The Role of Irony in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

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 criticism. The reason Miller writes in such simple humor is because he needs the reader to see it and know it. The explanation Miller writes in such simple cases of humor is because he needs the listener to see it and know something. Most of the humor situations are because it reveals that the characters in the novel are almost always dishonest and have no real proof.

There are many examples of irony in the Crucible. The definition of irony is- Events that are or seem deliberately opposite of what someone expects or wants and is usually funny as a result of it. A few examples are when everyone was lying about other people being witches or practicing witchcraft when everyone knew that those people weren’t witches or involved with witchcraft. Late in the third act, Elizibeth lies about John’s adultery just to protect his reputation. Both Elizbeth and John were highly respected in the Salem community. They were caught lying and committing adultery. So as a result, Elizbeth lied to protect John.

Miller uses irony to create tension in important scenes in The Crucible. The use of irony is to develop tension for the readers. Elizbeth is known for being honest and holds honesty to a high standard. It was unexpected that she would lie. When Elizbeth lies to protect John, she didn’t know he already admitted to committing adultery. When Hale forced John to recite the ten commandments. John couldn’t name adultery. It’s ironic in the end because he had an affair with Abigail and Elizbeth lied to protect him. Adultery was handled very harshly back then. The most simple form or irony in the Crucible is when John was asked to recite the ten commandments to prove that he was a true Christan. He is able to get nine of them. He cannot, for whatever reason, recite adultery. Whether that was because he forgot or whatever. He, not much later, commits the same sin or law, however you want to look at it.

In conclusion, Miller added irony into The Crucible for many reasons. If you look hard enough you can find many examples of it. He wrote it in a way to show that appearances can be deceiving. Using verbal irony to create confusion and situational to add tension between characters. Maybe he wanted the readers to understand that to see through people and what they say, you must face reality head on.

Works Cited

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