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Realism In The Crucible

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On a shadowy night, two figures emerge from a back door in the seemingly peaceful Puritan town of Salem. A frigid gust of wind blows, strong enough to uncover all pretenses; the girl’s white bonnet flutters while the man’s sturdy frame stands still. Suddenly, they share a kiss. As moonlight pierces the clouds, the figures are revealed to be 17-year-old Abigail Williams and 30-year-old John Proctor. Upstairs, the shadow of Elizabeth, John’s wife, flickers in the window. Though these people are real, this affair, which becomes the basis of Arthur Miller’s historical play The Crucible, is purely imaginary. In The Crucible, Miller explores the story of the 1692 Salem Witch trials. Protagonist John Proctor, a well-respected Salem farmer, struggles between his morals and his guilt about his secret affair when a jealous Abigail accuses Elizabeth in a string of witchcraft accusations that send the town into hysteria. When creating a fictional work inspired by history, authors will often need to work with and change historical facts to create an interesting protagonist with a sensational background, a heroic struggle, and an attention-capturing personality; by working with John’s relationship with Abigail and Elizabeth, his innocence to witchcraft and good reputation in contrast to his secret guilt, and his outspoken personality and other attributes in history, Miller is able to make Proctor a compelling and dramatic figure that drives the plot of The Crucible. Miller takes the

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