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Comparing Arthur Miller's Crucible to the Real Salem Witch Trials
Dramatic techniques in the play the crucible
Comparing Arthur Miller's Crucible to the Real Salem Witch Trials
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As long ago as 350 BC, Aristotle famously wrote that a play must have a beginning, a middle, and an end, which is the beginning of the structure. Over time, dramas evolved, the Roman poet, Horace, advocated for five acts, and many centuries later, a German playwright, Gustav Freytag, developed the five-act structure which is commonly used today to analyze classical and Shakespearean dramas. The first act of these five-act structures consist of an exposition, which allows the reader to be introduced to the time, setting, and characters. The second act introduces the rising action. A rising action normally includes the protagonist of the story to face some sort of conflict or obstacle. The third act produces the climax, which is the turning point in the story. This act creates suspense and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The fourth act is the falling action, which wraps up any plot twists or unknown details of the story. The fifth act is the denouement or the resolution, which is the final outcome of the drama. In 1952, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, a four-act play, to compare the witch hunts of the Salem Witch Trial to the hunts for communists in the 1900s. Although tragedies are normally constructed into five parts, Miller managed to fit the story into a …show more content…
Miller related to the protagonist of the story, John Proctor, who despite being an imperfect person, was able to fight the madness surrounding him. The Salem court had moved to admit "spectral evidence" as proof of guilt, as did the court in 1952. The question was not the acts of an accused but of his thoughts and intentions. Miller understood the universal experience of being impuissant to believe that the state had gone mad. The Crucible evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation, a combination not unknown these
¨I have known her, sir. I have known her.¨ A crucible is a test or severe trial, and no trial is more severe than that of a man’s soul. The entire story of Salem is ridden with tests of character and the humanity of the citizens as they respond to the mass hysteria created by someone crying witch. Every single character in this play is given a trial through which they must come to achieve their greater purpose, and these trials expose the skeletons in their closets and the blackness of their sins. However, the similar message is presented in different ways by the cinematic portrayal and Miller’s original play. Lies, unsubstantiated accusations, jealousy, and self-righteousness are the main factors fueling the flame of deceit and hatred. John
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.
A crucible is an extremely difficult experience or situation in which different social forces cause a change in a person. With this in mind, Arthur Miller uses this term to title one of his most famous novels The Crucible. The Crucible portrays events and change in people during The 1692 Salem Witch trials. Essentially, fear motivates the characters to change or become dynamic in order to protect themselves. Dynamic characters influenced by events in The Crucible include John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale.
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
The Crucible is a partially fictionalized story that puts a dramatic spin on the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts during 1692. It was written in 1953 by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play was released during a time of controversy over the Red Scare. It is believed that his motive was to bring light to the situation by using historical events. The Crucible as a whole revolves around the bible. Miller uses Biblical allusions and metaphors to develop characters and set moods throughout the play. Miller develops Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and Reverend Hale using biblical quotes, allusions and religious morals in order to create a dichotomy of good and bad characters.
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.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
Fear, resulting in chaos, and overturned lives affected the personal decisions of John Proctor, thus creating inner conflicts, as well as desperation in the story. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor's stand in a society where opinion drove fate created ignominy towards him and his beliefs. At first he hid his horrible sin inside, fearing the consequences. When he finally did, he was placed in a tangled labyrinth of feelings as to what his next action should be. Lastly, it's Proctor's defiance and integrity in his own self that proved him stronger than the entire community of Salem. Proctor's tremulous feelings and general unease of the situation built up to his defining point of confession. Theocracy came together to take coerce control Salem and it's actions. Proctor saw this and feared, for diabolism was a practice unheard of. Danforth states, "You must understand, sir, a person is either with the church or against it, there be no road between. We live no longer in the dusky afternoon and evil mixed itself with good and befuddled world. Now by God's grace the good folk and evil entirely separate"(63).
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.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
Well first off Miller uses the title “ The Crucible” as a metaphor for the scenario in the play. For the first part of the definition of crucible meaning: a container in which metals are heated. With the town of Salem being the container and what is inside being the emotions of the
How would you feel if the people you grew up with turned on you, if the things you believed in were being used against you, if the people you loved were being taken from you. This is what happened in the crucible, crucible it’s self is defined by Dictionary.com as “ a severe, searching test or trial.”, and that is exactly what happened to the town of Salem in the book. In the town of Salem it was an average hard working puritan life, until abigail changed everything by dancing in the woods. After that everything went downhill from there with Rev. Hale coming into town and then to the Salem witches calling other women that have offended them to trial Hanging or sending them to Jail. What happened in Salem was a test, a test on the townspeople
In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, the small town of Salem, Massachusetts is plagued with hysteria due to fear over witchcraft. John Proctor begins out as being a character that acts in wrong and deceiving ways. As the play comes to an end in Act IV, he is placed in a situation where he himself is accused of witchcraft. As his character was full of lies throughout the play, now he shows pride and honor for his name and the innocent people hanged through his noble actions when questioned about consorting with the devil.
The Crucible is an incredibly influential play no only in the fact that it displays many important themes, but it also portrays how a theocracy impacts societal actions. The Salem witch trials were the culmination of the problems with theocracy. The actions of society, not only are impacted by their personal thoughts, but also in religious undertones affect them. Act two in the play portrays not only all of these themes, but also some important events leading towards the witchcraft hysteria. Act two in the play portrays how theocracy ultimately leads to chaos.
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.