Preview

The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
879 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Crucible
The Crucible

In the story The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it explains a play that involves historical events like witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This drama is an example of the unjust events that happened, due to the terrible lies that some young girls made up, who were supposedly witchcraft. This was a hard situation for the entire town because of the accusation of witchcraft toward innocent people. In The Crucible, Miller shows us several examples of themes, some interesting themes were man vs. society, man vs. man, and man vs. self-internal.

For instance, the theme man vs. society was present when Abigail and the other girls were found dancing. In act I, Parris asked Abigail to tell the truth and confess that they were dancing, she responded “we did dance, uncle” (Miller p.138). Abigail and the girls were afraid to confess because they would later have to face what the people in town would be commentating about them. In their society dancing was not permitted and was seen as an offense, if a girl danced she was considered a whore or witch. Furthermore, Parris also finds himself facing society, when his daughter does not awake. The people began talking that someone had done witchcraft to her or that she was a witch. Parris found himself facing the people that believed in him and soon he would begin to lose his good perspective and respect. He could not face the people because he knew they would question him about what was going on and he would not know what to respond.

In addition, Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor also find themselves facing an accusation of witchcraft and this was a serious thing in their town. Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft supposedly it was her fault that she had a needle stuck in her stomach. This affects John Proctor because ha takes the accusation on him, so they won’t hang his wife who is expecting a child. John knew it was his fault because Abigail only did it to separate him and his wife

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Crucible

    • 2315 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Describe the personality of Reverend Samuel Parris. Reverend Parris believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side. He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent in them. He never conceived that they were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak. He is described to have cut a “villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him.” Describe the life in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who were shipping out products of slowly increasing quantity and value to the European world. Salem’s creed forbade anything resembling a theater or “vain enjoyment.” The town was very centered around the idea of prayer. Hard work kept the town’s morals from spoiling, for the people were forced to fight the land like heroes for every grain of corn, and no man had very much time for fooling around. Personal privacy was taken quite lightly in Salem, for the people believed that it was their duty to mind people’s business. How did the men who settled Salem differ from those who settled in Virginia? The people and church of Salem found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom (their fathers had been persecuted in England) lest their New Jerusalem be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas. They believed that they held the candle that would light the world. They were dedicated folk and they had to be to survive the life they had chosen or been born into in this country. People of Jamestown in Virginia were the complete opposite. The Englishmen who landed there were motivated mainly by a hunt for profit. They had thought to pick off the wealth of the new country and then return rich to England. They were individualists and tried to kill off the…

    • 2315 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible, expressed both sad and interesting tales of the times most considered outrageous. Not only were the witch hunts unpredictable and non-valid but anybody could be accused of practicing witchcraft- even the preachers and children. Unfortunately, this was the same situation that occurred with the Red Scare that occurred after World War II. No matter what age, race or religious view one had, everyone was considered a suspect. Even those who would never dare to think or act any different from the majority were put on the stand- which almost always ended tragically. Arthur Miller uses the History in his book to show how ignorance and faulty power holders can lead to even the most respectful and well known people to go down in flames.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It has been said many times that if people don't learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them, such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one example is the blatant similarities between the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When considering the nature of these events, it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not would only once, but twice. If one would take the time to compare these events he or she will be able to see numerous similarities between them. In The Crucible Miller relates an analogy of the witch trials in Salem to the investigation of communists by Joseph McCarthy. There are many similarities between these two events in history.…

    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the crucible

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Abigail lies throughout the entire play. She has Tituba cast a spell to kill Elizabeth but in order to avoid detection of this she lies saying she saw all these people with the devil; "I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil!" She also states before these lies "I want to open myself!" The word 'open' means 'entirely honest; Ironically, nothing thatshe says is actually truthful. She lies in court by pretending she see's things that aren't actually there in hope to get others "Why do you come, yellow bird?" (She didn't actually see any bird) She tells John that the night in the forest was just 'fun' "We were dancin' in the woods last night" when in reality she was drinking a charm to kill Elizabeth. She also ironically calls Elizabeth a liar; "Goody proctor is a gossiping liar" This is also a lie again!PROCTOR, breathless and in agony: It [Abigail] is a whore!…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the crucible

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The most important parts of any story or play are the characters. Characters behave differently depending on the circumstances or changes in the environment. In "The Crucible", the hero John Proctor shows dramatic change for the good. Arthur Miller shows this by Proctor's intense dialogues and Miller's stage direction. Miller reveals the growth of Proctor from a man who is arrogant and conceited to a man who is determined and stands up for what he believes in.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Having a good reputation is a goal that every human being wants accomplished during his or her life, but only to a certain extent. Having a reputation, the basic theme of this book, has a great amount of importance in The Crucible. This theme plays a tremendous role in what the basis of this book is. Arthur miller developed this theme throughout the book by accumulating characters with this quality. There are many characters in this book, but the ones that convey these qualities are, Reverend Parris, Abigail along with John Proctor. Miller uses Parris, in the first act, to demonstrate the theme of having great reputation and integrity.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages

    her home. As a result of Hester’s punishment by society, her experience with exile was both…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Arthur Mille's The Crucible, only a handful of characters symbolize truth and lies. One character in The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, remains honest throughout the entire situation that surrounds her. However, as an honest and loving Christian wife who passionately loves her husband, Elizabeth hides the truth when a dire situation arises, evidently leading to the demise of her husband. She realizes that the truth is something that must be continuously followed and one should never stray from it. Elizabeth Proctor is a symbol of truth because she values it as her most vital moral.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1925 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a caliginous time in American history. The moral superiority that engulfs the town in a time of great despair and deep divide accurately sums up the atmosphere of that period of injustice that will forever stain the town of Salem, Massachusetts. This is the subject matter for the play entitled “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller in 1953. According to the Teacher Vision “The play was adapted for film once, by Jean-Paul Sartre as the 1958 film Les Sorcières de Salem and by Arthur Miller himself as the 1996 film The Crucible, the latter with a cast including Paul Scofield, Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Miller's adaptation earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay based on Previously Produced Material, his only nomination. The play was adapted by composer Robert Ward into an opera, The Crucible, which was first performed in 1961 and received the Pulitzer Prize”. (“The Crucible” Teacher Vision; Family Education Network, 2001-2012. web. Nov 23, 2012. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/historical-fiction/literature-guide/3498.html)…

    • 1925 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. In other words, Roosevelt may be saying that the only thing to be worried of is the feelings or actions that follow that scared feeling. This allegory and play written by Arthur Miller fits this quotation perfectly. Throughout The Crucible, Abigail and Mary Warren, grow an internal conflict that later turns into the plays external conflict.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the Salem Witch Trial of 1692 was a open trial where anyone can come and make accusations. The accusers gained an abundant of power over the court and over the accused. Since the girls, Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mary Warren, and Mercy Lewis started the accusations they went from having no power to being the most powerful characters. The witch trials empower individuals who were previously powerless.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Act 1(Abigail Williams)- I asked Tituba to go into the woods with a bunch of the…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Topic 6: At the end of the play, Reverend hale insists that John Proctor”s desire to hang instead of admitting that he was consorting with the devil is an act of excessive pride or stubbornness. Proctor’s self-sacrifice is not more than a petulant act of excessive pride.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Reputation is the way that other people look at you, while integrity is the way you look at yourself. Many of the characters in the story had to choose to protect their reputation or their integrity. Parris, Abigail, and others chose reputation, while Rebecca and Proctor chose to protect their integrity. If they did show integrity and said they did not make a pact with the devil they were seen as liars and would hang for being witches, but when they confessed they were with the devil they would be put in jail.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To begin with, Elizabeth and John Proctor have to marginalize Abigail because they need a good reputation to live in Salem where gossip is powerful enough to murder. Firstly, adultery is a big sin in a Christian society and John Proctor feels guilty about his affair with Abigail. In the book, Mr. Hale tells John to recite The Commandments, but John forgets one of them. When Elizabeth reminds him it is “adultery”, “Proctor, as though a secret arrow had pained his heart: Aye. Trying to grin it away--- to Hale: You see, sir, between the two of us we do know them all. Hale only looks at Proctor, deep in his attempt to define this man. Proctor grows more uneasy. I think it. Be a small fault” (Miller 67). The affair between John Proctor and Abigail will be condemned as adultery. If someone was caught in adultery at that time, he or she would be sent into jail and then hanged. According to the quotation above, John Proctor is scared and guilty. He is afraid that Mr. Hale has found out the relationship between him and Abigail. He hurries to clarify his fault in order to cover his guilt and the affair. This is the reason why John…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays