A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.
Austin Meyer R10286217 The Crucible In 1692, the Puritans believed in the supernatural power of witchcraft and that the devil is responsible if anything bad happens. This belief in sorcery plays a very important role in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and sets the tone for how the play progresses. In the small Massachusetts town of Salem, religion is viewed as law and anything that goes against the bible is considered a dreadful sin. During this time, a person’s name meant everything to their honor and respect from others. An easy accusation of one’s name could tarnish their reputation and ruin their career.
Abigail realizes that by giving the names of people she saw with the devil she can control Salem because she has a good name and people will listen to her. June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan claim “.A shrewd opportunist, she turns her own violation of Salem law into an occasion for naming those for whom she has little liking and, in so doing, transforms herself into a local heroine.” (116) John Proctor knows that Abigail is controlling Salem with her accusations and recognizes that the only way to stop her is to sully her good name. When Abigail accuses John’s wife of witchcraft, he becomes enraged and claims “It is a whore!” (Miller 220). By accusing Abigail of being a whore, John is trying to ruin her name and stop her from making any more accusations, but by admitting to “have known her, sir.” is also ruining his own good
In addition, the crucible is for three things, on the surface it plays witch trials, the crucible is the crash course in which hysteria can completely displace rational think and pit neighbors against neighbors, it’s also a traffic play that takes rights to the core of emotions that accused Salem accusers and its accused. John Proctor died for his name, and many other reasons. He was a man of pride. He possessed the qualities of persistency, honesty, and integrity. With those attributes, I am sure he was rewarded his prize in
Survey of Am. Lit and Comp 18 October 2010 Crucible Essay In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the suspicion of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts consumes the people of the town with questions and accusations. The theme of this drama is that fear has the power to govern one’s actions. This theme ties in well with the Stephen Vincent Benet quote. “Persecution follows superstition and intolerance…once we light that fire we cannot foresee where it will end or what it will consume”.
Indy Lau 11/29/11 Period 2 Crucible Essay The Girls of Salem Rises to Power Arthur Miller writes The Crucible to show how Abigail and the girls use the witch trials in their favor. In this society, men have all the political powers while the lower rungs of the social ladder are occupied by women. By accusing others, the women are able to gain more power for themselves. In act two for instance, Mary Warren defies her master, Proctor. In the beginning of the play, Mary and Proctor shows the relationship of a master and servant by speaking harshly to her.
“A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 87). This particular quote from Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, first and foremost portrays the intolerant nature of Puritan society in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 at the peak of the Salem Witch Trials. The witch hunts stemmed from a mass religious hysteria that resulted in a tragedy of nineteen executions while hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft. Fear in such an intolerant Puritan society is what primarily fueled this mass hysteria that took over Massachusetts. Miller uses this tactic and focuses on emotions rather than logic to exhibit the psychological representation of a tense period in history.
This vindictive hatred from Abigail soon prompts a witch hunt involving many innocent people: “Twelve have already hanged for the same crime.” While many panics, John Procter knows this from the start ; “this is a whore’s vengeance”. He tersely identifies the main cause for the witch trials to be directly linked with a spurned lover, who has become disemployed by Procter after having a brief extra-marital affair with her. Still overwhelmed with lustful feelings for John Procter, Abigail decides to manipulate the situation by accusing innocent people of witchcraft, to achieve her own revengeful goal. Abigail is not the only one who takes advantage of the witch trials, to accomplish their revenge. Thomas and Ann Putnam, as a resentful and greedy couple, will take it out on anyone who has caused them trouble.
Author Millers, The Crucible, is a play about the fear, of witchcraft in the sixteenth century, and what fear does to people in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. During the colonial time period, witchcraft was punishable by death. In Salem the idea of witchcraft not only feared the people, but also the community as a whole. The community of Salem was split into two demographics by poor farmers, and wealthy merchants, becomes a scared fearful town during the accusations, not knowing if your neighbor was or was not a witch. The church of Salem plays an important role in the outcome of the town; the church has immense power and control of the town.
Macbeth desire to be king causes him to believe the witches for their prophesies have come true before. He is unable to see the witches as the most dangerous characters in the play. Without the witches playing upon Macbeth’s ambitions, it is doubtful that Macbeth would have committed the murders. The witches play the part of the instigators, and help Macbeth to continue his acts of violence. Even though they are able to see that his acts will lead him to his downfall, they continue to let him kill others.