and it arouses pity for the characters. John Proctor, the protagonist, is an example of one to be pitted. He battled with his guilt over his affair with Abigail and ended the relationship. In the story, whenever Abigail came near, he completely rejected her despite her continued advances. Abigail went as far as implicating Elizabeth in order to return to John’s bed. John, the true tragic hero, confessed and apologized to Elizabeth and the town even though it put him at great risk. The whole witch hunt began with John’s affair with Abigail and all her lies. And resulted in the death of many innocent people. Families, friends, and neighbors who were once close to ...
Another important work Miller wrote, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 17th century. It is a time when jealousy and suspicion poisoned the thinking of an entire town. Neighbor turned against neighbor when events happened that could not be explained. Accusations turned into a mad hunt for witches who did not exist. One of the main characters of the play is John Proctor, a well-respected man with a good name in the town. As the play develops, John Proctor’s moral dilemma becomes evident: he must decide whether to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to save his life, or to die an honest man, true to his beliefs.
Stylistic and social elements are imperative to a story ,They are pivotal piece in any master plot line.In The Crucible there are many direct uses of those elements.Elements such as pace, allegory,and cultural theory .These are the most beneficial elements in the crucible that add a key development to the story,thus making it a timeless piece in american literature without these elements it couldn”t have been a piece that was unchaged thorough time.