The Handmaid's Tale And The Crucible

Despite years of evolution in human culture, the ideal of conformity has succeeded numerous changes of human ideology. To conform means to set aside your own moral beliefs and join the group that would benefit your self the most, or at least that is what author, Arthur Miller, suggests in The Crucible. Throughout the book, characters are faced with the dilemma of conforming or rebelling, a predicament that tests their morality against their will to avoid punishment and shame. In The Crucible, Miller suggests that the decision to conform or to rebel truly displays the morality and selflessness within the characters in the book.

A genuine identity and individuality is not possible in an oppressive environment especially when one’s daily life, actions, and thoughts are dictated by domineering societal expectations. Oppressive environments such as regimes controlled by a dictatorship and that run off a totalitarian government system strip an individual of their civil rights as a human being in order to gain ultimate control over its citizens. A government such as the Republic of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s work, The Handmaid’s Tale, controls their citizen’s lives to the extent to where they must learn to suppress their emotions and feelings. In the Republic of

In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts a small group of girls joined together to go in the woods at night to meet a slave woman name Tituba. Tituba is a slave of Reverend Parris. During their meeting all the girls are dancing

THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE AND THEIR WAYS OF RESISTING THE REGIME

Individuals and society often disagree over morals and values, and the resulting conflicts arise in a vast range of ways. One way society conflicts with individuals is when society tries to restrict what people say, as seen in James Sterngold’s article “Censorship in the Age of Anything Goes”. Other times, individuals will be too afraid to speak out against society for fear of having society turn against them, as seen in Arthur Miller’s allegorical play, The Crucible. On the other hand, when individuals do defy society, there can be positive results, as seen in J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye. As such, when the beliefs of individuals and society come into conflict, the individuals can either let the controlling society forcefully

Humans have a natural tendency to conform to each other; they strive to fit in with their community and to blend in with the crowd, undoubtedly because modern society seems to have put everyone on a leash. Its harsh judgment and constant pressure forces everyone to follow each other around like sheep — compliant — staying in line in fear of the repercussions. Likewise, in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., conformity is an ongoing theme that causes the entire community to isolate Hester in The Scarlet Letter, believe in witchcraft in The Crucible, and discriminate against African Americans in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Hawthorne, Miller, and King all show the effects of the pressure and corruptions in the community, as well as the punishments the individuals receive as a result of conformity. In all three pieces of writing, the authors describe the community as a powerful oppression that forces people to be obedient, simultaneously asserting that conformity ultimately leads to consequences in both the community and the individual.

Sometimes people can get lost in their ability to control others, your mom yelling at you to take out the trash or maybe you pinning your younger sibling down in a wrestling match. It happens to us all, even if you do not realize. It all comes with our ingrained desire for this thing we call power. This desire plagues every society, those of the past and present. For example, in the 1960s an author named Arthur Miller saw his society falling victim to this plague, so he wrote a play. Miller shows us throughout The Crucible that power and the desire for it is a disease that spreads in communities and cripples them, we see this through the actions of Abigail, Danforth, and Parris.

The Crucible examines the exploitation of an individual by the power of coercion in society. The play is set in

“Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd” (Russell). The Oxford Dictionary defines mob mentality as, “The tendency for people's behavior or beliefs to conform to those of the group to which they belong.” This means that a majority of the time people’s behavior is influenced by other people and groups they associate with. Mob mentality can be seen in The Crucibles when more and more people are accused as witches the public of Salem immediately turn against them. This essay will be focused on addressing the following question: How does Arthur Miller use The Crucible to bring awareness to mob mentality?

Parents typically don’t want their children reading in depth books about sex; however, The Handmaid’s Tale offers great fictional examples that teach sexism and the mistreatment of women, yet these examples can lead some in the wrong way. Therefore depending on the view in society, The Handmaid’s tale should be banned or kept to certain areas of the world because of the unfair treatment of women.

Many societies have a different outlook on what justice is and looks like in a society. A society with justice is a society that balance morality and discipline. Injustice in a society forces people to take the law in their own hands, which can cause problems within the society. Fear is what compels people to take things in their own hands when they feel there is no justice. Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” demonstrates a society who struggles to keep their sense of justice due to the control of fear.

In the books The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood truth is large concept. Throughout the books truth is used to define the perception and the reality through key symbols that go above and beyond an object. In The Crucible The Bible plays an immense part in shaping characters characteristics, also in The Handmaid’s Tale it shapes one of the main motifs of the story. Throughout the two books, flowers are a meaningful symbol which is compared to a real relationship and death. In The Crucible the doll symbolizes innocence and child play which is similar to Abigail. Likewise, in The Handmaid’s Tale the red habit’s that the handmaid’s are forced to wear are symbolizing who they are and what they do. Symbols

Rebellion of an individual occurs when there is a difference of opinion. This conventional trait among society allows diverse ideas to be suggested and added upon for a better future and eventually an all around Utopia. Rebellious attitude is depicted throughout George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale in a subtle, yet powerful way. The faint, disobedient remarks made by their characters suggest their hope in the future generations opposed to the present one. When a rebellious mindset comes in contact with an oppressed society with strict rules and regulations, the outcome suggests a better future through the realization of mistakes and unity for a common goal.

Bruno Bettelheim once said, “Punishment may make us obey the orders we are given, but at best it will only teach an obedience to authority, not a self-control which enhances our self-respect.” More often than not, those surrounded by rules feel pressured to adhere to them due to the fear of repercussions. Even so, it is not guaranteed people will comply. Sometimes, being bound by rules can only make one feel rebellious. This proves to be true in Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Through characterization, flashbacks, and point of view, Atwood demonstrates how strict rules lead to the temptation for defiance, despite the possible consequences.

The Handmaid's Tale, a science-fiction novel written by Margaret Atwood, focuses on women's rights and what could happen to them in the future. This novel was later made into a movie in 1990. As with most cases of books made into movies, there are some similarities and differences between the novel and the film. Overall the film tends to stay on the same track as the book with a few minor details changed, and only two major differences.