In 1951, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, a play referring to the time in Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials. The Salem Witch Trials was a time period when people were being randomly accused of being witches by one another. The people who were accused of being witches had to either give false confessions or were executed in terrible ways. In The Crucible, the accused were sentenced to death by hangings, pressings, died in prison. In the play, nineteen people were hung, about thirteen died in prison, and one died by being pressed. In the play, the author Miller uses many examples of hyperbole and exaggeration as the characters are talking . The author also used imagery to describe the settings in the play. In The Crucible, the author wanted to give us a real life description of how that time period might have been. As the story goes on, we see the craziness of the salem witch trials and how absurd it was. One literary device that Arthur Miller showed in The Crucible was hyperbole. Throughout the play many parts are shown where the dialogue shows examples of hyperboles. For example, this quote said by John Proctor, “Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!” (p.27). This quote by John is not to be taken literal but at the time John and Elizabeth do not have a great relationship. This is due to the fact that John Proctor committed adultery by falling in love with one of the local girls, Abigail Williams. Another great example of a hyperbole is “How high did she fly, how high” (p. 69) At this time Betty, a girl who was a part of the series that began the salem witch trials was asleep and could not wake. One of the townspeople, Mrs. Putnam said she had heard Betty had been seen flying over Mr. Collins barn. The townspeople were quick to start rumors of witches in the town. They thought that young Betty had been cursed by a witch and that she why she could not wake. The people of the town were starting to go crazy and were letting their fear go to their head. Lastly John Proctor says “Why? I have no business in Salem” (p. 89). He is talking to his wife Elizabeth after he has been gone all day. His wife thinks he went the town but John said he did not. He says that at this time he has no business
Arthur Miller's purpose of writing The Crucible was to show the parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare of 1950s. He wants to convey the message that in times of great stress and misunderstanding, people will resort to desperate measures to convince both themselves and the people around them that nothing is wrong. People will also resort to lies and manipulation in order to keep themselves sane in times of despair. Miller uses diction, juxtaposition, and symbolism to perfectly encompasses all of these themes for his audience of people who have ever been unequally persecuted by an unfair authoritative power. The first rhetorical strategy Miler uses is his diction.
In addition to hyperbole being used, many examples of allusion were used. Allusion means to call something to mind without making it specifically clear or can be indirect or passing reference. One allusion in the play refers to a biblical story. “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel”(Miller 55). Elizabeth Proctor says this because during this time Abigail Williams a leader for the young girls of the town. The quote refers to when Moses parted the sea for the israelites would escape from Pharaoh's army. This shows that Abigail seems to have a lot of influence in the town. Another great example of allusion in The Crucible is in the courtroom when John Proctor wants to help
The Crucible, a play written in 1953 by arthur miller was written to be a fictional and dramatized version of the salem witch trials in massachusetts 1692. The book teaches about how greed, narcissism, and selfishness can corrupt people and spread throughout a community. In the play the actions of all of the characters shows how easily a person or a group of people can start a series of occurrences causing an event that can generate the death of 20 people.
The year is 1692. Throughout the small, Puritan, seaside community of Salem, rumors and accusations fly like gusts of ocean wind. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and even the most holy church-goers are accused of being the devil’s servants. The Crucible details this real-life tragedy of the Salem witch trials, in which nineteen members of the Salem community were hanged for alleged witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a seemingly innocent girl, accuses dozens of Salem’s citizens of witchcraft through the support of her mob of girls and the complicity of the court officials. The title of this play gives significant insight into the experiences of several of these Salem citizens. Although a crucible is often used in chemistry for heating up substances, the title of the play carries a much greater weight. In his famous play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the title of “crucible” to signify the severe and unrelenting tests of faith and character that many of the community members endure throughout the Salem witch trials, which he achieves through the use of figurative language and fallacies of relevance and insufficiency.
Various uses of multiple fallacies throughout The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, help enhance both individual scenes and the overall plot of the play. An example of the Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy is when John Proctor, Reverend John Hale, and Giles Corry discuss the accusations of witchcraft in court. Hale proceeds to accuse Martha Corey, Giles wife, of being a witch. Giles defends his wife; he claimed she was only reading books. Hale questions Giles about the original complaint made on his wife. Giles explains,
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, justice, individuality and dignity play a vital role. These factors define the characteristics of many of the most significant characters in the play. Some of them being John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many others. The Salem witch trials were a result of the lack of expression of individuality and the fact that no individual could expect justice from the majority culture as a result of the deterioration of human dignity in the Puritan society of Salem.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
Arthur Miller is considered one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century. He has written many acclaimed plays, including The Crucible. Written in 1953, The Crucible uses the historical perspective of the Salem Witch Trials which took place between 1962 and 1963. A lot of the inspiration for the events that take place in the play were from the McCarthyism era that was taking place at the time. It is evident that The Crucible is a critical look at the way the Communist hunt was handled, and used the hysteria and madness of the witch trials to show how history repeats itself. The relationship between men and women and the way the woman in the society is treated is also a prominent theme throughout the play.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible focuses on the Salem Witch Trials along with the pointing of fingers that went along with it. Miller wrote this to reflect upon what was occurring during the Red Scare in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The Crucible is written in an ironic and cynical tone mocking the Red Scare.
The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller written in the 1950’s. It was set in the 1690’s in Massachusetts. The play is about the witch trials and how something like a group of girls in the woods could lead to about 200 people being hanged and accused of witchcraft. The people of Salem were new to Massachusetts as they were puritans who went off to America to set up a new religious colony . The people were new to their surroundings had the Native Americans as enemies because they took their land. Although the Crucible is about the witch trials, it is thought to be a metaphor for the McCarthy Communist trials
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.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a famous play which was written in the early 1950’s. The Crucible is a play based upon the events in 1692, which led to the ‘Salem Witch Trials’, a series of hearings before local magistrates to prosecute over 150 people accused of witchcraft. This was due to the hysteria caused by a group of girls accusing innocent people of witch craft. The play was set in Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Salem was a very isolated and puritanical community, so their biggest fear was the devil and witchcraft. A person being accused of witchcraft was the worst thing possible in this society.
The play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, withholds many conflicts that arise resulting in many themes as well. Such as weight, Reputation, and Good vs. Evil. These themes form from the Salem witch trials. Repeatedly people become accused of witchcraft, throughout the play this continues to drag out due to the people of Salem’s accusations and deceit for one another. The play continues to move to a tense and moving climax resulting in the death of many prominent people of Salem.
The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller; which gave a detailed description of the Salem Witch Trials. “The story concerns a group of young Puritan girls who are caught in a forbidden act, i.e., dancing and cavorting in woods, In order to evade punishment, the girls accuse an ever growing number of their neighbors of having bewitched them”(Dector 1). This shows the basis of the story the girls broke basic Puritan law in Salem, which then starts the witch trials. The only way the convicted could save themselves
The play The Crucible, was written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is a story he wrote after his own experience being accused of communism. This affected a lot of well-known people in the United States during this time, and was considered a witch hunt similar to the Salem witch hunts. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about a man, John Proctor, who has an affair with Abigail Williams. She catches feelings for him and tries to cast a spell on John Proctor’s wife to kill her; this gets out of hand when Abigail’s uncle catches her and some other girls dancing during the spell in the woods. Suddenly, the whole town is living in fear of who is practicing witchcraft, who could be a witch, and innocent people are killed if they don’t confess to being witches. Overall, mass fear and panic, and false accusations are seen over and over throughout the play.