There are many great plays that have been written throughout our history. Many of them are very specific in what it is trying to say. One of the most famous plays written is The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is a play that is based off of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the late 1600s. During this time period, many innocent people were accused of witchcraft. This was due to the people’s lack of knowledge on how our universe works. Arthur Miler uses many different motifs in his play, but one of the most significant motifs is vengeance. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the idea that vengeance is used to corrupt the minds of the community’s people. In The Crucible, vengeance is a very powerful motif that Arthur Miller uses to show how people during the times of the Salem Witch Trials did whatever they could to …show more content…
One example of a quote that has vengeance is in Act One, Lines 1052-1055 where Abigail says, “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus, I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil!” In this quote, Abigail claims to have seen some people in the woods dancing for the Devil in order to get them in trouble, where in reality, she was trying to get a love potion to get men to fall in love with her. Another quote that has vengeance is in Act Two, Line 976, Mary Warren says, “She’ll kill me for sayin’ that!” In this quote, Marry is talking to Proctor about Abigail. She is afraid that if she says anything about Abigail, then Abigail will try to kill her to get her vengeance. A third quote that talks about vengeance is in Act Two, Lines 350-351, Elizabeth says, “She wants me dead. I knew all week it would come to this!” In this quote, Elizabeth is telling Proctor about how Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft in order to get her
A society that praises moral righteousness and piety is destroyed by a series of witch trials that are ironically immoral and unfair. The Salem Witch Trials are fueled by personal motives and feuds that emerge because of the restrictions in Puritan society. The society nurtures a culture of fear and distrust that stems from dread of the devil and strict adherence to the Bible. Salem is the perfect environment for fear and vengeance to spread through witchcraft accusations, because people have no other means to gain power or get revenge on enemies. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays how the Puritan society in Salem influences the witch trials and increases their impact, because of the religion-based justice system, women and
In the book, Crucible, everyone in the town accuses each other to get back at their enemies and this is a huge fundamental flaw. People use the witchcraft to get revenge on others. In the book, the Nurses, Proctor’s, and Putnam's all blamed each other of witchcraft or stealing land. The Putnam's tried to take George Jacob’s land, “If Jacob hangs for witchcraft he forfeit up his property... This man is killing his neighbors for this land!”
Firstly, in The Crucible no one feared each other and everyone lived in harmony and no one questioned one others faith in God and they had a sense of safety which led to the trials. When the first person is accused it immediately sends everyone into a panic and they start accusing who even remotely fits their “description” of what a witch would be like. An example in Act II is Proctor talking about how the girls only accuse some people and not others.
The year is 1692. Throughout the small, Puritan, seaside community of Salem, rumors and accusations fly like gusts of ocean wind. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and even the most holy church-goers are accused of being the devil’s servants. The Crucible details this real-life tragedy of the Salem witch trials, in which nineteen members of the Salem community were hanged for alleged witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a seemingly innocent girl, accuses dozens of Salem’s citizens of witchcraft through the support of her mob of girls and the complicity of the court officials. The title of this play gives significant insight into the experiences of several of these Salem citizens. Although a crucible is often used in chemistry for heating up substances, the title of the play carries a much greater weight. In his famous play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the title of “crucible” to signify the severe and unrelenting tests of faith and character that many of the community members endure throughout the Salem witch trials, which he achieves through the use of figurative language and fallacies of relevance and insufficiency.
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.
9. What happened between Abigail and John Proctor prior to the opening of the play?
In Arthur Miller's book, The Crucible, a social statement is made about society's tendency to favor those who blame others. People tend to want to believe the evil in others as a way of making themselves feel better about their own lives. This can be seen throughout history, and even the Catholic Bible. In the beginning of time Adam blamed Eve for causing them to fall into sin. Just like the people of today, the characters use scapegoats because they are feeling guilty for what they have done.
The Crucible- This play interpreted history of the Salem Witch Trials. These line of events lead us to realize how ignorant and bigoted society can be. A family could cry “Witch!” and persecute a rivalry family for their own greater good. There is plenty of backstabbing in this story.
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. It all began with a single accusation based upon a false claim which left the accused people in a situation of life and death. The justifications and the sentences to death that the court gave the people was all based upon lies, which is the message Miller conveys. The theme of the play is dishonesty leads to the recognition of a corrupt theocracy.
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 play The Crucible, the author Arthur Miller displays an unfair treatment of humans when it comes to justice. Characters who live in Salem, Massachusetts, receive improper punishments for their sins of witchcraft and are being accused of crimes they did not commit. The justice system in the play is based on the maxim “guilty until proven innocent” which portrays unjust human rights due to executions of individuals without evidence. The accused characters attempt to defend themselves in court but it is ineffective because the only way to survive is to confess to witchcraft. Miller presents a cruel approach in justice systems and proves them to be unjust through the characters Giles Corey, Tituba, and Rebecca Nurse, who all suffered
When one is done wrong in a particularly hurtful or offending way, getting revenge is sometimes thought of as the most satisfying way of regaining ones sense of self worth. This plan, however, holds an immense possibility of backfiring in ways never dreamed of. In fact, the outcome of the situation at hand is sometimes made worse than it might have been if this course of action is taken. Arthur Miller demonstrates this in his tragic play The Crucible, by showing the reader that although giving in to feelings of vengeance is easy to do, choosing the path of forgiveness often leads to better results in the long run.
Revenge clearly attributed to the downfall of many characters in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. A few of those who wanted revenge included Mr. Putnam, Reverend Paris, and Abigail Williams. They all were presented with the opportunity, and they did not hesitate to use it. Innocent lives were lost during the times of the Salem Witch Trials due to these few people. “The Crucibles” by Arthur Miller still serves its purpose to this day as a warning of what can happen if revenge goes too far.
A dramatist who explores the theme of revenge throughout his play is Arthur Miller in ‘The Crucible. There are different characters in this play that carry this theme of revenge, Abigail being one in particular, as she seeks revenge against Goody Proctor. This is due to Goody Proctor firing Abigail from her job after she had found out Abigail had had an affair with her husband. This seventeen-year-old girl also has an endless capacity for dissembling. John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and the Putnam’s are also characters in the play that are out to seek revenge for their own reasons. It could through the theme of revenge, be said that Miller tries to enhance your application of the play.
Throughout the endurance of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, vengeance plays a prominent role in the actions and fates of various characters. In many ways, vengeance fuels the need for retaliation. Disputes among neighbors has bred hatred and then witch trials brought out the vindictiveness of Salem's population. This leads to the deaths of many citizens in Salem by false accusations to the court. Citizens of Salem were utilizing the court system as a means of "extermination" for people who had interests or beliefs, that were contradictory to their own. As Miller states himself, "This predilection of minding other people's business was time-honored among the people of Salem, and it undoubtedly created many suspicions which were to feed the