Arthur Miller’s famous play “The Crucible” which takes place during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is arguably the most forceful allegory of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “Red Scare” in the 1950s. The story begins with a group of young girls as they escape to the woods to perform a pagan...ritual outlawed by their strict Puritanical religious society. To avoid blame, they claimed to have seen the Devil, and that other members of society serve Him by practicing witchcraft. The town is terrified of their claims and not until many accused witches chose to hang rather than confess did the hysteria cease. Many samples of essays on this topic exist. Use these papers to help write an outline for your essay which should include and introduction, body, and conclusion.
Revenge can be taken in many different ways, such as fights, lies , arguments, etc. In Arthur Miller’s Crucible, the theme of revenge plays a major role. He based this book on the Salem Witch Trials which took place in the early 1950’s. All the...
Abigail Williams, Arthur Miller, Arthur Miller’s Crucible, Betty Parris, Daniel Day-Lewis, Deception, Elizabeth Proctor, George Jacobs, Giles Corey, John Proctor
The word “fear” can be defined as: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger or pain. In his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller addresses the fear embedded within Puritan society. According to the Public Broadcasting Service, “Puritans lived in a constant state of spiritual anxiety,...
The Crucible-Abigail Williams The Crucible is a play about vengeance and power. Abigail Williams manipulates an entire town to do her bidding, stemming from her want to save her reputation and to be able to finally have the man she lusts over. Abigail becomes one...
In Author Miller’s book The Crucible, there are many passages of literature that can teach us valuable life lessons. The characters portrayed in this novel all seem to have their own interpersonal issues, but one character seems to stand out. John Proctor is a troubled...
Arthur Miller, Bill Clinton, Daniel Day-Lewis, Different aspects of self-reflection, Elizabeth Proctor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Importance of self-reflection, John Proctor, Mary Warren, Massachusetts
Lies In The Crucible It is a golden rule in our society that honesty is the best policy. Throughout childhood we are taught that in all situations, it is best to tell the truth. This rule of honesty in all circumstances is seldom followed for...
The Crucible is a play based on a true story by Arthur Miller. It is set in 1692, in a small village called Salem, which, Due to a series of events started to have witch trials. The story counts with many changes leading to an...
Do people still believe in witchcraft? Do the people of Salem have a good reason to convict the innocent? In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, numerous characters are convicted of witchcraft because one character, Abigail Williams, wanted John Proctor all to herself. Most of the citizens...
When The Crucible opened on January 22, 1953, audiences greeted it with lukewarm applause. Critics did what they do best by berating the new play. What is now arguably the most influential allegorical play on the subject of Communism written during the Cold War era,...
Arthur Miller, Cold War, Giles Corey, House Un-American Activities Committee, Hysteria, John Proctor, Joseph McCarthy, Massachusetts, McCarthyism, Rebecca Nurse
“The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller explores the madness of the Salem witch trials of 1692. The story revolves around the characters John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, the 10 girls and others. The judges play an important role for which they possess...
Abigail Williams, American anti-communists, Arthur Miller, Bertolt Brecht, Blacklist, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elia Kazan, Elizabeth Proctor, Giles Corey, Harry S. Truman
John Proctor is a character in The Crucible who can be described as a tragic hero. Firstly, John Proctor’s tragic flaw was his great amount of pride, that slowly tied a series of unfortunate events, eventually making Proctor succumb to his death. However, Proctor does...
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Anagnorisis, Ancient Greek theatre, Audience, Catharsis, Character, Christopher Marlowe, Confession, Daniel Day-Lewis, Death
What if you had to make a decision, for your life or your death. But to live you must lie and, die you tell the truth. The reason I am not giving you that much information is because I want you to look at the...
Many people are being killed because of the problematic and abuse of power being used in Salem, Massachusetts. Innocent people are being accused of false accusations because of other peoples personal problems. In the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller displays most of the characters being...
In the play, ‘The Crucible’ Miller’s writing steers us, the audience, in a way that initially inclines us to believe she is presented as a villain. From the beginning of the play, Miller unquestionably presents Abigail as the villain. She is exhibited as a skillful...
In Arthur Miller’s powerful stage play The Crucible, written in 1953 as a metaphor for the McCarthy hearings on communism in America, the idea of conscience is greatly emphasized in many of the main characters. Miller himself once said that The Crucible focuses on “the...
In the era where women and men were accused, witches were burned, and innocent citizens were rejected, was not only a time of grief, but it also was a time for dishonesty, cruelty, and neglect. The Puritans believed in hard work, prudence, and self-discipline which...
Acts of the Apostles, Elizabeth Proctor, English-language films, Female, Girl, John Proctor, Mary Warren, People of the Salem witch trials, Portrayal of Women, Puritan
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” – Joseph Conrad The Salem witchcraft trials illuminate a great human campaign to rid society of the wicked devil and his sinful messengers. However nobly intended,...
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 written in a third person omniscient point of view. Miller’s book follows the infamous Salem witch trials, it can be connected to the title of the book because crucible is synonymous with the word...
“Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.” -Baltasar Gracian. Anger is one of the strongest feelings and can cause one to do and say things drastically out of character. The events that take place in The Crucible...
Subtext is the underlying idea or meaning, conveyed by a playwright without being explicitly state in order to a more thorough understanding of the themes of the play and the characters’ motivations. In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible and William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado...
Human nature has a tendency, a fad if you will, to display traits of selfishness and a “me first, you later” attitude. This sort of thinking often leads people to do unjust or politically incorrect things, and it gets them in trouble with the law,...
In his classic drama The Crucible, Arthur Miller chronicles the horror of the Salem witch trials, an embarrassing episode of colonial America’s history. At first reading, one might only view Miller’s work as a vivid account of the tragedy of theocracy in America’s late seventeenth...
Abigail Williams, Allegory, Arthur Miller, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elizabeth Proctor, Fear, Giles Corey, House Un-American Activities Committee, Hysteria, John Hathorne
The small village of Salem, Massachusetts featured in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a supremely religious community. The citizens from Salem would consider themselves loyal servants to The Lord. Although, many citizens feature a faithful noble personality, some characters reveal a hypocritical side throughout the...
Abigail Williams, All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elizabeth Proctor, Good Christian morals, Good morals, Individuality, John Proctor, Lie
How can a trial turn a religious minister into a man separated from a town’s power structure? In The Crucible, Reverend Hale is sent to Salem to deal with an alleged outbreak of witchcraft. At the beginning of the play, Hale is a confidant man,...
Revenge and Retaliation Spite, revenge and curiosity can all be deadly sins. Unfortunately, The Crucible’s Ann Putnam gives up her soul to all three. In the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, such contemptuous actions can create complications. Goody Putnam is described as “… a twisted...
Throughout everyone’s lives, people will make mistakes, but they will use them as a tool in their future to correct and move beyond their past, yet in some cases people chose to continue down a path, and resume to their unchanged habits. In the play,...
Morality is the difference between good and evil. It is the determination of what should be done and what should not be done; or what is right and what is wrong. Morality influences both behavior and motivation. All people live according to a set of...
What is irony, first of all? Irony is saying the opposite of what one actually means by using words. Miller has a sarcastic tone in The Crucible. This sound has to do with humor when we refer to each other. Sarcasm means reproach or sarcastic...
During the era of the Salem Witch Trials America turned into a bloodbath fueled by fear and greed. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible the puritan town of Salem and it’s people go through dramatic changes, especially the main character of the play John Proctor....
Man’s Sin Can Set Him Free A Puritan society to those who have or are accused of committing a sin can be a living hell. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller tells the tale of a Puritan community in Salem that is struck with witchcraft. During...
Abigail Williams, Academy Award for Best Actress, American films, Arthur Miller, Christian terms, Confession, Confessional, Court, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elizabeth Proctor
The Crucible vs. McCarthyism During the early 1690s in Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials took place. Salem was a Puritan society at the time, which meant that there was a strict moral code that encompassed Puritan lifestyle. The notion of the Devil brought fear to Puritans...
Abigail Williams, Arthur Miller, Betty Parris, Cold War, Communism, Communist Party USA, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elizabeth Proctor, Giles Corey, Harry S. Truman
Abigail Williams, Reverend John Hale, Reverend Samuel Parris, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Thomas Danforth, Mary Warren, John Hathorne, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse
Based on
McCarthyism allegory, which stands for the American prosecution of people accused of being communists.
Historical reference to the Salem witch trials, which became a mental mirror of political hysteria.
Plot
It is based around a fictional story that speaks of Salem witch trials that take place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with the young village girls being accused of witchcraft. As the girls are being caught by the local minister after being seen with the black slave named Tituba, one of the girls falls into a coma, which is seen as witchcraft. This Salem witch trial acts as the allegory of people being accused of Communist views.
The Purpose
One of the key themes in The Crucible is the aspect of goodness because every character in the book is concerned about religious factors and the ways how they will be judged by God after they die. It brings out a distorted view in terms of how far a person can go by accusing others or giving prompts of someone’s being wrong or bad. As the topics of conspiracy and being a silent witness clash in the book, it shows various comparisons of the Bay Colony to post WW2 society and the influence of the Communists. It can be approached as a reflection that one should use when thinking of what being honest and “finding one’s goodness” means.
Interesting facts
FBI wanted the author to change one of his screenplays to make his script PRO-American by not making gangsters look like Communists.
Miller's friends were also persecuted as they were asked to name those people they knew who could be the Communists.
Miller tried to use as many facts as he could when speaking of Salem in 1692.
The linguistic that is used in the play was converted to various speech patterns that have been used in the past and the territory.
The Crucible did not have Broadway success in the beginning.
Arthur Miller's passport was denied in Europe as he was told to leave since his views were against the national interests.
The play has turned Salem into a popular tourist destination.
Quotes
"Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven."
"I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it."
"It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves."
"A child's spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back."
"We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!"
Why is this topic important
One of the key themes in The Crucible is the aspect of goodness because every character in the book is concerned about religious factors and the ways how they will be judged by God after they die. It brings out a distorted view in terms of how far a person can go by accusing others or giving prompts of someone’s being wrong or bad. As the topics of conspiracy and being a silent witness clash in the book, it shows various comparisons of the Bay Colony to post WW2 society and the influence of the Communists. It can be approached as a reflection that one should use when thinking of what being honest and “finding one’s goodness” means.
Why should this topic be used
It is an important subject when writing about inconsistencies and judgment in our society. The Crucible is a great reflection of various political agendas, religion, and social bias. Reading through the play, we are also looking at ourselves, which is why the book can be compared to any social injustice or any act where stereotypes have been used. You can use this book as a way to implement quotes when comparing anything from cheating to honesty.
Who had an affair with John Proctor?
Abigail Williams, the main protagonist, had an affair with John Proctor.
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