Fear In The Crucible

As represented in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, fear played an important role and is exploited by the characters in the play. The Crucible beings with a group of girls accusing people of witchcraft for their selfish benefit.Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to inflict pain , or a threat. Fear is an emotion that is capable of overtaking and controlling one’s state of mind and well being. However , fear can be used as a motivation factor. Fear influenced these people to take extreme measures and act irrationally. Additionally, fear is a master of suffering capable of haunting those who patronize it Moreover, in The Crucible this erratic emotion causes people to fear being labeled

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was- and still is- a commentary upon the dangers of community hysteria. While the play was originally written to call out the McCarthy hearings as morally wrong; It's morals and lessons are still useful in modern times. The Crucible speaks to a fear that is instilled in everyone: fear of the unknown. In terms of the play, the unknown is represented by witchcraft. During the Mccarthy hearings, the fear was the rising Communist party. In modern times, the unknown is ever changing, with new fears coming down upon American society daily: terrorism, lgbtq, sexual harassment, & racism. The play’s main theme- to be aware of the danger of societal fears of the unknown- has the ability to resonate with any audience of

Fear is a common human emotion, but the way some people react is different than others. Although, it is harder on some humans unlike other people. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,” Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” I think that means that fear harms more people than anything else does in the whole world. Also that people can scare themselves way easier than normal and it’s not healthy.

At times, fear motivates people to behave unscrupulously. Personal fears instigate some characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible to cry witch. Reverend Parris fears losing his job, Abigail fears prosecution and losing John Proctor, and Tituba fears physical retribution. Fear induces people to defend their personal whims and use their power to harm others.

Abby, an average, rebellious teenager, lives her day-to-day life as one might expect. She ignores authority when she is around her friends, keeps secrets, and gets out of trouble by using the outcasts of the school as scapegoats. She seems to have an air of authority and coolness that everyone wants, but little do they know that she is just trying her best to fit in. Some people might say that Abby’s whole life is influenced by the fear of fitting in. In the play The Crucible, there are also many characters who are motivated by fear. This play is about the Salem witch trial and how the conditions escalated to the point that 17 people died. Although some people say fear doesn’t have a big influence on people’s actions, fear is the greatest motivator of human behavior.

There are many things that can trigger fear in someone’s mind. Evil is a type of fear that causes adrenaline to rush through a reader’s heart, muscles to tense and can be distributed in so many different ways. In “The Crucible” fear is enclosed in many lies and in false accusations, but in the story “Young Goodman Brown” fear travels through the forest late at night. In The Crucible Abigail Williams is a brilliant mastermind behind the horrifying images in the minds of the ignorant people in Salem. She was attacking the innocent, and John Proctor was the weakest of all. He had committed adultery with Abigail and was prone to being tormented by her, because she keeps a secret he could never bare to confess. People fear for their lives and just follow along to prevent from being hanged. In “Young Goodman Brown” we see how Goodman leaves his wife, in order to meet someone

Fear: a simple word with an abundance of meanings. To one, fear can be losing a loved one and to another it can be being alone for their entire life. Ghandi once claimed that the enemy of every soul is not hate, but fear itself. This enemy, however, can be derived from hate, for everything you loathe is the reason for your distress. Taking the Salem Witch Trial as an example, fear portrayed an enormous role in the lives of many. During the time period of 1692 to 1693, fear controlled an entire village by manipulation and hatred. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible perfectly captures how fear is exploited by characters in the play because these characters used their hatred towards others to build up horror in the sacred town of Salem. Although this classic novel was written over fifty years ago, Miller touched on timeless societal fears that still apply to the existing world today. As seen through Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, fear can prompt people to denounce their beliefs in order to save their own lives, prevent their reputation from being tarnished, and it can make one take extreme measures in order to protect the ones they love.

Martin Niemöller once said,“First they came for the communists, but I was not a communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” The culture of accusations is a part of hysteria. As paranoia ensued in “The Crucible”, Joseph McCarthy made false allegations that influenced many peoples lives. An affair integrated in Arthur Miller’s play created controversy among the community. Trials were held for those accused and lying was the only way to survive. The harsh truth that was revealed in “The Crucible” and the parallels between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials show patterns in which fear was used as an advantage, unsubstantiated claims occurred, and unethical punishments were given.

Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” in 1952 and about forty years later explained his purpose in an article titled “Why I Wrote the Crucible.” Miller expresses some of the emotions he went through as his book gained popularity saying, “I remember those years...but I have lost the dead weight of the fear I had then. Fear doesn't travel well; just as it can warp judgment, its absence can diminish memory's truth.” At first, he refers to fear as dead weight as if it was useless but still pulling him down but then he explains the importance of fear. He claimed that fear can warp our judgement which seems realistic because when people are in a situation the causes fear they are known to take out of the ordinary action. Miller also suggests that fear is a crucial part of our memory and without fear our memories can fade and the truth of the issue as well. Miller was likely fearful of the

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. Our own emotions, especially fear, make us do the things we never saw ourselves doing. In the play “The Crucible” many of the characters actions are driven by fear. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. This emotion doesn’t have to control our actions.

If there is one thing that is impossible to escape in modern society, it is fear. Whether it be advertisers using frightful hypotheticals to sell a product, or politicians instilling panic into the citizens in order earn themselves a few extra votes, fear is found everywhere and anytime. With this in mind, it is no surprise that the use of fear seeps into the literature of the times, especially when the content of the work has a basis in real events from the past. Fear is an effective motivator as evidenced by the characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible.

Fear, An Unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something or someone is dangerous. Hysteria, exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion. Revenge, The action of inflicting pain or harm to another after they have caused damage to you. All of these emotion play a huge part of the Crucible, these emotions cause characters to lie, and make decisions that can change the life of them of people around them, sometimes good most times bad. Emotions can play a big part in life or death situations like we saw in the Crucible.

Fear influences people to make irrational choices and to take extreme measures, for Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor, she was one of the many characters influenced from her fear which caused her to take extreme measures for her husband. When Elizabeth was asked to testify in court about John committing lechery she only did what she thought was right for him “DANFORTH. To your own knowledge has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery?Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!

Throughout the play, fear played an important role and often ended in persecution. Tituba, a slave, was a woman who entertained the children in the town. She was accused of witchcraft due to this and had to get out of it somehow. Out of fear and in the midst of being beaten, she decided to admit to the accusation although flip it around, blaming others, specifically homeless woman, who would be easy targets. Another time fear was apparent was when Mary, a nervous girl working for the proctor household, accused John proctor to save herself.

Faith and fear both can drive a person over the edge. This is demonstrated throughout the entire play. Fear drove many people such as Abigail to accuse others of witchcraft because she actually committed it and just wants to get the attention off of her so she does not get killed for her crime. Faith has a similar effect on this event because Abigail is not afraid of the devil, she danced with him and caused this whole mess. Another way she created a terrible sin is when she told the audience about her affair with John Proctor by saying these words.”I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” (Page 471)This quote sets the tone of sin for the entire rest of the play. Fear did not play an extremely big part in this outburst, but faith did. John was afraid of people hearing this and his name would be ruined and that is not good for a holy puritan man like John. Fear and faith may not be visible but they can be the biggest player in life. The play outlines this ion a perfect historical way. It is very sad to think of all the innocent people that were hung for no reason. It is almost just as important to understand why history did this. Fear and Faith caused one of the craziest set of trials of all time. This is how fear and faith may be different by definition but cause the same effects in people's