Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible features a group of religious people struggling under a harsh lifestyle in the town of Salem in 1692. Throughout the play, Miller developed the theme of hysteria and referred to the witchcraft trials as a giant “crucible” that tests with fire those who are weak in spirit. Along with the protagonist John Proctor, many of the witchcraft victims are driven to grim and tragic end in the face of undeserved judgements. By unfolding John Proctor’s path to reconciliation and comparing different positions take by other characters, Miller affirms that is better to suffer death and maintain one’s integrity, than to live a life of moral compromise and hypocrisy. John Proctor is caught in an obvious dilemma between his own moral principles and extrinsic honor as soon as the curtain rises. A married farmer with three sons in his family, Proctor commits adultery by having a secret affair with his former servant, an unmarried girl named Abigail Williams. His sense of guilt drugs him down to an abyss where he locks his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, out of his adoration and of his faithfulness and of his honesty. But above all, John Proctor concerns more about his scandal being exposed in public. Proctor, an upright Christian man who believes in God and the authentic righteousness in his own way, will not expose himself to public shame. Miller manipulated John Proctor’s sin to be the foundation of subsequent events, because he was aware that readers might expect
The Crucible, a prominent play authored by Arthur Miller, introduces a new type of horror. The theatrical work stages in Salem, Massachusetts where numerous illicit murders (murder in this case is referring to those who were falsely accused of witchcraft and payed a fatal consequence) took place. John Proctor, a farmer doing the witchcraft trials, was falsely apprehended for witchcraft, along with his wife Elizabeth Proctor. Instead of admitting to the false accusations and be granted life, John Proctor chose to die as a noble man. Now, as courageous and respectable as that might have been, John Proctor should have corroborated the charges because he had already commit sins that defy his nobility and morals.
Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.
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’s play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies and injustice of the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. The restrictive Puritan society of Salem in the 17th century was based upon religious intolerance, where faith was demonstrated through physical labour and by strict adherence to religious doctrine. Material, physical and sexual desires were considered the Devil’s work and a threat to the very fabric of society. In summary, it is said that Puritanism discouraged individualism on all levels. The literal way in which the Bible was interpreted by the Puritans, provides a paradox within the play. This is because although the Bible says “thou shalt not kill,” the people of Salem are willing to sentence innocent
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor, a proud and frustrated farmer of Salem, chooses to die rather than to give a false confession to witchcraft. Many might view this act as that of a selfless martyr; on the other hand, it can more readily be seen as the height of human stupidity in the face of vanity and pride.
One’s values can often be elucidated through what one sacrifices. This concept is displayed in the tragic play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in the year 1953. The play details the semi-fabricated lives of the people in the Witch Trials of Salem, Massachusetts from the years 1692 to 1963. Through the play, several characters receive charges of witchcraft, and many get condemned to death because of it. Ideas of witchcraft began in the town when seventeen-year-old Abigail William’s declared that witches live in the town.
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Arthur intrigues audience time and time again with the historical context, social implications, and the Salem, Massachusetts Witchcraft Trials of 1962. Most members in Salem feel the need to prove their authority in ways such as accusing those who have done nothing or hanging them without proving their innocence first. The thing is authority is not made up by an authority figure, but by society. Miller’s The Crucible, demonstrates how people misuse their authority for cruel purposes through a fascinating plot, well-crafted characters, and well-set theme. During the hysteria of witchcraft trials in Salem, there were multiple figures of authority or per say the community who abused their power, Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth.
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.
John Proctor is a well respected farmer during the Salem Witch Trials. In The Crucible, Proctor faces many conflicts. An external conflict that Proctor faces is when he gets caught having an affair with Abigail Williams and he loses all of his wife’s trust. When Elizabeth found out about the affair between John and Abigail she kicked Abigail out and had lost all trust of Proctor. Proctor became more faithful to his wife Elizabeth and he wanted to earn her trust back, but she has a hard time because she thinks his feelings are still alive for Abigail. An internal conflict that Proctor faces is when he has to decide if he would admit to the court to committing adultery with Abigail to get Elizabeth out of jail. Although he knows that he wants his wife out of jail and he knows that it would make Abigail look bad, he knows that admitting it might get him in trouble as well.
Throughout the novel The Crucible, Arthur Miller describes how being put thought the Salem witch trials of 1692 brought out the true essence of various characters. Arthur Miller shows that the various victims who were put through trials would confess to save themselves and also the difficulties they had to face during their trial period. Characters like John Proctor, Giles Corey, and Reverend Hale were put through different kinds of trials each different from the others. Each of these trials brings out the true essence of the characters and how the characters have changed since the beginning of the play. Through the plays actions and dialogue, Miller suggests that sacrifices may be necessary to restore the social
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a rich and enticing play set in the late 1600’s describing the epic horrors and emotions through the events of the Salem witch trials. The Crucible, focuses primarily on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. The play begins with the discovery of several young girls and an African American slave, Tituba, in the woods just outside of Salem, dancing and pretending to conjure spirits. The Puritans of Salem stood for complete religious intolerance and stressed the need to follow the ways of the bible literally without exception. The actions of the women in
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.
One concept is capable of more destruction than almost anything else. It can change a person’s life, or end it. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play that is set in Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1690’s. The play revolves around the infamous Salem Witch Hunts and their proceedings both within the court and outside of the court. Within this plotline, a theme of greed functions in the play, influencing the actions of certain characters, including Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam, and Abigail.
As John Proctor spends more time with Abigail Williams, he realizes that he is not the remarkable upstanding man that he thought he was. Proctor’s character emerges as the protagonist in the play the most the audience gets to know him. In the beginning, Proctor’s name is synonymous with integrity and respect. It is evident that other characters respect him and his opinions. When Abigail is not hired to help in another home since Goody Proctor has fired her, her uncle asks, “Abigail, is there any other cause than you have told me, for Goody Proctor dischargin’ you? It has troubled me that you are now seven months out of their house, and in all this time no other family has called for your service” (Miller 2). Reverend Parris is concerned that Abigail has not been hired because the Proctor’s do not believe she is
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical play set in 1962 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. As you may know, you've all placed your trust in the words and actions of someone close to you. And what do they do? They betray you! It's rarely justified, and can happen to the best of us. Based on authentic records of witchcraft trials in the seventeenth-century this play explains how a small group of girls manage to create a massive panic in their town by spreading accusations of witchcraft. These rumors in turn are the causes that many citizens are hung for. This essay will show how the lies and betrayal of a few individuals eventually leads to the downfall of Salem and its society.