Morals In The Crucible

One definition for a crucible is “a severe test,” provided by the Merriam Webster Dictionary. As illustrated in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, few communities tested the values of mankind more than 17th century Salem, a society where a citizens’ life hung on the words uttered by his neighbor. As witchcraft hysteria quickly sweeps across the town, there are essentially two options for its inhabitants: accuse or be accused. These residents’ core principles--as well as their strong Puritan faith--are put on the line as they are forced to choose between following the crowd and staying protected, or risking their lives by fighting for justice in Salem. Miller interprets a crucible as a severe test of moral integrity through his use of figurative language and syntax, which ultimately reveals the inherent goodness of human nature; this test of honor and the prevailing uprightness of mankind is also evident in the McCarthy era in which Miller wrote the play.

Responsibility is a huge part of a person’s everyday life. Generally most people will take responsibility for their actions. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the theme of responsibility is spread positively throughout the play. The play focuses around the Salem Witch, where Abigail Williams, her friends, the Proctors and a few others are the main focus.

What is a moral dilemma? A moral dilemma is a man versus self conflict. It is when a character has to perform two different actions, but they can not perform both actions because it is not possible. Authors use moral dilemmas in their writings to retain the reader’s interest in the book or play and to have the reader ask questions. People often face many life altering choices such as right versus wrong or good versus bad. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor chooses to die because he does not want to blacken his name throughout Salem and to ruin his sons’ names when they grow up.

“The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself” (Addams). Immorality is a very subjective concept, but sometimes it is undeniable. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams is shown to be the most immoral character through her constant disregard of others throughout the different events of the story, furthering the point that when in fearful situations people will only think about themselves.

Honor and pride are two words that can easily be confused, but have vastly different intentions. The definition of honor is to regard with great respect, John Proctor from the Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays when he decides to be hanged as an honest man. On the contrary the definition of pride is to feel satisfaction from one's own accomplishments which few would debate is the reason why John would hang. In the play there are three main points why what John did was honorable rather than prideful. The first point Involves the townspeople of Salem and how he wanted to pay his respects to them and prove that what was going on was a hoax. The second point involves his religion and how he wanted to Honor God. And Final point was

“Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit” (Proverb 12:17). The Bible represented the law of the land in 1600’s Salem. Religion influenced peoples actions and dominated societal norms. Rules set out by the Bible had to be followed because anyone who breaks it gets sentenced to death. When the threat of witchcraft hit the town, mass hysteria questioned peoples character and integrity. The stories are chronicled in Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible. Marry Warren is introduced as a moral ambiguous character because of her altered involvement in Elizabeth Proctors trial. Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, provides establishing ethos, commanding logos, and decisive pathos to convey the message of integrity

If honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure, then why don't people just tell the truth? In 1938, the House Un-American Committee was created by Senator Joseph McCarthy who accused government employees of being Communists. McCarthyism had targeted not only the members of the United States Government but also the entertainers and writers. Author Miller was one of those writers.He wrote “The Crucible” to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trails, who both accused people of being what they weren't.People accused in the McCarthy Trails went through the same tests as people in the Salem Witch Trials.In the play “The Crucible”, the characters Mary Warren, John Proctor and Giles Corey all face a test of honesty, in which they either passed or failed.Mary Warren is unsuccessful in telling the truth, John Proctor cheated on his wife, and Giles Corey gets him and his wife sentenced to death.

In society, we are blind to lies that are taking place around us everyday. Small lies, big lies, lies right in front of our face, and we are oblivious to almost all of it. This is shown really well in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Throughout the play, which takes place during the witch trials that took place in Salem, lies make up a big portion of the plot. Some of these types of lies that are used are described very well in Stephanie Ericsson’s essay The Ways We Lie. These variations of lies amplify the outrage created, through McCarthyism, and the Salem Witch trials that take place in the play The Crucible.

‘The Crucible’ is a great example of morally ambiguous characters. A plethora of characters with blurry ethics exist within the world of ‘The Crucible’, this makes it difficult to distinguish who is truly good and who is evil. Arthur Miller has a fantastic approach of how he displays his characters and their moral standpoints. Adultery, lying, and even the suspicion of witchcraft, within the community brings out the worst in the townspeople. John Proctor is an example of how thin the lines are drawn between a complete Saint and a damned sinner.

The phrase “honesty is the best policy,” applies to Arthur Miller’s history-based drama, The Crucible, in a variety of ways. The accusations throughout the story build on lie after lie after lie from those trying to protect their own name, thus putting the whole town in a state of confusion and chaos. Nobody in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts knows whom to trust anymore, after all of the false allegations made. There are three characters in particular in the story that, if they had told the truth from the commencement, the town would have been in a state of peace rather than mayhem. If Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor had been honest, many innocent lives could have been spared and Salem would not be in such

In today's society, honor is something that is respected every day, but in occasions is overlooked by others. The main characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams, represent multiple types of honor. Abigail Williams shows dishonor towards the victims of Salem and towards Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor’s name is an example of honor because he doesn't want his title to be disrespected by the community for admitting to witchcraft. Honor continues to become a factor back in the 17th century and even today. In the play, “The Crucible”, honor, and dishonor are represented multiple times throughout the play.

To be admirable, one must be deserving of respect and approval. Respect and approval can be gained through a large range of goodness. In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, a large chunk of his characters are depicted as admirable. However, all have their different virtues that make them as an individual unique in their admirability.

One flaw that can always be found in society and the Crucible is hypocrisy. I chose hypocrisy because at some point in one's life, they will be a hypocrite; even if they do not realize it. The characters normalization of the extent of this flaw in the Crucible adds to the irony of the play. Mrs. Putnam is a hypocrite because she condemns Goody Osburn and Goody Good for witchcraft, when she was the one who asked Tituba to conjure spirits in the first place. Mr. Putnam acts concerned about ridding Salem of witches, when really he wants his neighbors gone so that he can buy their land and increase his wealth.

The McCarthy hearings (The Red Scare) in the 1950’s with the political issues that were happening during those years could be depicted as the 1692/93 Salem Witch Trials. Accusing people of being communists is the same as accusing people of being witches. Arthur Miller, the author of the play,The Crucible, that was based on the Salem Witch Trials is a good example of a morality play. In 1692, there were accusations against innocent people in the town of Salem. In The Crucible, a group of teens accuse others of witchcraft even though, they are trying to cover up their mistakes that had been caused. After John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams this had opened a full can of worms throughout Salem. The Crucible displays characterization and bold symbolism and is represented in good and evil morals during the Salem Witch Trials.

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, dishonesty played a role as an egotistic thing. Girls lied to save their lives and their love ones. John Proctor lied to his wife, he thought he is being deceitful to his wife and it would be better than saying the truth and hurt his wife. That’s the reason why Elizabeth get cold towards John. Mary Warren lied that John threat her to save Elizabeth. Rev. Parris lied to judges, he said he didn’t saw any of girls naked while when Mr. Hale arrived at Salem Rev. Parris told him he saw the girls dancing and he saw one girl naked. The girls started the lies and brought throughout the whole play. Girls brought up the Witchcraft Trial in Salem. The fact that fraud played a big role throughout the play, characters like Abigail & girls lied to the court, people who were charge with witchcrafts were guiltless, they’ve suffered, hanged, and died because of lies. In the whole play of The Crucible dishonesty is the number one cause of witchcraft trial, dishonesty hurt who are innocents, dishonesty breaks trust.