The Crucible And Death Of A Salesman

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores tolerance through a variety of situations all based around the accusations, and the actual Salem witch trials. Tolerance is a result of different people’s experiences, such as conflicts with each other, or themselves, the actions of the characters, and the different themes that tie into the novel. Whether it is how “witches” are taking over Salem or how adultery is ruining people’s marriages, Miller makes sure tolerance is portrayed. The tolerance that the characters have results from the commotion of the witch trials, in that everyone was waiting for the persecution of the people to benefit themselves. Therefore, the representation of tolerance is established in Arthur Miller’s play through the clear

The play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, takes issue with those in America who place too much stress upon material gain, at the expense of other, more admirable human values. Miller uses flashbacks to provide exposition, to foreshadow the upcoming tragedy, and most importantly to reveal character traits. An analysis of the main character, Willy Loman, illustrates the underlying theme that the concern over material success breaks down the bonds between men that form the basis of a smooth-functioning society.

Death of a Salesman, is a classic American masterpiece. The tragedy was written in 1949 by Arthur Miller. Miller is considered by many to be one of the greatest American playwrights of the twentieth century. Death of a Salesman, one of his most recognizable works, revolves around the Loman's life, and Willy's death, shown through his final days and series of flashbacks and illusions.

In 1949, Arthur Miller wrote a play called “The Death Of a Salesman”. This play is known for its compelling view on the mind of the middle class working man. The characters in “The Death of a Salesman” all have various dimensions of development throughout the story. These characters can all be seen as components one collective mind using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory; the Oedipal, Id, Ego, and Superego. These characters all strive for success by way of the American Dream and all of it’s inconsistent factors and betrayal that personify it so well.

What is the significance of the scene between Elizabeth and John Proctor? What does it reveal about their relationship and about their characters?

The two texts, On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan, and The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, both exhibit a protagonist that is plagued by their sins and desperately seeks redemption. Through Terry Malloy’s life on the Hoboken waterfront of 1950’s America, and John Proctor’s in the Puritan society of 1962 Salem, it is clear that the act of expiating our wrongs is demanding and difficult but finally satisfying. Both texts show similarities but also differences in how the characters have sinned and betrayed their conscience and loved ones. The taxing journey of redemption is full of obstacles in which each texts’ protagonist deals with in their own unique but alike manner. Despite these unavoidable hardships, both Proctor and Malloy ultimately receive their desired redemption and gratifying outcomes. Thus, both texts show how life’s uncertainties, confusions and wrongdoings should be dealt with humanity and a clear conscience instead of fulfilling individual needs.

Authority is the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. In society it has been something you are taught as toddler to respect authority, your elders. There are plenty of rules that as children we follow because it has been enforced in our minds that those are the rules and we must follow them. The rules do not tend to be questioned until someone disobeys them and did not think their actions were wrong. It is then that we being to question authority and resist the majority rule. No matter how unfair the laws of the governments might seem, it does not change the fact that people in society obey them. Henry Thoreau, Stanley Milgram and Martin Luther King have all considered the reasons as to why we obey authority and what the struggles of resisting majority rule may be. As a society there has come times that people themselves disobey the law and even in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the people being to resist authority. Authority may play a major role in society but when people being to come to a realization of the rules that are unjust, they being to resist and protest against them.

The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two stories both set in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. Both of these stories have many similarities between them, including setting, situations, and conflict. The two stories were also very different. The effects of sin on the characters, how they deal with their sin, and the consequences of their actions are different in each story. The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter are different works and although they deal with similar conflicts the consequences and end results are very different.

“Most people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision.” This quote by V.S Niapaul demonstrates the idea that people limit themselves. They limit themselves to there own ideas. They don’t believe in themselves. Mary Warren in The Crucible demonstrates this by not believing in herself and settling for being a “follower”. Mary however, has a sincere sense of loyalty to John Proctor her employer. Mary Warren goes through an inner battle of peer pressure and her loyalty to Proctor. Mary’s yearning to fit in and loyalty to Proctor develops the theme that peer

Savagery, insanity and murder, one would never think that “innocent” children were capable of such appalling things, but maybe we are wrong. In both Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, both of these authors wrote about children acting as just that and many characters became very similar to each other. Each society had potential in being successful, but both had major flaws that key characters discovered and then used to tear the fragile fabric that the society was built on apart. The biggest flaw in both of the societies was that they were controlled by fear; it drove them to the point of no return in which they would have never reached under normal circumstances. When the source causing people to

Most people agree that Nathaniel Hawthorne changed his last name from “Hathorne” to “Hawthorne”. This is one of the many signs that suggest that Hawthorne was ashamed of his Puritan past and tried to do anything to remove that “black mark” on his past. Furthermore, it can be seen through the themes and symbols in his play that Arthur Miller was no fan of Puritanism as well. Both Miller and Hawthorne take negative stances against Puritanism. This can be seen in their works The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter deals with the Puritan intolerance of those who committed a sin. In Hester Prynne’s situation, her adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale seemed to have sparked a particular hatred for her within her community. The Crucible deals with the Puritan fight against witchcraft. Many people in the town are accused of being witches and are forced to confess in order to save their lives. The intolerance that the Puritans show to witchcraft symbolize Miller’s complete dislike of Puritanism and their strictness. Both Miller and Hawthorne’s negative views on Puritanism are strongly seen in their respective works of literature. Also, both authors seem to think that the outsider is treated quite brutally. Miller’s take on the Puritan way of forgiveness of sins is somewhat painless compared to Hawthorne’s version of forgiveness. Hawthorne’s novel highlights hypocrisy and its detrimental impact. Miller similarly writes about hypocrisy and how it can destroy society as a

Power is something that every human would like to acquire. The desire to earn power can be so important for some individuals that they use violence to acquire it. Violence can often cause jealousy, greed and hatred for each another. It is the violence of many humans that can lead them into doing such “unforgivable” acts. In both the plays, William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller with their famous novels, The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible, have shown how Grudges and Rivalries can cause such destruction in the lives of the people and the society in this play.

In Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses his leading female characters to express the subservient gender roles of the 1950’s. We see these women fall victim to the roles society sets for them multiple times throughout the plays. Arthur Miller uses his characters to accentuate his views on 1950’s social structure. In Death of a Salesman Linda Loman, Willy’s wife, wasn't aware her husband was having an affair.

In Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, Arthur Miller is commenting on the faulty American Dream and the glass ceiling. Through the actions of Willy Loman and John Proctor, Miller shows us that society limits the distance you can travel and causes people to poor decision, no matter how hard you work.

The Crucible and Death of a Salesman are both written by Arthur Miller in the the 1950’s. During the the 1950’s the Cold War was going on and had impacted American society. Because of the Cold War, the Red Scare began in America which was a widespread fear of communists. This lead to McCarthyism, or the process of making accusations of treason and subversion without evidence to back it up, which caused many people to be accused a communist unfairly. These events during this time period influenced literature and media heavily and is definitely present in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. Also, many elements of these two pieces of literature are similar due to the time period in which they were written. The common theme of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and The Crucible is deception, more specifically he is trying to spread a message that deception causes problems, which is still important and relevant today. Arthur Miller portrays this through the characters of Willy Loman and John Proctor, and more explicitly through their deaths.