Crucible Literary Essay

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a rich and enticing play set in the late 1600’s describing the epic horrors and emotions through the events of the Salem witch trials. The Crucible, focuses primarily on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. The play begins with the discovery of several young girls and an African American slave, Tituba, in the woods just outside of Salem, dancing and pretending to conjure spirits. The Puritans of Salem stood for complete religious intolerance and stressed the need to follow the ways of the bible literally without exception. The actions of the women in

Hook: Crucible is a book filled with mistakes and the outcomes of those mistakes. Every single action that a person commits leads to either a positive or a negative consequence, and this piece of literature provides readers with an opportunity to analyze some causes and effects.

Reverend Samuel Parris is a prime example of a character that uses self-preservation throughout the play to maintain his high position in society.

Another thing Miller illustrates, through the character of Parris, is that trying to keep a good reputation will make one focus mainly on themselves, making them less empathetic and blind to the struggles of others. Parris is not the only one guilty of this though. In a piece titled “Reputation of The Crucible” it says, “John Proctor and Parris both were very concerned that their reputation was at stake in many different instances in this play The Crucible” (Reputation of the Crucible). Our reputations, like the image of the characters John Proctor and Parris, are always at stake and it is important to be careful not to do things that will interfere with our status. Though not the only one, Parris is a major offender of letting his image and his reputation cloud his judgement and even get in the way of his duties as a father. The piece later states, “When the play first begins, Parris fears that Abigail, his niece, is convicted of being a witch because of her intolerable actions, and the witchcraft that associates with his daughter’s coma will cause much chaos and bring down his power as a Reverend in Salem. Parris feels that power and reputation is the most important thing to him as a

In 1952 a play was written by Arthur Miller, about events that happened in Salem in 1692. The play was about affairs, accusations, and innocent people being accused of witches. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail and Mary Warren are introduced as two separate people. Although people might see Abigail and Mary Warren as two separate people and nothing alike, they are more alike than meet's the eye. Abigail and Mary Warren have three things in common; they are both are deceitful, they both dishonest, and they are both apprehensive.

In the beginning, Parris was portrayed as very cruel person. He yells at Tituba, “Out of here! Out of my sight!” (169). By the end of the play, he becomes more humble and modest. This can be seen especially when Abigail takes his money, “Hathorn: She have robbed you? Parris: Thirty-one pound is gone. I am penniless.” (231). Reverend Hale is also another person who drastically changed. When he arrives at Salem, he claims to be very smart and is able to save everyone from the devil and witchcraft. He starts to preach as soon as he gets there, “No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise, the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all the I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her.” (185). He becomes very different by the end of the play. He not has feelings of guilt for the people he accused. He also was starting to think that he was wrong about the devil and witchcraft. Hale tells his feelings to Elizabeth, “Let you not mistake you duty as I mistook my own… I cannot think he will listen to another.”

For the majority of the play, Proctor and Parris are often in conflict, either regarding their beliefs or actions. This is best shown near the end of the play when the characters take opposing sides on the court and the witch hunt. Proctor believes that the court is a fraud, and although he is eventually sentenced to death, he states that “You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). By making this statement to the court, he is showing that he has come to terms with who he is, and can see some good in himself by doing so. This is very different from how Proctor acted early in the play, attempting to fix everything that his affair had broken in his life without success, showing how he has grown as a character and understood his mistakes in life. In contrast, the play wraps itself up by including the statement, “Not long after the fever died, Parris was voted from office, walked out on the highroad, and was never heard from again.” (Miller 146). Throughout the play, Parris would often act out of his self interests and the betterment of himself, and continued acting the same way even after he joined the court. Supporting the idea of his self-interests, the stage directions describing Parris’ dialogue at the end of

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

“There is a fraction sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand?” these words ‘do you understand’ give off the impression that Parris is trying to convince himself of this fact rather than explain it to Abigail. It also shows why Parris wants revenge, as it explains that some of the villagers literally do not like him. The individual on the other hand who Parris seeks his settling of scores with is John Proctor, as he does not respect Parris as a reverend. Parris’s dislike towards Proctor clearly is empathised in act three, which is set in the courtroom. Made known by Parris’s subtle comments about Proctor, such like “Beware this man, your Excellency, this man is mischief” and “He’s come to overthrow the court, your Honour.” Both these comments convey the idea that Parris is strongly trying to get his thoughts about Proctor across. This proposal shows through the words ‘Excellency’ and ‘Honour’ that Parris is trying to get the attention of Judge Hathorne as he directs theses comments straight to him. Parris’s revenge towards Proctor is clear once he expresses that John is not a good Christian, as he does not attain church regularly. This observation, which Parris has made, is one of the main reasons to why Parris reacts to Proctor in the ways he does. This revenge is not as strong as Abigail’s and Proctor’s, although it is

Furthermore, in Act II, it is revealed that John Proctor attended mass scarcely because he hated Reverend Parris so much. His materialism (as proven with the gold candlesticks) was something that greatly bothered the town of Salem. In Act IV, Reverend Parris is humbled. Having been robbed by Abigail and her friend, Mercy Lewis, he is almost penniless, and thereby modest and sorrowful. He does not talk with the same biting command as he used to.

The Crucible was based in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Salem witch-hunt was view as one of the strangest and most horrendous chapters in the human history. People that were prosecuted were all innocent and their deaths were all due to false accusation of people’s ridiculous belief in superstition and their paranoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out.

The next example of hypocrisy in The Crucible is Reverend Parris’s character. He is the spiritual leader of Salem, yet Arthur Miller characterizes him as being very greedy and selfish. He only desires money and a high status within the community.

Proctor. For the first and only time in the play we see Abigail as her

One of the many works written and driven by Puritan influence, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has continued to influence life and thinkings. Its story tracing the 1692 Salem Witch Trials has been widely read, received and understood, along with influencing the reader and their ideals. The play has manifested into more than words on a page and has become of the greatest influences, even sixty years after its publication. Though its story has not changed and is merely a retelling of the original itself, its themes have greatly impacted its universal and enduring state.

Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.