“How Does Arthur Miller Suggest That the Tragedy of the Crucible Is Caused by People Mistaking Problems of Human Nature for the Work of the Devil?”

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Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible is a classic parable which is based upon the 17th century witch-hunts which are sometimes referred to as “one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history”. These witch-hunts took place in the newly settled community of Salem – a small, pious colony of Puritans near Boston, Massachusetts. The Crucible is the horrifying story of a village overtaken by religious fervour and mounting panic, where people are arrested and hung for being witches without evidence. Arthur Miller’s suggestion that the tragedy of the crucible is caused by people mistaking problems of human nature with the work of the devil is rather difficult for us to understand due to our modern day thinking but the use of many different literary techniques helps us to understand the his perspective. The problem of greed and lust is explored by Arthur Miller particularly in the protagonist- Abigail Williams and the characters of Thomas Putnam. During the play, we are told that John Proctor had an affair with Abigail William’s, which gave her the delusion he was in love with her. This delusion causes Abigail to dance in the forest naked and drink a blood charm to kill Elizabeth. This, along with “laughing at prayer..”, “Corrupt dreams” and “standing in an open doorway without a stich on my body” are considered by the people of Salem as signs of the devil. Also, the corrupt dreams of murdering Goody Proctor are due to her lust for John and the jealousy and need for vengeance she has for Elizabeth for dismissing her. Abigail keeps up the pretence of witch craft as she is fearful that if anyone was to find out she was dancing naked in the woods and drinking chicken blood charms she would be killed, hence giving her motivation to continue the hysteria. Thomas Putnam’s daughter – Ruth- “cried out witch-craft” on George Jacobs because he forced her to do things by

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