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The Crucible Essay On Fear

Decent Essays

Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” in 1952 and about forty years later explained his purpose in an article titled “Why I Wrote the Crucible.” Miller expresses some of the emotions he went through as his book gained popularity saying, “I remember those years...but I have lost the dead weight of the fear I had then. Fear doesn't travel well; just as it can warp judgment, its absence can diminish memory's truth.” At first, he refers to fear as dead weight as if it was useless but still pulling him down but then he explains the importance of fear. He claimed that fear can warp our judgement which seems realistic because when people are in a situation the causes fear they are known to take out of the ordinary action. Miller also suggests that fear is a crucial part of our memory and without fear our memories can fade and the truth of the issue as well. Miller was likely fearful of the …show more content…

“In those years, our thought processes were becoming so magical, so paranoid, that to imagine writing a play about this environment was like trying to pick one's teeth with a ball of wool: I lacked the tools to illuminate miasma. Yet I kept being drawn back to it.” Miller uses the word “our” to show that the entire country was overwhelmed and scared of everyone who may or who may not have been associated with communism. Also, Miller compares writing “The Crucible” to picking someone's teeth out with wool, describing how he had to be careful in every aspect of the play. In this quote he informs his readers of his feelings of inadequacy when trying to write about a sensitive subject but also how it intrigued him. This shows much about Miller character, he decided to take a chance and write about a topic he was passionate about without the approval from other who may have

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