Theme Of Fear In The Crucible

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

Fear is a common human emotion, but the way some people react is different than others. Although, it is harder on some humans unlike other people. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,” Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” I think that means that fear harms more people than anything else does in the whole world. Also that people can scare themselves way easier than normal and it’s not healthy.

Fear can lead to a lot of things, but unfortunately, in humans it usually leads to something bad. Throughout history, fear has lead to some of the most violent actions by man, and some of the biggest collapses of organized society. In early American history, the people of Salem experienced this for themselves. Arthur Miller shows this in his book. The society of Salem that Miller creates in The Crucible shows how fear can slowly cause rational thought to deteriorate, leading to mass hysteria and eventually the breakdown of civilized behavior.

At times, fear motivates people to behave unscrupulously. Personal fears instigate some characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible to cry witch. Reverend Parris fears losing his job, Abigail fears prosecution and losing John Proctor, and Tituba fears physical retribution. Fear induces people to defend their personal whims and use their power to harm others.

Fear can cause people to put their family second. When Reverend Parris, Salem’s minister, asks his niece, Abigail, about the dancing he saw in the woods, he tells her, “I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just when some good respect is rising for me in the Parish, you compromise my very character” (Miller 139). While most people would question their family’s sanity, all Parris can worry about is what could happen to him. A true family member would

Fear is definitely not always a harmful emotion. Fear influences people to take extreme measures and act irrationally emotion. While fear is one of the main emotions people face, fear is not a always harmful emotion. In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged. Salem became overrun by the hysteria of witchcraft. Mere suspicion itself was accepted as evidence. As a Satan-fearing community, they could not think of denying the evidence, because to deny the existence of evil was to deny the existence of goodness; which was God. In the 17th century a group of Puritans migrated from England to America - the land of dreams - to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. As Arthur Miller tells us in the introduction to Act 1 'no one can really know what their lives were like.' We would never be able to imagine a life with 'no novelists' and 'their creed forbade anything resembling a theatre or vain entertainment.' 'They didn't celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate

Martin Niemöller once said,“First they came for the communists, but I was not a communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” The culture of accusations is a part of hysteria. As paranoia ensued in “The Crucible”, Joseph McCarthy made false allegations that influenced many peoples lives. An affair integrated in Arthur Miller’s play created controversy among the community. Trials were held for those accused and lying was the only way to survive. The harsh truth that was revealed in “The Crucible” and the parallels between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials show patterns in which fear was used as an advantage, unsubstantiated claims occurred, and unethical punishments were given.

Fear: a simple word with an abundance of meanings. To one, fear can be losing a loved one and to another it can be being alone for their entire life. Ghandi once claimed that the enemy of every soul is not hate, but fear itself. This enemy, however, can be derived from hate, for everything you loathe is the reason for your distress. Taking the Salem Witch Trial as an example, fear portrayed an enormous role in the lives of many. During the time period of 1692 to 1693, fear controlled an entire village by manipulation and hatred. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible perfectly captures how fear is exploited by characters in the play because these characters used their hatred towards others to build up horror in the sacred town of Salem. Although this classic novel was written over fifty years ago, Miller touched on timeless societal fears that still apply to the existing world today. As seen through Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, fear can prompt people to denounce their beliefs in order to save their own lives, prevent their reputation from being tarnished, and it can make one take extreme measures in order to protect the ones they love.

If there is one thing that is impossible to escape in modern society, it is fear. Whether it be advertisers using frightful hypotheticals to sell a product, or politicians instilling panic into the citizens in order earn themselves a few extra votes, fear is found everywhere and anytime. With this in mind, it is no surprise that the use of fear seeps into the literature of the times, especially when the content of the work has a basis in real events from the past. Fear is an effective motivator as evidenced by the characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible.

The salem witch hunts and the Red Scare caused big problems and death in the U.S. In 1950 everyone was scared that communism would spread to the united states and McCarthy wanted to get rid of all communist in the united states but instead accused innocent citizens. In salem 1692 multiple girls were out in the woods dancing and were thought to be possessed and working with the devil. Girls accused many citizens in salem claiming they were witches and causing the witch trials.The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy Era because of false accusations and ruined lives.

In the late 1980’s, Ray Buckley along with his mother, sister, and teachers of the McMartin preschool faced 321 charges of child abuse additionally there were allegations of the group performing satanic rituals and traveling in secret underground tunnels. Many children from the preschool were accusing several people of performing bizarre acts much like the witch hunts that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, such hysteria brought fear amongst many. The Crucible a play composed by American author, Arthur Miller wrote this play about the town Salem that fell into mass hysteria after a group of girls Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam, Tituba and Mary Warren accused townspeople of witchcraft. Many may argue that the root and cause of the witch hunts were caused by the girls in the forest looking for revenge or trying to benefit from the accusations however the cause was fear amongst the characters this is demonstrated by Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and Abigail Williams.

Inside us all there is a deep dark fear this is what grabs us by the thresh hold of life. It controls the most important aspects of our lives. This is found within the deepest and darkest chasms of our souls. The very creature that wreaks havoc in our minds we cage and never confront we lock this beast away to afraid to overcome it. If the beast is not confronted it begins to contort and change who we are as a person and how we interact with others. Even the very decisions we make as a person to affect those around us and are loved ones to also suffer the consequences of our actions. Such as the crucible and how each person was warped into their own monster by greed.

Both Salem, Massachusetts in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and post 9/11 America are societies that dread witches or terrorists and tries to identify and eliminate them. When people find something that they are afraid of, they will do everything in their power to get rid of that fear. It will not matter to them what they have to do in order to eliminate their unease. Any fear that is great enough can take over people and make them do horrible, unjust things.

Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old orphan being raised by her uncle Revered Parris, is a pivotal character in bringing about irrational fear in the people of Salem through her false accusations and struggle for acceptance. In the beginning of the play, Reverend Parris is questioning Abigail Williams on the topic of whether

Faith and fear both can drive a person over the edge. This is demonstrated throughout the entire play. Fear drove many people such as Abigail to accuse others of witchcraft because she actually committed it and just wants to get the attention off of her so she does not get killed for her crime. Faith has a similar effect on this event because Abigail is not afraid of the devil, she danced with him and caused this whole mess. Another way she created a terrible sin is when she told the audience about her affair with John Proctor by saying these words.”I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” (Page 471)This quote sets the tone of sin for the entire rest of the play. Fear did not play an extremely big part in this outburst, but faith did. John was afraid of people hearing this and his name would be ruined and that is not good for a holy puritan man like John. Fear and faith may not be visible but they can be the biggest player in life. The play outlines this ion a perfect historical way. It is very sad to think of all the innocent people that were hung for no reason. It is almost just as important to understand why history did this. Fear and Faith caused one of the craziest set of trials of all time. This is how fear and faith may be different by definition but cause the same effects in people's