The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller expresses themes such as superstition, malice, and injustice. The book compares the unfair times in the 1950s to the Salem Witch Trials. Women were falsely accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. The people in Salem believed the devil roamed somewhere within the town. Rivalries between neighbors were taken advantage of. People were accused by others who wanted their land or other belongings. Once one was accused, they either had to admit to witchcraft or be executed. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller addresses the themes of superstition, malice, and injustice in a way that indicates society’s tendency to believe everything they hear. Superstition is quite a big part of The Crucible. The townspeople believe the men and women accused are witches and should be executed. Giles Corey told Hale about the books his wife had read. He is suspicious of them because she hides the books and refuses to tell Giles what they are about (Miller 41). This suspicion is not meant to harm Martha Corey in any way, but it does come back to haunt Giles when Martha is arrested for witchcraft. ““I’m not sayin’ she’s touched the Devil, now, but I’d admire to know what books she reads and why she hides them”” (Miller 41). Back at the Proctor’s house, it is clear Elizabeth and Proctor are having issues. Abigail and Proctor had an affair. Elizabeth asks Proctor to speak against Abigail, but he seems to be against the idea. Elizabeth believes Proctor still has
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible focuses on the Salem Witch Trials along with the pointing of fingers that went along with it. Miller wrote this to reflect upon what was occurring during the Red Scare in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The Crucible is written in an ironic and cynical tone mocking the Red Scare.
In The Crucible, those accused of witchcraft face the most severe tests of faith and character, yet due to their deep faith and integrity, they pass these tests. Many of the accused in the play are some of the most upstanding and respected citizens of Salem, including Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, and John and Elizabeth Proctor. However, they still face scrutiny and
“As the most dangerous inmates, the witches were kept in the dungeons. These were perpetually dark, bitterly cold, and so damp that water ran down the walls” (Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials). Throughout the late 1600s, the accusations of witchcraft in Salem became a common thread. Over 200 people were accused and more than twenty were hanged. The idea of empowerment was altered when girls of Salem made profound accusations against well known people of the town. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, portrays the empowerment of characters that forever affected the lives of people in Salem through rhetorical questions, pathos, and imagery.
Arthur Miller based his novel, The Crucible, on a true set of events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1692. Salem had become a town where neighbors and enemies would blame each other of witchcraft, without actual evidence to support their accusations. Most of the accusations led to the victim being guilty. If the Puritans thought you were guilty, you had to either confess or be hanged. The Puritans believed that if you confessed, God would forgive you, which suggests the way of life for the Puritans. The Puritans were big believers of God and the bible. They believed that no one should commit sins, but if you confessed God would forgive you. The great belief in the bible insinuated the start of witchcraft and superstitions, because the bible expresses how one should not live with a witch. The Puritans also had no way to explain the unnatural things that occurred around them, since they weren’t as smart, that’s why they turned to blaming “witches” and
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.
Misunderstanding and ignorance pave the path to fear. Fear engraves itself onto the human brain and turns into hate. These factors caused mayhem and chaos throughout the globe, leading to the Salem witch trials in 1692 and the Cold War during the 20th century. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a work which discusses the witch trials of Salem village, a time in which innocent villagers were persecuted by their fellows under false accusations. In doing so, the work exemplified the effects of tension and hysteria, in a period of utter chaos.
In Arthur Millers book The Crucible it talks about the Salem witch trial. The Salem witch trials. Many innocent people died during the trial. The Puritans were not the smartest people ever the believed the devil lived in the woods. They also believed everything that they where told or heard. There where many superstitious believes through the time which still are believed by some people. Some of the people of Salem had different believes in things then others. Through out the book you see three types of superstitions. The story includes a rabbit ,salt and charm's all different types of superstitions.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a famous play which was written in the early 1950’s. The Crucible is a play based upon the events in 1692, which led to the ‘Salem Witch Trials’, a series of hearings before local magistrates to prosecute over 150 people accused of witchcraft. This was due to the hysteria caused by a group of girls accusing innocent people of witch craft. The play was set in Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Salem was a very isolated and puritanical community, so their biggest fear was the devil and witchcraft. A person being accused of witchcraft was the worst thing possible in this society.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was a historical play written about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The Salem witch trials created mass hysteria throughout the entire village of Salem, which was also mainly inhabited by Puritans. Puritans had a set ideal of firm beliefs that managed how they lived. Essentially, they were living as an elect, which meant they (referring to the Puritans) had a place in heaven for the righteous acts they have done in the physical world. Meaning, any sinful acts could potentially hinder the chances of entering heaven as an elect. The Crucible, questioned everything the Puritans abided by. It questioned the basic morals of a pure lifestyle, adultery and
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a tragic story of injustice suffered by an innocent community who are subjected to the hypocritical, prideful judges of their trial. These Judges use their power to eliminate evidence of their mistakes and return their community to puritanical ways. The leaders of Salem are not concerned with seeking the truth and justice, but with maintaining their authority and reputations; this objective leads them to consistently rejecting truth, against all logic and evidence of their senses.
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.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller wrote about the puritans and their superstitions. The puritans were scared of everything. They believed that the devil lived in the forest, so they were forbidden to go there. They believed that if something could not be explained then the devil caused it. The Crucible had many superstitions take place but I'm identifying the use of charms, the number of seven, and a rabbit's foot.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical play set in 1962 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. As you may know, you've all placed your trust in the words and actions of someone close to you. And what do they do? They betray you! It's rarely justified, and can happen to the best of us. Based on authentic records of witchcraft trials in the seventeenth-century this play explains how a small group of girls manage to create a massive panic in their town by spreading accusations of witchcraft. These rumors in turn are the causes that many citizens are hung for. This essay will show how the lies and betrayal of a few individuals eventually leads to the downfall of Salem and its society.
The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court
In the story ¨The Crucible¨ there are many examples of fear leading to superstition then leading to loss of logic. Some examples of superstition in the story are people getting accused of witchcraft for reading, being in possession of poppets (dolls), or just not confessing. People in the story are wrongfully accused and killed because people had lost their logic from being so afraid of witchcraft. They looked for any possible way to accuse anybody, and would believe anyone who would blame somebody. Even if the accusation doesn´t make sense, there was so much fear and hysteria leading people to believe anything. The first example in the story about superstition is when Giles Corey is having a conversation