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
As represented in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, fear played an important role and is exploited by the characters in the play. The Crucible beings with a group of girls accusing people of witchcraft for their selfish benefit.Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to inflict pain , or a threat. Fear is an emotion that is capable of overtaking and controlling one’s state of mind and well being. However , fear can be used as a motivation factor. Fear influenced these people to take extreme measures and act irrationally. Additionally, fear is a master of suffering capable of haunting those who patronize it Moreover, in The Crucible this erratic emotion causes people to fear being labeled
When many Americans look back on the Salem Witch Trials, they wonder how it could have happened; they don’t realize that they are currently living in the midst of a modern day witch hunt - this time with a different targeted group: Muslim Americans. In the years since 9/11 occurred, Americans have become obsessed with terrorism and looked for people to blame these terrible attacks on. However, it has been within the past nine months or so that hysteria has hit a fever pitch. Leading up to the 2016 election and following the appointment of President Donald Trump, terrorism and national defense have become topics of intense interest across the nation. Although not supported by many Americans, a hunt for terrorists in the country began, with Muslim Americans being the first to be targeted. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible reveals how fear can make a group of people act in irrational and misguided ways, a lesson that is extremely applicable today in how Muslim
In the first paragraph, Miller talks about the reason why he wrote The Crucible was because of what he noticed during his time and the trials, and he wrote, “with only small exaggeration, one could say [this phenomenon] paralyzed a whole generation and in a short time dried up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse”(1). The phenomenon he describes is the Anti-Communism that “paralyzed” a
Sometimes people are very afraid of telling the truth, their fear makes them live in discouragement. Sometimes, their fear also affects others around them because they lack self confidence .When this happens, important relationships suffer. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller has a dramatic storyline the characters struggle with the Puritan authority and the town people having to make a decision on who is telling the truth and who is hiring. The girls make false accusations because of their fear of the Puritan authorities because they torched Tituba and they can do that to them, also by doing this it may make their lives miserable.
Fear is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” This example of fear is shown exclusively in the Crucible by Arthur Miller from the first part to the last page of the playwright. Arthur Miller uses fear in the Crucible to describe how the H.U.A.C (House Committee on Un-American Activities) which was established in the late 1930s, unjustly searched for communist in the 1950s.
Aimee Madrigal Mr. Jones English 11 27 February 2018 “The Crucible” and the Red Scare During the time when “The Crucible” was written, it had a major impact on Arthur Miller the United States and Russia were going through the Red Scare which was a major influence when Arthur Miller was writing the play. Through writing this play, Arthur Miller wanted to remind people of how the chaos of the witch hunts could relate to the communists people would try to hunt down in the United States. Miller used the history of the Salem Witch Trials to write this play, so he could educate people about the possibilities that could come from insensitively accusing others.
Arthur Miller himself went through “crucibles” in his life, which he in an essay called “Why I Wrote The Crucible.” During his life, Arthur Miller was in a culture of anti-communism and fear; all who the government suspected of having communist views were prosecuted. When this fear reached the media, filmmakers and actors were walking on eggshells in their attempts to appear as pro-American as possible.
Facing the Challenges of the Real World In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there are many themes that are seen in the book. One theme that is seen in the book is fear. Fear plays a very big role in the book as well as in the real world. In the real world, fear plays a very big role in society.
In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller fear drives many if not all of the characters. It drives them to do things that they would never do if they had no motivation from another power and in this case it is fear that drives them. Fear could have come from many places but in this case it makes sense that it would come from the church. Everyone is scared of being accused of being a witch. This is a sin punishable with death unless you admit to it but no one wants to be the first person to admit.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in response to people’s vicious behavior in America during the Red Scare and fight against communism. Communism accusations spread quickly, and people turned against one another. This correlates to a similar relationship that takes place between characters as the plot progresses in The Crucible. The play’s characters accuse others for personal gain or the feeling of safety. Situations heat up while characters take sides, and under the court’s pressure, a character’s morality and true nature show. Arthur Miller uses fire and heat throughout the play to symbolize the devil’s presence and how evil spreads through Salem’s community and court system.
By the time it was over, 19 people (and two dogs) had been convicted and hanged for witchcraft, one elderly man was pressed to death by stones, and 150 prisoners were awaiting trial. Five more people died in prison. “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” In the Crucible many characters have to decide whether they should confess to dealing with the devil and giving away their good name or be hanged for something they didn’t do. To avoid punishment, several young girls caught conjuring spirits in the woods blame a slave woman for corrupting them. These girls also accuse other women in Salem of practicing witchcraft. With no one knowing who is and isn't a witch, despite no
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, fear runs rampant across the characters minds and effects their actions at almost every turn of the plot. Without fear the story’s plot would have never of formed and died prematurely. The people in the story respond to fear of losing what belongs to them, of their own fatality, and fear of a higher power. All of this terror leads to maltreatment and death.
Miller displays people saying false things to protect themselves, even if it means killing another person who is innocent. Jealousy, greed and grudges was shown during the content of The Crucible. Miller creates this image of Americans that is atrocious, all while using a true story. Miller wrote this book in the in 1950’s, during the time of the “communist witch hunt” Miller was even a victim of this, he was questioned during the process. His books tended to lean to the more political side, he used a historical reference to bring awareness to his modern times issues, such as the “communist witch hunt” and the characters of past and modern Americans. McCarthyism was an occurrence that took place in the time period of Miller. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy began multiple hearings and investigation into communism in the United States government. His idea of wiping out all communist in America spreaded like a wildfire, so much so that he won reelection. The similarity between The Crucible and the “communist witch hunt” is uncanny. There is much symbolism in the book that relates back to McCarthyism, such as the girls in the book making false claims without having any proof. Sounds very familiar to the situation that occurred in the
Many different factors led to Arthur Miller writing the “Crucible.” The major factor that led him to write the Crucible was the time period. Miller was inspired by the Communist scare occurring during the time. In 1949, Mao Zedong gained power in China, starting the spread of Communism across Europe and eventually to America (Miller 1). Miller was disturbed by Communism’s effects on Europe (Miller 1). When it spread to America, Miller was even more unnerved. Liberalists were hunting down suspected Communists and persecuting them (Miller 1). This reminded Miller of the witch trials in Salem. Both incidents are very similar, which is why Miller chose to write about it. He was hoping that his story would inspire the liberalists to stop these
Arthur Miller is an American playwright who wrote The Crucible in 1952. The story is basically about a time of suspicion and accusation of many innocent women and men caused by a group of girls doing witchcraft that led to hysteria and complete turmoil in Salem village, and this exists in the late 1600s . It was actually written on the heels of World War II, during a time when the United States, especially Senator Joseph McCarthy as one of the most outstanding people at the time, was highly concerned about the rising power of the Soviet Union’s communism that would infiltrate the US leading to a significant amount of paranoia within the American government as compared to the paranoia about witchcraft in the play. Therefore, Arthur Miller must write The Crucible and mainly make a strong connection to this political and social event occuring after the World War II, and even relates that to himself.