Human Society Problems in Nathaniel Hawthrone´s The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Miller´s The Crucible, and Ilmar Raay´s Klass

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.

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

     Hester with society also proves to be a strongly feministic aspect of The Scarlet Letter. Hester, as a female sinner, throughout the book, proves not to be a burden on society. Although she is an outcast, many find it hard to not admire the way she holds herself, especially due to the situation she is in. The admiration grows as the story continues. At first, the main admiration for Hester is her skill with the needle. Many of the townspeople regard Hester’s work as the latest trend. “Her

Try to imagine being charged with a crime, being placed under arrest and given a fair trial by a jury of your peers. Also imagine that you’re in the 17th century. This drastic time change makes all the difference because of the different ideologies and beliefs of the time period. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible both take place at a time in our nation’s history that is much studied for its significance. These were times when America was just beginning to become colonized. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible teach the readers vital information about the time period in which these texts take place.

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies and injustice of the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. The restrictive Puritan society of Salem in the 17th century was based upon religious intolerance, where faith was demonstrated through physical labour and by strict adherence to religious doctrine. Material, physical and sexual desires were considered the Devil’s work and a threat to the very fabric of society. In summary, it is said that Puritanism discouraged individualism on all levels. The literal way in which the Bible was interpreted by the Puritans, provides a paradox within the play. This is because although the Bible says “thou shalt not kill,” the people of Salem are willing to sentence innocent

“Like So many things its is not what's outside, but what is inside that counts,” This quote comes the movie Aladdin and it is represented in many things, simple, and complex. The quote comes from the merchant and the quote describes the theme as when an individual gains enough “greed”, they disguise themselves in order to gain their desire, and can be used to describe evil and good, just like lucifer, he was in disguise of an angel but his true motives came up and down he fell, or the soldiers fighting for us, on the outside they look like the average joe but they have seen things you can't even handle and they do it for our country. This is true for all three works in the essay, in two of the the works the greed is used for evil and in one the greed is used for good. In the first work of art, Scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we see an antagonist named Roger Chillingworth try to seek revenge on the protagonists lover. Roger seeks revenge on the protagonist, Hester Prynee, because the protagonist is his wife and she committed adultery. In the novel Scarlet letter it begins with a lecher on top of a scaffold with a baby in her arms, it is revealed that she is an adulterer. She committed adultery while her husband was away on a trip, and while she is on the scaffold she notices him in the crowd. There are ministers who try to get the name of the father but Hester refuses to reveal his name. She goes on a journey of trying to keep the father hidden and wear the burden

The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two stories both set in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. Both of these stories have many similarities between them, including setting, situations, and conflict. The two stories were also very different. The effects of sin on the characters, how they deal with their sin, and the consequences of their actions are different in each story. The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter are different works and although they deal with similar conflicts the consequences and end results are very different.

Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.

Ever since the beginning, in the regards to the biblical belief system, sin has plagued the world. Ever since the woman named Eve took the apple, sin has said existed. Sin has become a ruling factor in certain communities, at the time of the Romans, some sin was considered punishable by death. In the years of the 1500s, a group emerged calling themselves the Puritans. They based their everyday lives around the avoidance of sin. So when one committed a sin he/she was punished. Death, torture, beatings, and public shaming. Shame, it's to have painful feelings of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. The e of shame is seen many times throughout the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both tell stories of men plagued by their sin of adultery and what they do to deal with the guilt they have brought upon themselves. The two go through trials and tribulations, but in the end seem to come to terms with their sin and consequences. But also realize how they've grown from the experience.

This strictly focuses on the author, instead of a crowd or a room. An experience that is especially notable is the discovery of the scarlet letter. We witness an unbiased man who is unaware of the situation taking note of the letter and it has a strange effect on the reader in that the reader hasn't thought of it without bias. The author explains in regards to the letter " it had been wrought with wonderful skill of needlework and the stitch gives evidence of a forgotten art" (Hawthorne, 296). Starting this book with little background other than the letter means adultery and sex and seeing it described out of context as beautiful and skillful creates a new tone to the rest of the story; it causes the reader to be more open to true symbolism of what the letter actually means. The author's main attitude towards the Puritans are they are hearty God fearing people. He describes them as ruddy, broad, and well developed unlike Hester whom he describes as elegant, ladylike, and feminine (Hawthorne, 4 and 7). This immediately creates a divide between Hester and the Puritan women and also casts Hester as an outsider. This is because she doesn't fit within the majority of women

Most people agree that Nathaniel Hawthorne changed his last name from “Hathorne” to “Hawthorne”. This is one of the many signs that suggest that Hawthorne was ashamed of his Puritan past and tried to do anything to remove that “black mark” on his past. Furthermore, it can be seen through the themes and symbols in his play that Arthur Miller was no fan of Puritanism as well. Both Miller and Hawthorne take negative stances against Puritanism. This can be seen in their works The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter deals with the Puritan intolerance of those who committed a sin. In Hester Prynne’s situation, her adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale seemed to have sparked a particular hatred for her within her community. The Crucible deals with the Puritan fight against witchcraft. Many people in the town are accused of being witches and are forced to confess in order to save their lives. The intolerance that the Puritans show to witchcraft symbolize Miller’s complete dislike of Puritanism and their strictness. Both Miller and Hawthorne’s negative views on Puritanism are strongly seen in their respective works of literature. Also, both authors seem to think that the outsider is treated quite brutally. Miller’s take on the Puritan way of forgiveness of sins is somewhat painless compared to Hawthorne’s version of forgiveness. Hawthorne’s novel highlights hypocrisy and its detrimental impact. Miller similarly writes about hypocrisy and how it can destroy society as a

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.

Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. Though she has been banished for committing adultery, she sees that the community needs her. Through her generous accomplishments the community realizes she is a person who, regardless of her sin, can affect the community in a positive way.

The Scarlet Letter uses perspective effectively to encourage a consideration of hierarchies and power in the puritan society, as well as their patriarchal views. The novel tells of a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is shunned, vilified and outcast by the puritan community after being charged with the sin of adultery. Hester doesn’t show resentment towards the town necessarily, instead we see her rejection of formalised religion and the strict, oppressive puritanic views and values. Hester is in a state of disempowerment for the majority of the text, she is othered and viewed as merely more than that of her gender and her sin by the townspeople. The dominant culture was that of older, authoritative male figures, who led the town unchallenged and in both a patriarchal and oppressive manner.

In the 1950’s Arthur Miller wrote a play, The Crucible, and set it in Salem during early colonization. In The Crucible, John Proctor has an affair with a young woman named Abigail Williams. However, John decides it is time to end things with Abigail, because of this she seeks revenge and spirals the town into madness in search of a “witch”. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter , minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Hester Prynne a young widow have a love affair and Hester becomes pregnant. Hester is forced to wear a red “A” on the front of her dress. Hester’s “dead” husband reappears and is set on finding out who Pearl’s father is. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter share similar themes about internal conflict.