Examples Of Irony In The Crucible

John Proctor in the play is told to say all of the Ten Commandments to Reverend Hale to prove is family is religious. Considering that John Proctor failed to recall one of the commandments that pertains to adultery, this brings attention to the reader that he is not as religious as he believes since he broke one of the rules of his religion. This could be suspenseful to some readers since he could be punished for adultery or be called a witch since he is a not a religious person and there is a witch hunt happening in the town.

Fear stalks humanity wherever it goes. It feeds on our panic and uncertainty. This is seen throughout 1692, the 1950s, and the present, when a leader with great power creates a solution to a problem that people did not even know they had to fear people begin to fear as well as the cycle of innocent people falsely confessing adding to the fear.

When Elizabeth goes into the courtroom, she does not know John has confessed. This can be described as dramatic irony because the reader knows what Elizabeth does not. She lies for her first time by denying John and Abigail’s affair, abandoning her Puritan morals in order to protect her husband’s reputation. The truth would have saved John, but Elizabeth’s lie destroys him and causes the court to believe Abigail, which shows situational irony. Abigail has previously accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. Reverend Hale tries to calm John when Elizabeth is arrested. John alludes to the Bible and says, “Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this! without my name”(Miller 1285).

There are two examples of situational irony in the tale. A first example that Chaucer uses is when the three rioters head to the tree to find Death. However, when they arrive under the tree; the three rioters find gold rather than Death: “At once the three young rioters began/ To run, and reached the tree, and there they found/ A pile of golden florins on the ground” (162-64). Situational irony is used by Chaucer making his reader think that Death will be found by the rioters under the tree; instead the three rioters find gold. Second, the Pardoner is another example of situational irony. Rather than forgiving the people of the village from their sins, the Pardoner charges money to forgive the sinner. Situational irony is demonstrating that “greed is root of all evil” in “The Pardoner’s

In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it was about the Salem witch trials and how people were accused for being witches. Miller wrote the play because of the red scare and how people were treated. Throughout the play, Miller used stereotyping, symbolism, and exaggeration to show the theme and show what was going on during the red scare. In Miller’s use of symbolism helps shows the meaning clearly.

In Act 1, the dramatic tension is started when Hale finds out about how Abigail and the girls were dancing in the forest and begins to interrogate her. This puts pressure on her and she tries to minimize the situation which can be inferred in the line "Why a very little frog jumped" (35). She uses the phrase "very little" which makes the "movement" insignificant. Eventually, the pressure gets to Abigail and she blames Tituba which immediately reduces the pressure on her and starts the process of accusation. It also increases the tension because a part of the story has unravelled to Hale- who is currently the most powerful person in the room. The blame can be evidenced in the quote "I never called him! Tituba, Tituba-"( 35). She chose to blame

“The arrogant are wise in their own eyes, but the wise will recognize their lies” (Anonymous). This quote accurately describes how the events in the Salem Witch Trials unfolded. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, places the reader into the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller tells a fictional story based on real events of how people who were wise in their own eyes used others to better themselves in a community based on honesty. Three characters from the story stand apart in their arrogance. Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris were conceited and cared only about their personal gains. These characters used their power to blame, but not to be blamed or accused of alleged witchcraft which resulted in the deaths of several townspeople. Arthur Miller used these characters to illustrate how simple lies and rumors can spread and become an unstoppable force. With these simple but powerful accusations, well respected citizens soon became the targets of these characters manipulation.

I believe Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an act of depression. Arthur Miller had lived in a time that was in fact, very depressing. During the time Miller was alive he had seen the actions of McCarthyism and anti-Semitism. Miller was tired of seeing the bystander effect. The bystander effect is where a group of people are around a situation where they could help, but choose not to because of the fear of being the “black sheep.” The Crucible is all about the bystander effect and the diffusion of responsibility.

One key part of The Crucible is the accusations that are made. Everybody points fingers at another person and claims that they are something that they are not. Most of the time people are getting classified as witches. Proctor didn’t seem to care until it was his wife that got accused. Arbigail Williams accused Elizabeth as a witch saying that she had made a pact with the Devil himself.

I think that it is better to die for what you believe in than lie to save your life is important. Why would you say you did something even though you didn’t do that thing? If you confess, you could get in more trouble than if you didn’t confess. Most people who go to court and plead not `quilt, unless they are If you confessed to a murder, you would more than likely get in more trouble than if you didn’t confess. You can confess you will probably be sentenced to death based on what kind of crime you’ve committed.

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.

Appearances can be deceiving. The Crucible exemplifies this statement at the crux of a tangled web of lies. Each and every character has a personal agenda and the constant betrayal casts a shadow of darkness over the town of Salem. This very darkness makes the people lose their reason and turn against each other. Amidst a series of persecutions, Miller has used situational, dramatic, and verbal irony to create tension and make the reader question the transparency of every motive.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials. Revealing extreme behaviors that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas within character throughout the play. The changes in some characters develop a valid theme or message in the play. A liar and deceitful person can affect people around themselves causing an uproar in the end. Throughout the story, Abigail Williams is the villainous character causing the deaths of many innocent individuals, using her manipulation and her young age to benefit her throughout the play.

Published in 1952, during a period of cold war tensions, which culminated in the ideological "witch trials" of the McCarthyism era in America; the allegorical play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is set in Salem Massechutsets, in 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials. The author has intentionally used allegory to draw parallels between the two events and invite the reader to think critically about the persecution that occurred during both time periods. One of the themes that the author has used to position the reader to recognise the immorality and idiocy of both historical events is the representation of personal integrity. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. This is achieved through strongly contrasted characterisation through characters such as Abigail Williams and Rebecca Nurse , as well as the use of textual features such as irony,symbolism, and dialogue. In the play characters can be assorted into three distinct groups: those who have completely relinquished personal integrity in favour of personal interests, Those who have good intentions, but struggle to display integrity at times and those who continuously display integrity, even when faced with harsh punishment. In "The Crucible" Miller has utilized a multitude of textual features to create characters whose personal integrity ranges from being nonexistent to exemplary. The positive characterisation of Rebecca Nurse and the conflicted but developing characterisation of John

The Crucible, a twisted playwright, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory to the McCarthy trials of the 1950’s. An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning- literal and symbolic. In an allegory the characters, events, and instances relate to real people, events, and instances. (“Definition of Allegory” R104). Characters like John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and the Court, represent real people like Arthur Miller, Joseph R. McCarthy and the organization created, the HUAC. Events like the puritans being brought into the court and John Proctor having to choose between staying to oppose the court or using his wife as leverage were similar to the accused that were brought in, as well as Miller refusing bribery. Instances when the court had no substantial proof were in comparison to the HUAC having no evidence and taking away the passports of the accused. Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to show that people in power take advantage of their authority. He wanted to teach that being under pressure and living in fear can affect the decisions that are made in everyday life and to criticize the institutions that wronged the vulnerable people during these times.