Themes in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay

The Crucible is aiming to tell audiences about the dangers of mass hysteria and what damage could be done either to a small community or a larger, more controllable, area. In the beginning, we find out that at least three girls, Abigail, Betty, and Tituba, are involved with a forest dancing and perhaps calling upon the Devil, after more girls are accused and word is spread thru town, mass hysteria begins. Hysteria in society can spread rapidly leading to panic, chaos, and disaster, and in The Crucible this is exactly the message trying to be sent to the readers.

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.

Reputation shines as a theme in the play. Through reputation comes discrimination and in the crucible almost all the witches are judged on reputation and this is important in today's world especially with things such as racism. Another critical theme in The Crucible is the role that hysteria can play in tearing apart a community. Hysteria messes with logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they have always considered upstanding people, are committing unbelievable crimes. Intolerance is key in the crucible. Because Salem is a theocratic society, moral and state laws are the same and therefore there is no room for error and intolerance becomes current. Danforth shows this when in Act III he says "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it." Empowerment is central in modern day society and appears in The Crucible many times. The play shows how power corrupts and how certain characters use there power in association with fear, to get there way.

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

pull it down and so denounce God and place a whore in God’s place is

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the witch trials in Salem were a devastating time. The entire community was in disorder and chaos because of personal vengeance. This included accusations of innocent town’s people being called witches, so they hanged and were jailed. Throughout the play certain characters help the rise of witchcraft as well as the disapproval of all the innocent people who were being convicted for no reason. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character whom comes to rid of the evil spirits in Salem, yet he later tries to end the trials. Hale realizes the accusations are false, attempts to postpone the hangings, and persuade the victims to lie conveys that he is a dynamic character and changes throughout the play.

Have you ever tried to compare and contrast two different stories? In this case, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of short story Young Goodman Brown, and the play called The Crucible, wrote these two stories as if they were meant to be compared and contrasted. Whether it is Young Goodman Brown himself, or Abigail Williams from The Crucible, there are many similarities, along with differences between them. Along with comparing characters of these stories, we can also compare and contrast the two main themes. These themes are hysteria, and community. In The Crucible, the main theme is hysteria because it seems to overcome a majority of characters. In Young Goodman Brown the main theme would be community. It is because of community, and

The Crucible was based in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Salem witch-hunt was view as one of the strangest and most horrendous chapters in the human history. People that were prosecuted were all innocent and their deaths were all due to false accusation of people’s ridiculous belief in superstition and their paranoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out.

 The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play that takes place in the sixteen nineties during the famous but tragic witch trials. The entire community is in pandemonium yet certain characters are also fighting internal conflicts. Miller uses three characters that manifest this internal battle ever so clearly: Mary Warren whose whole world turns upside down, John Proctor who must weigh the importance of his family against his reputation and Reverend Hale who must decide whether to do his job, or do what he knows to be right. 

Miller shows the greatest transformation in Mary Warren in order to convey the idea that good people can still cause destruction when swept up in mass hysteria like the witch trials. One of the most important themes of the crucible is hysteria. The definition of hysteria is “exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people” which is clearly demonstrated as the town of Salem is swept up in the excitement and drama of the witch trials. Mary Warren was one of those blinded by hysteria, causing her to be a dynamic character.

The quality most necessary in a leader and a catalyst for hysteria is the ability to manipulate. The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller depicts the events that occurred in 1690s in Massachusetts best known as the Salem Witch Trials. These events center on a group of young girls who are found dancing in the woods with a black slave. Among them is Abigail Williams, a 17 year-old-girl desperate to conceal her affair with a married man and escape charges of witchcraft. In an attempt to pull the spotlight away from themselves, this group of girls, led by Abigail, begin to accuse countless people of witchcraft and as a result 19 people are hanged. The Crucible serves as an example of an individual’s ability to create hysteria, as well as the factors that are necessary for the rest of a society to participate in it. Despite the negative puritan perceptions of women, Abigail’s accusations are still acknowledged and believed by important members of society. Furthermore, the combined actions of Abigail as well as the rest of the girls spark a movement of panic and frenzy among all members of her society. The way in which Abigail manipulated people using the shortcomings of her society in The Crucible, the strict religious and cultural values of puritan society, as well as the ability of the people in The Crucible to oppose hysteria demonstrate the factors that allow for an individual to create hysteria and other people’s willingness to go along with it.

Theme is a commonly used literary device found in a considerable amount of writing pieces. However, it does not always stand out or is very noticeable to readers. The reader may occasionally have to analyze the text or dialogue to detect a theme included by the author. Authors often include the theme to help continue or carry on the plot and storyline. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, uses the themes of how lying for jealousy, love, and reputation have a negative impact on the actions of those in the play.

Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, my name is Edward Hsu, and I'm an sociologist working with the Queensland Government as an adviser of community relationships.

The Crucible used factual accounts of the Salem Witch Trials and thematic elements to create a drama that affects today’s society. This essay will detail how the characters and events interpreted the main themes and historical context. There were three main themes presented in The Crucible: Puritanism, reputation, and hysteria. Of these three, hysteria would be considered the main theme throughout the play and is still present today. Arthur Miller integrated themes such as: Puritanism, reputation, and hysteria to provide insight into the Salem Witch Trials and today’s society.

Remaining tranquil during hectic situations is an imperative life lesson. The Crucible displays an accurate example of how people will go into hysteria if placed in a precarious position. When in court, many of the characters broke into a rage of fear and anger. After they became rambunctious, they were punished in one way or another. Scenes of these outbreaks give readers a sense of consequences of acting before thinking. In any situation that may be frenetic, society must remain calm, cool, and