The Crucible Narrative

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play of the historical fiction genre that is based on the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1690s. It tells the story of a man named John Proctor who is a villager of Salem during these trials. The trial starts when a group of young girls start to accuse other citizens of Salem to benefit themselves from it. Abigail Williams, the leader of these girls, was involved in an affair with John Proctor, and wanted to get rid of John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and wanted to use her new deceitful power to do so. The majority of the play shows the struggle of John Proctor as he tries to expose Abigail and her group of girls and save his wife, who is eventually accused of witchcraft by Abigail. In an attempt to clear his wife’s name of any wrong doings, he admits to the judges of his affair. John was eventually sent to jail after his household helper accused him of

When brought a written confession for him to sign, John Proctor refuses to do so in order to not shame his family name and accuse others wrongfully. As a result, John Proctor was ultimately put to death shortly after. Aside from the historical context of the play, The Crucible was seen as very relatable to the events going on in American society when the play was first written in 1953. During this time, there was a huge fear and paranoia of communism spreading throughout the country. As a result, people started to accuse other of being communist with very little or no evidence at all, creating a huge outrage across the country, similar to the behavior seen during the Salem Witch Trials through The Crucible. This was known as the Red Scare. Compared to the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare occurred on a much larger scale. These actions were occurring throughout the whole nation compared to the witch trials, which only occurred within the town of Salem,