Characters And Authority In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.

After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people

Irving Wallace, an American author and screenwriter, once stated: “To be one’s self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity.” Wallace admired those who were not afraid to be the “lone wolf” and stick to their own individual ideas and character, no matter the consequences. People often view submission as the one and only route; they see a majority of the population following one another and figure it is the best option. Unfortunately, conformity does have its consequences. In The Crucible, Miller reveals that the overwhelming pressures to conform causes one’s rationality to be diminished, resulting in the destruction of their morals and ultimately a society through his use of situational and dramatic irony.

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is a chronological narrative including a large cast of characters with a constantly moving setting.* The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and an allegory of the McCarthyism period. Throughout the play, Miller explores the destruction of freedom by the ignorant and tyrannical society in which his characters live.* By exhibiting how easily a member of the community can become an outcast, Arthur Miller displays social criticism in the Puritan society as well as in today's society in The Crucible.

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

Although a century later the founding fathers of the United States of America would claim that their new nation valued individual freedoms above all else, some of the earliest European settlers in America built a society structured around zealous religion-based conformity. The Puritans (or as they were otherwise known, the “Children of the Reformation”) sought to escape British religious institutions in the Anglican church that they believed came between men and their relationships with their God. They arrived in Massachusetts in the early 17th century to establish a theocratic oligarchy in which all members were devoted to the Christian Bible as their sole religious authority. The word of the Bible served as legislation in Massachusetts colonies. They believed in predestination and the idea that natural disasters and other unfortunate events were signs of God’s displeasure. These beliefs cultivated a collective fear of an authoritarian God who would grow angry and punish anyone who broke away from their society. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, in which innocent Puritans are tried and killed for the crime of witchcraft, denounces the dangers of conformity in Salem’s Puritan society. In Salem, individuality is worthy of a death sentence. The characters who remain true to their individual values are brutally punished while the characters act according to the beliefs of their fellow townspeople survive. In his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses figures of speech, logical

pull it down and so denounce God and place a whore in God’s place is

As stated by the great Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” (braniyquotes.com). Burke’s words are proven true in many facets of the human experience. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, a shift of power is portrayed through Abigal’s sly manipulation. Arthur Miller takes a historical context, that of the Salem Witch Trials, and shows how simple actions can alter the course of history. The disintegration of an orderly Puritan society into one that is governed by chaos and hysteria is caused by a radical change in the normally male dominated power by a woman whose pride has been bruised.

A ‘crucible’ is an object in which substances are combined and then subjected to high temperatures. Arthur Miller uses this theme to guide “The Crucible” from the exposition, when Puritan girls danced in the woods, to Proctor’s death by the hangman’s noose. Hale and Danforth are closely intertwined in their beliefs and views at the beginning of the play, but, as tensions and temperatures rise, they begin to separate; ultimately ending with contrary beliefs. In the opening scenes, Hale and Danforth are present in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 to cast out demons and witches. When the final curtain falls at the end of Act Four, Hale recognizes that the Salem Witch Trials were a result of repressed emotions and conflicts, and the desire to express them under the pretext of witchcraft. Danforth cannot and will not recognize this fact. Thus, Miller develops the characters of Hale and Danforth into foils for each other by the end of the novel; the growing tension is made evident through dialogue, character development, and through the theme of pride.

The Crucible A book by Arthur Miller, is structured around the idea of authority and who really has authority. Miller represents these ideas with the Salem Witch Trials. In Miller’s interpretation of the event, he integrates the theme by letting Abigail gain authority. She is able to get enough power to do anything. Leading to the theme of authority. With Hale and Proctor’s truth getting trumped by Abigail’s authority.

The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court

American playwright, Arthur Miller, in his play The Crucible, implies that witch hunts still exist in American society. Miller supports this claim by drawing parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the Senator Joseph Mccarthy Trials. His purpose is to warn his readers of the dangers of mass hysteria. He uses emotional appeals and logic to convince the reader that mass “hunts” are still a danger to Americans today. The central way, however, that Miller achieves his topmost goal of displaying the hazards of Individuality vs. Ideology is through the expressive characterization of Reverend John Hale. John hale is an example of outward conformity because he believes in the devil in the beginning, he sees that the girls are

Authority is the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. This can often be portrayed in many ways like an authority figure. In the play there are multiple characters that start with a strong sense of authority in given situations. The idea of having authority lead to some conflicting situations. However, at certain points some of the characters begin to lose their authority as the problems continue. Throughout The Crucible, the amount of authority and power one has is a concern due to the lying that occurs.

Everyone goes through a crucible in their lifetimes, such as accepting Christ into their heart and live in paradise or be condemn and go to hell. In Salem a group of girls were suspected of being possessed by the devil and they accused other women causing an uproar of people being prosecuted of things they haven’t done and being sentenced to death. In the past Jews were being prosecuted, and were discriminated because of their religion. The holocaust was the persecution and the murder of over 6 million Jews, because the Germans believed they were “racially superior” and the Jews were “inferior”. The Jews were taken to slave camps and forced to work and many were killed in gas chambers and many were burned to death. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible illustrates primarily through the characters of Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Elizabeth Proctor some pass their crucible while others fail.

John Proctor tore up his signed confession because he could not live in a world where his name was tarnished. He claims he can live with them taking his soul, but not his name, when it is the only thing he has left. Also, he did not believe he could show his children how to walk like men if he had blackened his name with lies.