Learning From the Past The Salem Witch Trials were an extremely controversial period of time in our history. This was a time of suspicion and accusation of many innocent women and men that led to hysteria and complete turmoil in Salem Village. The Crucible portrays the Salem Witch Trials in a dramatic sense, but there are many similarities between the movie and the actual events. We can use these unusual events to compare to our own lives and learn from the mistakes of our past. I’ve found that although many differences are displayed between the movie and the actual events, the overall theme of The Crucible was accurate. One of the differences was the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. In the movie, their …show more content…
When comparing the similarities and differences, numerous situations exist where the movie was spot on with the trials in 1692. Although there are significant differences, I believe that this did not take away from the historical facts, and that Miller properly used his artistic license. The severe lies and accusations which occurred in Salem during these trials appear so extreme that it would be impossible to compare to life today. However, recurrently in our modern day,
Arthur Miller's The Crucible, depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 but is analogous to the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. In both situations, widespread hysteria occurs, stemming from existing fears of the people of that particular era. The Salem witchhunt trials parallel the McCarthy era in three major aspects: unfounded accusations, hostile interrogation of numerous innocent people and the ruination and death of various people's lives.
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
The Crucible is arguably the greatest pieces of American literature ever written by playwright Arthur Miller. But, in 1996 a film was created to put the words of Miller onto the big silver screen for many people across the nation to see. Although both works were received very well, the two of them have many different elements. These differences from the book to the movie include the setting, the execution of all the victims, the kiss of John and Abigail, where the girls run, and the discussion of John and Goody Proctor. These differences from the book to the movie have affected both in many different ways.
Salem is not what it appears to the naked eye for dishonest children accuse and condemn the innocent to swing on the gallows. The Crucible a tragedy by Arthur Miller, relates to the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials in 1692. The reputation of Salem at the time is that no one is safe, anyone can be a witch in their eyes in order for their own benefit of freedom. Truth can stand on its own against any circumstance. Such as John Proctor stands up against Abigail for the troubles she is causing. In the same way it is almost impossible to be an outlaw to this way because of the substantial consequences if you are not just like society. This ultimately brings out the darkness in Salem. Due to envy, revenge, and lies this town
The film The Crucible by Arthur Miller, along with Samuel Sewall’s and Cotton Mather’s account of the Salem Witch trials of 1692 have similarities and differences, but they all tell the same story. The film is cinematic because it is more pleasing to an audience. When also comparing and contrasting Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow it is apparent that when the supernatural is concerned people are more likely to believe the unbelievable. They are willing to forget that a person is innocent until proven guilty without any concrete evidence.
The Salem Witch Trials - a time where the people of Salem were controlled by Christianity, but their God was nowhere to be found during their suffering and immense fear. Many pieces of literature often try to portray the chaos and seemingly godless times that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, but the most notable piece of literature surrounding the trials is Arthur Miller’s drama, The Crucible. Miller’s characters are all based on people who were actually a part of the Salem Witch Trials and uses details from their lives to contribute to his writing. His dramatized version of the trial accurately describes the hysteria that occurred in the town, and helps lead the reader to a deeper understanding of the witch trials. By showing multiple conflicts in his play, all having to do with religion, relationships, and authority, one begins to question what actually caused the trials in his work and if the trials were truly a search based off of the need to rid the town of all evil. In the end it becomes clear that multiple characters to use the idea of witches as a way to stir up hysteria and fear amongst the people of Salem in order to gain respect and power.
The Salem witch trials was a series of accusations upon men and women; these people could either plead guilty and survive or plead innocent and be put to death. If a person pleads guilty, their allegations with the devil would be broken. Arthur Miller noticed the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the red scare of the mid 1950’s. These events inspired Miller to write The Crucible. In the American playwright Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the characters lie to manipulate others in order to protect their reputation.
“The Crucible” takes place in the late 1600’s in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. At this time, people believed that witchcraft existed and that commonly people practiced it. The town of Salem was a very religiously based settlement and was very strict about its rules towards witches and witchcraft. The play is based off of an actual time when multiple girls lied about practicing witchcraft, and about people using witchcraft to force the girls to use it. Throughout the play, the lie continues to escalate because the girls do not want to get in trouble and the trials and panic gets very out of hand. Three major factors that caused the Salem witch trials to escalate so far
The Crucible Film The Crucible; an intensely emotional and dramatic film based on the horrific story of the Salem witch trials. The opening and concluding sequences are of great importance in conjuring the melancholy atmosphere present throughout the story. The director uses various different devices to achieve this.
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.
As expressed I feel there are a few connections between The Crucible and real life events such as McCarthyism or the real witch trials. The first
Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.
One of the first differences was the extra appendix in the book that was not shown in the movie. In the story, there was an appendix at the back of the book, talking about a conversation between John and Abigail. John was informing Abigail that any past relations, were ending between them. He was going to his wife’s side and staying there. She claimed he was a hypocrite, and was siding with the other “hypocrites” in Salem. In the presentation of The Crucible it was not there at all. John did not travel to Abigail’s home in the night, nor did he have this conversation with her. The closest thing to this was John and Abigail’s conversation outside the church. even that was public, and did not hint that John was looking for privacy as it did in the book. This is but one of the
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.
The Crucible stood out to me from the rest of the plays. I was able to relate to it on a greater scale than the others, and the story behind the Crucible interested me very much. Also I notice a theme of secret sin. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this play as well as watching the movie. In research, I have read numerous facts on the Salem witch trials and have discovered that the witch trials are a very wide known topic which possesses many different opinions on the subject. The mass hysteria over witches started these trials. Since held in 1692, television programs today consist of witch characters in their series including some bad and some good. Clearly, the thought of witches has made its way to our world now-a-days. An obvious theme in this play is lies and deceit. Most of the characters in The Crucible are lying – if not to other people, then to themselves. Abigail lies about her ability to see spirits, as do the other girls; Proctor is deceitful first for cheating on his wife and then for hiding