Personal Rivalries In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

he mood and situtation that he was in. At the end (Act ]I[) John Proctor was

Reverend Parris is exceedingly acquisitive as evidence by his actions towards the community of Salem. Within Act I Parris’ greedy attitude and selfish motives are brought forward and highlighted throughout stage directions, dialogue of the play, the way others react to him, and his feelings towards Betty. Although the minister of the church, he is disliked and prides himself on his reputation. Parris’ caustic attitude and monetary greed is evident to lead him to his downfall. He describes himself as “...not some preaching farmer with a book under [his] arm; [he is] a graduate of Harvard College” and assumes that the people of the village care about his education status (29).

Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by

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.

It is 1692 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts; fear and hysteria are running rampant. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the residents of Salem are allowing their grudges and personal rivalries to distract themselves from the truth. The witch trials are escalating, more and more people are being accused, and the tensions are high. The Putnams have different motivations and grudges that are driving the accusations. Ann Putnam is using the trials to harm the women she deems responsible for the deaths of her seven children. In contrast, Thomas Putnam is driven by his greed for wealth and land to accuse those he is envious of. A young girl, Abigail Williams, is a devious teenager seeking revenge on the innocent wife of her past lover.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the witch trials in Salem were a devastating time. The entire community was in disorder and chaos because of personal vengeance. This included accusations of innocent town’s people being called witches, so they hanged and were jailed. Throughout the play certain characters help the rise of witchcraft as well as the disapproval of all the innocent people who were being convicted for no reason. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character whom comes to rid of the evil spirits in Salem, yet he later tries to end the trials. Hale realizes the accusations are false, attempts to postpone the hangings, and persuade the victims to lie conveys that he is a dynamic character and changes throughout the play.

As stated by the great Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” (braniyquotes.com). Burke’s words are proven true in many facets of the human experience. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, a shift of power is portrayed through Abigal’s sly manipulation. Arthur Miller takes a historical context, that of the Salem Witch Trials, and shows how simple actions can alter the course of history. The disintegration of an orderly Puritan society into one that is governed by chaos and hysteria is caused by a radical change in the normally male dominated power by a woman whose pride has been bruised.

“Hale: Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws away for pride” (206). Reverend Hale’s eye-opening words make Elizabeth realize that John Proctor should do the right thing for God, even if that includes lying. This quote relates to the Salem witch trials because during this time, the court was getting involved with the town, so everybody had to constantly tell the truth. Overall, the play gives a feeling of the Salem witch trials by using facts and events relevant to the time period. On a similar topic, Arthur Miller feels that everybody is vindictive, manipulating, and betraying each other; therefore, Miller uses his troublesome experience to commemorate the demeaning investigations of witches. Miller’s high disapproval of the American government, especially how the court handles situations, is greatly represented in his play. The characters change throughout the story, and they start to realize that it is not all about what the government wants for their life. They soon enough start thinking and speaking for themselves which leads to big decisions and disapproval from the American government. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he artistically manipulates the authentic facts of the Salem witch trials’ victim John Proctor to fiction in order to similarly represent his interrogation during the Red Scare while also putting a spin on the trials through his style, characterization and tone.

A man 's reputation in many forms is his, life’s work. To have your reputation dismantled is like taking away one 's accomplishments and life’s work. Arthur Miller 's The Crucible is a play about justice and injustice, and how our justice system can be easily corrupted. The story revolves around a man named John Proctor, the tragic hero of this story. John Protector is a symbolic character created by Arthur Miller, because he faced the justice system head on. Proctor’s biggest flaw would be his great amounts of pride, which unfortunately led to his own death. In Arthur Millers’ The Crucible, he characterizes John Proctor as the tragic hero of the story because of all that he lost, through his relentless crusade to free his wife and exposing injustice, illustrating that no hero is perfect.

A ‘crucible’ is an object in which substances are combined and then subjected to high temperatures. Arthur Miller uses this theme to guide “The Crucible” from the exposition, when Puritan girls danced in the woods, to Proctor’s death by the hangman’s noose. Hale and Danforth are closely intertwined in their beliefs and views at the beginning of the play, but, as tensions and temperatures rise, they begin to separate; ultimately ending with contrary beliefs. In the opening scenes, Hale and Danforth are present in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 to cast out demons and witches. When the final curtain falls at the end of Act Four, Hale recognizes that the Salem Witch Trials were a result of repressed emotions and conflicts, and the desire to express them under the pretext of witchcraft. Danforth cannot and will not recognize this fact. Thus, Miller develops the characters of Hale and Danforth into foils for each other by the end of the novel; the growing tension is made evident through dialogue, character development, and through the theme of pride.

Despite the fact that the theme of insiders and outsiders is a commonality worldwide, most people do not think about it enough and how affects so many different communities. In order to obtain balance, there should be both insiders and outsiders. The insiders are there to support the greater public opinion while the outsiders are there to question the rules and laws which helps maintain diversity. Lastly, standards and overall trends greatly regulate what is normal and what is not. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, although the Puritan town of Salem is supposed to be a united community under God, the strict societal norms and harsh expectations creates a major division between insiders and outsiders which ultimately forces many accepted members to become shut out as the culture progressively develops further from normality.

 The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play that takes place in the sixteen nineties during the famous but tragic witch trials. The entire community is in pandemonium yet certain characters are also fighting internal conflicts. Miller uses three characters that manifest this internal battle ever so clearly: Mary Warren whose whole world turns upside down, John Proctor who must weigh the importance of his family against his reputation and Reverend Hale who must decide whether to do his job, or do what he knows to be right. 

Arthur Miller is considered one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century. He has written many acclaimed plays, including The Crucible. Written in 1953, The Crucible uses the historical perspective of the Salem Witch Trials which took place between 1962 and 1963. A lot of the inspiration for the events that take place in the play were from the McCarthyism era that was taking place at the time. It is evident that The Crucible is a critical look at the way the Communist hunt was handled, and used the hysteria and madness of the witch trials to show how history repeats itself. The relationship between men and women and the way the woman in the society is treated is also a prominent theme throughout the play.

Grudges are held in the hope of gaining something from said grudge. In The Crucible, several characters hold grudges for various reasons. Almost all of these characters want revenge for what was done to them. They all achieve revenge by accusing someone of witchcraft, causing the Salem Witch Trials. The Witch Trials were thought to be simply religious, but the accusations come from envy and grudges.

Reverend Samuel Parris is motivated to sustain his reputation because he took years to build up his name. Some of the folks already see him as unfit as the reverend. Having the assumption that there are sinful practices taking place under his roof, he, at first, denies the involvement of witchcraft with the odd behavior Betty displays. However, when a majority of the townspeople believe in the involvement of witchery. He does not want his name and reputation to be tarnished due to witchcraft, so he plays along and supports Betty’s and Abigail’s accusations. He uses Tituba as a scapegoat to divert the suspicion towards him. Parris threatens to whip Tituba if she does not confess that she has dealings with the Devil, and pushes her to her breaking point. Parris is motivated to uphold his reputation and tries to divert the possible blame and suspicion towards him to