The Dramatic Effect of the First Act in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

The Dramatic Effect of the First Act in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

The Crucible is set in Salem in 1692. It is about a group of girls who

are accused of witchcraft by the people of Salem, and they are put on

trial for it. The story is centred on a man named John Proctor who is

a farmer in the town, and it is about his affairs, his everyday ones

and his sexual ones.

There are many themes in The Crucible, deceit, religion, fear, guilt

and the evading of peoples privacy.

Miller wrote the play to be a parallel of the famous McCarthy trials

of the 1950's, in which he was involved. The American courts were

holding a so-called 'witch hunt' of communists and they believed that

Miller had information about the communists. People think The Crucible

is based on this because they were both based on insubstantial

evidence.

The key character in this scene is Betty, because, although she is

inert, she hears everything the other characters are saying. She

becomes a piece of the set, and because of this, she hears all of

their secrets, troubles and fears.

At the beginning of the first act Reverend Parris is by himself

kneeling by the bed of his inert daughter Betty. Tituba the black

slave of the household then enters and she is very worried because she

thinks Betty will die, she inquires to Betty's health,

"My Betty be hearty soon?"

To which he shouts at her,

"Out of my sight"

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So this shows that there is tension there from the start of the play.

The tension is between upper and lower classes, and it is amazing how

such a small piece of text can show so much character. Parris seems

very boss...

... middle of paper ...

...e light of God, I want the sweet love

of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go

back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw

Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!"

At this moment all the girls in the room start saying the same, and

Betty wakes up and calls out,

"I saw Martha Bellows with the Devil!"

Everyone is so relieved that these children have repented, and there

is great glee among the girls that they have got away with what they

did.

In conclusion, I think that the main technique Miller uses in The

Crucible is the adding and taking away of people to the room. If he

puts two people in who don't like each other then the tension

increases, but if there are two people in love, or who are friends,

the tension is lowered.