The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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The Crucible was based in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Salem witch-hunt was view as one of the strangest and most horrendous chapters in the human history. People that were prosecuted were all innocent and their deaths were all due to false accusation of people’s ridiculous belief in superstition and their paranoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out. The play can be seen as a general statement on the effects that fear and fanaticism can have on human beings and how one person can cause such catastrophe. It is a purely a controversial play, so why write a play knowing the danger you were putting yourself in? Arthur Miller wrote the play because he was accused of being a communist; Miller attended meetings between communist writers. He was fined and given a suspended prison sentence. When he wrote the play, he focused on a series of true events, which took place in and around the town of Salem. As Miller saw what was happening around him at the time, he realised that he himself could not take any direct action, or speak out against the act of McCarthyism because he could put himself in danger. He did, however, realise that he could make other Americans see how they were acting towards each other and how paranoia were the main cause to this widespread hysteria. Realising that he has to prevent this hysteria from developing further was to write a play, in hope that the audience would see what the hidden meaning and message he was trying to portray, instead of being 'just a play'. Many thi... ... middle of paper ... ...s and McCarthyism have similar beginnings and similar results. Such hysteria came about because of the excessive suspicion that was planted in the people's minds, by Parris and McCarthy. Despite this, it was Parris and McCarthy who primarily rise the hysteria that occurred. Such hysteria may occur today, dealing with the issue on terrorism. Racial profiling and accusations may be prominent in our country once again! If the right events and the right people trigger such a scare, our country could be in a state of mass hysteria as it was two times already. Despite the age of The Crucible there are many issues included in it that are still very relevant in the modern world to day. Due to Miller’s clever plot and distinctive techniques, he was able to bring the history to life. This play turned out to be one of the most relevant plays of the past and of today.

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