The Crucible Review
In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, not much was received, except for the revenge of a heart broken girl. I didn't find this play intriguing like most plays I have read before. If you want to watch a girl throw a tantrum over a guy and get rid of her rivals, then I recommend watching Mean Girls or befriend a high school queen bee, instead of reading The Crucible. Not much is offered to you other than blame and the act of revenge, which was lacked as well. In fact, the witch hysteria played a minor role and very little action were taking place. It is colonial Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan run society. In a room, Reverend Parris is beside his "ill" daughter Betty and he is suspicious of his niece, Abigail Williams. Abigail and other girls were caught dancing in the woods while having a ceremony, which in this time is unholy. At random, characters begin to arrive to his house to check up on the girl and talk about the rumors going throughout Salem of his daughter's condition. Reverend Hale arrived and he uses his holy powers to make Tituba confess of doing Devil's work. Soon after Betty and Abigail accuse people of witchcraft and the whole town is now in a hysteria. Meanwhile, Proctor, the ex-lover of Abigail Williams, is trying to save his wife from being accused of witchcraft and vengeful Abigail. With the help of a group of girls, Abigail is able to pull off the act of being hurt by the accused witches. Innocent people are convicted and put to death, and John Proctor decides its his duty to help these people. The most important aspect of the play is the characters, and in The Crucible, the characters are awful. To begin with, they are misunderstood, unconvincing, or just plain retarded. A misunderstood character is Abigail Williams, and she is portrayed as the antagonist of the play, however she is not. Little background is given about her, but from what Arthur Miller provides, she is an orphan who has witnessed death, and she lost her virginity to a