The Themes of The Crucible and Parallels to McCarthyism Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, Arthur Miller's The Crucible describes the witch hunt that saw harmless people hanged for crimes they did not commit. The Crucible provides an accurate historical account of the witch hunt, but its real achievement lies in the many important issues it deals with. Miller's concerns with conscience, guilt and justice develop into significant and thought-provoking themes throughout the play. These themes are developed through the characters of Abigail Williams, John Proctor and Deputy Governor Danforth. The Crucible is even more successful when the wider relevance of these issues is considered. This occurs particularly when the themes of the play are examined in relation to the events occurring at the time Miller was writing. The inhibitions born out of the Puritanical values of the time are perhaps what forced Abigail Williams into such evil behaviour. Abigail and the girls are allowed no freedom to have fun, a point illustrated by their fear that their parents will discover they were dancing in the forest. Later, as the girls successfully accuse more and more people of witchcraft, they begin to seek revenge on the adults in their lives who have oppressed them and who, until now, they were bound to obey unfailingly. Abigail Williams depicts Miller's concern with guilt and conscience. When speaking of the Salem witch hunt, Miller talks about 'men handing conscience to other men'. This handing over of conscience is one of Miller's most prominent concerns in the play. When people shed the responsibility of their conscience, they are no longer able to feel guilt, and their sense of right and wrong is left i... ... middle of paper ... ...rous than the alleged threats themselves. This is because people lose their sense of justice through the 'handing over' of conscience and the shedding of guilt. The fact that this pattern repeats itself throughout history indicates the mastery of Miller: he recognises a crucial concern of the individual in society. Throughout Arthur Miller's The Crucible the issues of the 'handing over' of conscience, the divesting of guilt, and the administration of justice are presented to create a masterful drama. The Crucible deals with issues crucial to all people of all time and is therefore a timeless and momentous play. Works Cited and Consulted Karlsen, Carol. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman, Witchcraft in Colonial New England. Robinson, Enders. The Devil Discovered, Salem Witchcraft 1692. Starkey, Marion. The Devil in Massachusetts.
Barbara Anderson’s husband (Thor), her daughter (Katie; 5yrs old), and Anderson’s unborn child (Sarah) accompanied her to her field site.
Thus the very thought of a witch, someone who had infiltrated a virtuous community to carry out their own sinister agenda, struck fear into the hearts of every Puritan who actively subscribed to the religious teachings of the time. Again, in Salem, the antipodal perspectives between light and darkness, God and Lucifer, purity and corruption, are responsible for the extremity of the situation; the same desire to rid the community of a perpetrator, this time unbeknownst, in conjunction with the entire town’s apparent conformity constructed a recipe for the terror and hysteria that accompanied the trials. Miller expounds upon such an idea, relaying that “So now they and their church found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their New Jerusalem be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas” (Miller 5). This comment directly reflects the xenophobia present in Salem at the time of the trials, as the community’s apparent desire to purge itself essentially echoes the onset of the foreign concepts of individuality and religious independence. Additionally, such foreign concepts are reflected by Paris’s conviction that “a wide opinion’s running in the parish that the Devil may be among us, and I would satisfy them that they are wrong” (Miller 27). Paris, sensing “the Devil”, acts as a perfect example of how the steady diversification of the
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know them, or if I know what they are doing in school and out of school. I am just the worst kid in the world for you, and you wish I could disappear. When you giving me a lecture, make sure you talk loud enough so everyone in the neighborhood can hear how bad I am and how disrespectful I am to you. The more dramatic it is the better you look in front of them, and more horrible I look in their eyes. After a whooping, I am supposed to be smiling at you, when you call my name or when you give me food. If not, I get another whooping for the same things and for other things that I will do in the future.
Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.
The absolute power of aristocracies is a scourge on society that corrupts minds and imposes too much of an impact on the lives of the majority. At the time when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, society was subject to McCarthyism, the unquestionable authoritative force that could and did ruin the lives of those suspected of communism. Yet, of these people who suffered the brunt of punishment from authority, a numerous percentage of them displayed hypocrisy in accusing others out of survival. In The Crucible, Miller reflects this idea of hypocrisy in an environment where unquestionable authority reigns. His work displays the essentiality in rising out of such an insincere state and acting upon what
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.
“I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you'll permit me.” (Hale, act 2) The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that accompanies the townspeople of Salem, Massachusetts as the Salem Witch Trials ensue. The play has a startling similarity to today’s society for being set in the 1690’s as well as having a substantial difference. A crucial similarity between today and the play is the desire to obtain and preserve an untarnished reputation. The notable difference is the religious tolerance of today in contrast to the utter intolerance in the play.
Explore Miller’s dramatic presentation and development of the theme of power and authority. Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court
Subsequently, in Edward Said’s Orientalism discusses about the West’s patronizing perceptions and illusory depiction of the East, which connects why white men had stereotypes of other races. According to Said:
In any community, the people rely on the power of law and justice to protect them. When the guardians of the law and order misuse their power it brings tragedy upon the town. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the inappropriate actions of the character of Judge Danforth, the voice of authority of the community leads to the tragedy of social disruption of the town accompanied by breakdown in communal solidarity.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, include similarities to its historical context which lie in the attitude of Salem. Du...
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.
“Miller tries both to offer a disclaimer about the imaginative aspects of his work, and to claim a higher level of veracity for the play’s authority.” (133)
Miller, Arthur.The Crucible.Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Pearson, 2010. 1126-233. Print.