Examples Of Radicalism In The Crucible

In this essay I will talk about two main central ideas. First, some people accuse innocent people for witchery. Secondly, there is a lot of hatred in the town of Salem.

People believe that actions happen for many different reasons and tend to blame others before themselves. Some believe that the devil is doing the work in the body of someone else, and some believe that the devil does not, and some even believe in witchcraft. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, nineteen innocent people are hung for accusations of performing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of young girls go out into the woods which is forbidden in Salem. They are sent into a frenzy when the town’s reverend, Parris, spots them dancing in the woods. The girls are led by Abigail Williams, a young teenage girl who lives with her uncle, reverend Parris. Abigail is not the most truthful girl, which ends up causing 19 innocent people their lives. Previous to these events, Abigail was a servant in the Proctor household, but was sent off after Elizabeth Proctor found out about the affair between Abigail and her husband, John Proctor. In Abigail’s case the more lies she told, the more lives she ended.

In The Crucible, Rev. Hale comes to Salem in order to evaluate the town as its spiritual doctor. When speaking to John and Elizabeth Proctor, Hale uses a metaphor pertaining to theology. “Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small”(ACT II). Hale refers to theology being a fortress, any little crack or sin affects the structure of the community. One small accusation of witchcraft in Salem sent to whole town in hysteria. Another analogy the reader may take from this quote is the religious fidelity in the town. The people of Salem are taken over by their religion, resulting in a paranoia that the town is taken over by the devil; they do not look for other logical explanation such as natural illness. In the courtroom, Judge Danforth expresses that he will do anything in his power to uncover the truth behind this mess. He states “we burn a hot fire here, it melts down all concealment" (ACT II). Danforth uses a metaphor comparing the courtroom to a crucible that will melt down the lies and expose the truth. This metaphor shows how the atmosphere of accusation, condemnation, hysteria, and paranoia made it possible for the Salem Witch Trials to happen, just like the the fiery hell inside a crucible. Danforth reminds the readers that accusation and condemnation are prevalent in the Puritan

In 1964 kitty genovese was stabbed and raped near her hapartment in kew gardens, queens while more than 30 people stood by and watched as the murderer left repeatedly and came back to “ finish the job”. No one called the police.This is the bystander effect when individuals do not offer help to a victim when numerous other people are present,because they feel like the other person will call or help and no one ever does. Social conformity is a type of influence that results in a change of behavior or belief in order to fit in with a group. This is not a new issue we have seen examples of this in The salem witchcraft trials, and the red scare this shows people will often conform to what society deems as acceptable to avoid persecution from their peers,despite the strain it puts on their moral and ethical values.

In any community, the people rely on the power of law and justice to protect them. When the guardians of the law and order misuse their power it brings tragedy upon the town. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the inappropriate actions of the character of Judge Danforth, the voice of authority of the community leads to the tragedy of social disruption of the town accompanied by breakdown in communal solidarity.

Does power corrupt the mind of individuals? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, power played a tremendous role in the Salem witch trials, which caused chaos and terror. Abigail Williams used the witch trials to her advantage by striking fear into people with the ability to accuse them of witchcraft. When Danforth, the deputy governor of Massachusetts, arrived to Salem, he was given judicial power that would affect Salem’s courthouse and as well Salem’s society. Danforth had the ability to make the decisions in court without any question, and he could also sentence anyone believed to be a “witch” to death. Abigail and her friends, a group of girls who want to protect themselves from being accused, also obtained a significant power after the Salem witch trials. They are able to accuse anyone they want of witchcraft with almost no question, since they have the court officials’ sympathy. These powerless individuals in Salem were strengthened by the Salem witch trials,

In “The Crucible” Arthur Miller made the plot develops through the conflicts by using high tension and climaxes. He ends each of the four acts with a climax. In addition, he allowed the protagonist to develop throughout the acts. “The Crucible” has many internal and external conflicts. The major external conflict is John Proctor trying to save his wife from being hanged by the town officials for supposedly being a witch. The major internal conflict is John trying to decide between saving himself and family from being hanged, or accept the death penalty for false accusations against him. The main conflict sharply differentiated good and evil as John Proctor, the protagonist of the play is faced with the

Out with the old and in with the new, transcendentalists’ began rejecting old Puritan and Calvinist ideas, these old ideas are deeply imbedded in the minds of the people of Salem. During the witch trails instead rejected these old ideas they were clung to. However, transcendentalists’ rejected these old ideas, thus making themselves individuals and optimistic, and by rejecting such they expressed their emotions and saw God through nature rather than the strict guild lines of the church. A protagonist of transcendentalism would accept these ideas.

The Crucible was written in 1952 by Arthur Miller and was first performed as play on January 22, 1953 in the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway. The setting of the book is Salam, Massachusetts in 1692-93 and the characters are all Puritan colonists. One of the main characters is Giles Corey, an 83-year-old hotheaded farmer who is married to his third wife. Throughout the book we see many characters have some role in groupthink and Giles is no exception. Groupthink is the tendency of decision making groups to suppress opposing opinions in the interest of group harmony (Hill, “Groupthink”). In Arthur Millers, The Crucible, Miller depicts Giles Corey as a character who was a follower of groupthink then someone who had no part in it by showing how he changed throughout the book in order to prove Miller’s belief that different circumstances change people.

Martin Luther King, Jr once commented:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 introduces us a story of this kind that injustice brought by a character named Danforth brings the social malfunction of Salem accompanied by a breakdown of humanity and faith which destroys the interpersonal trust, social relationships and even many lives of many Salem residents. Obviously, when the structures become shackles and the judges mute off their voice of the truth, it leads the affliction and misery to the people. In our modern society, the public requires the power and presence of a fair justice system to protect their rights and convince, punish the offenders.

Theocracy is defined as a system of government ruled by a priest in the name of god. Whereas Democracy is the whole population has a voice and a vote. In the crucible, varies examples show up throughout the book. I however, am going to focus on Salem.The main issues theocracy is systems like democracies check and balance fail due to one outlook. Rules become based on the church's views, which then leads to moral and immoral judgements.

There are many strategies that an individual can use to maintain and establish power over the majority, both negative and positive. Many of the characters in The Crucible use these tactics throughout the play to give themselves an advantage with regard to their place in the community. Some of the characters include Abigail, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Cheever, and Danforth. The individuals are able to establish and maintain power over the majority by using fear, logic, and authority.

The human mind is far more complex than humans themselves realize. We lie, cheat, deceive, betray, riot, and attack based on either good reasons or irrational panic that set in after something unique defies the laws of what is considered normal. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the idea that misguided motives lead to decisions that wrong others by fearing what they don’t understand.

:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, said by Martin Luther King, Jr. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 introduces us a story of this kind that injustice brought by a character named Danforth brings the social malfunction of Salem accompanied by a breakdown of humanity and faith. In our modern society, the public requires the power and presence of laws and justice system to protect their rights. However, when the structures become shackles and the judges mute off their voice of the truth, it leads the tragedy and misery to the people.

One of the strongest themes in Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” is the compelling and conspicuous concept of the individual vs. authority and society as a whole. This subject is inevitable in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 because of the impending idea of theocracy, in which God or a divinity is acknowledged as the utmost municipal ruler and the laws of that certain deity are carried out by ordained clerical authorities. A villager in Salem would not dare to overstep his or her boundaries by claiming to partake in another faith or doctrine than the Puritan creed, unless he or she had no apprehension to accusations of witchcraft. In this jealous Puritan village, uniformity is sustained by the suppression of individuality.