Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — The Crucible
Our Experienced Professionals Write Custom Essays According to Your Instructions
experts online
Experienced Professionals Write Your Articles Perfectly
Get custom essaysExpert Writers Produce Unique Essays About Anything You Need
experts online
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Rated by a GradeFixer's writer
Have Experienced Writers Writing For You
Get custom essaysJanuary 22, 1953, Arthur Miller
Play; Tragedy
Abigail Williams, Reverend John Hale, Reverend Samuel Parris, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Thomas Danforth, Mary Warren, John Hathorne, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse
McCarthyism allegory, which stands for the American prosecution of people accused of being communists.
Intolerance, Puritanism, Reputation, Hysteria, Goodness, Judgment
Historical reference to the Salem witch trials, which became a mental mirror of political hysteria.
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.
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.
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.
"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!"
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.
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.
Abigail Williams, the main protagonist, had an affair with John Proctor.
1. Salisbury, N. (2004). In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. By Mary Beth Norton.(New York: Knopf, 2002. 436 pp. $30.00, isbn 0-375-40709-X.). (https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/91/1/201/762359)
2. Andrews, D. (2003). Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. vii 436 pp. ISBN 0-375-40709-X. Itinerario, 27(2), 177-179. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/itinerario/article/abs/mary-beth-norton-in-the-devils-snare-the-salem-witchcraft-crisis-of-1692-new-york-alfred-a-knopf-2002-vii-436-pp-isbn-037540709x/6A82CB362650054F3A059109B7C04FAA)
3. Budick, E.M. (1985). History and Other Spectres in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Modern Drama 28(4), 535-552 (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/50/article/498714/summary)
4. Popkin, H. (1964). Arthur Miller's" The Crucible". College English, 26(2), 139-146. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/373665)
5. Curtis, P. (1965). The Crucible. Critical Review, 8, 45. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/5dd8ecd8022057c725bea9b694347a10/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1817655)
6. Gerstle, G. (2017). American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400883097/html#APA)
7. Miller, T. (2023). The Crucible: McCarthyism and a Historical View of Witch Hunts. Humanities. (https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Crucible-McCarthyism-and-a-Historical-View-of-Witch-Hunts)
8. Aziz, A. (2016). Using the past to intervene in the present: spectacular framing in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. New Theatre Quarterly, 32(2), 169-180. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-theatre-quarterly/article/abs/using-the-past-to-intervene-in-the-present-spectacular-framing-in-arthur-millers-the-crucible/8B437FE241799B43CF0F11838CC4D7E1)
9. Martin, R.A. (1977). Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Background and Sources. Modern Drama 20(3), 279-292. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/50/article/502227/summary)
Bibliography
Grade
We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.