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Literary Criticism In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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Erin Sheehy
Borkowski
Crucible Literary Essay

The Crucible, a play about the Salem witch trials, was written by Arthur Miller in 1952 . The plot of the play focuses on a man, John Proctor, and his struggle to prove his family’s and his own innocence. One of the play’s main antagonists, Deputy Governor Danforth, oversees the witch trials and refuses to end them until everyone who he believes is guilty is punished. In his criticism, Phillip Walker questions the purpose of Miller’s writing and is unsure if the writing was meant to be a symbolic representation of McCarthyism, or if it was just meant to be a tragic story. Phillip Walker is correct when he states that the intent of The Crucible is unclear, as elements of both a political allegory and a personal tragedy are present in Arthur Miller’s writing. …show more content…

Witch hunting is well known because of the Puritans of the seventeenth century and their famed witch hunt. Walker then moves on to give information about some characters and the plot of The Crucible. He introduces John Proctor as “a philosophical liberal who was victimized by the witch hunt because of his more or less conscious opposition to Puritanism” (Walker 301-302). Proctor’s guilt after having an affair with Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl who caused the witch hunts to begin. Abigail, Walker writes, is prompted to accuse people of being witches because of her love for Proctor, her love of power, and her hatred of people of power, such as the judges. Although in real history the judges and accusers acted in fear and ignorance, they acted in hatred throughout the course of the play. The main point of the criticism is

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