Preview

The Root of Conflict

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1649 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Root of Conflict
Fear of what is different lies at the root of conflict

Score: 45/50

Statement of explanation

The exploration of this context prompt, fear of what is different lies at the root of conflict, has been chosen to be written in the form of a persuasive essay. Much like the text response, this essay only presents the one point of view, that agreeably the fear of the different than being different is what drives conflicts. However, unlike a conventional text response, this essay does not strictly revolve around just the text, but also the historical context and background of the text, to illustrate that the conflicts that arise from fears of being different not only occur in individuals, but also in societies.

The language chosen in this essay is intended to be for one with some prior knowledge of the context and setting that the Crucible was written in, including the parallels of Puritanism and McCarthyism that Arthur Miller has drawn from. The formality of the writing also expects the reader to be well literate as to be able to discuss and explore some of the more complex issues surrounding the Salem witch hunts. To retain both the formality and persuasiveness of the writing, conventional persuasive techniques such as rhetorical questions, statistics and strong tones have been avoided, but the wording, sentence structure and word choices have still been used extensively.

Word choices such as paranoia, obsession and hysteria are intended to persuade the reader to sense that the conflicts that have emerged from the fear of difference have only being fuelled by mere panic and irrational, unreasoned and unfounded beliefs. Consistent use of quotes relating back to the Crucible are employed to show a good understanding of the text as well as providing strong textual evidence for the writing. The choice of longer quotes from the Crucible demonstrate an in-depth interpretation of the subtext and text, such as a speech Danforth gives to Hale on the logic of the witch

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is based upon the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in the year 1692. The text also serves as an allegorical warning about much more recent events, in particular the McCarthy Trials of 1953. The McCarthy Trials were exploring communism. ‘The Crucible’ was written to highlight the similarities between McCarthyism and communism in the 1950’s in the United States of America and the witch hunts of Europe in the 17th century. The play is literally written about the witch trials but it is figuratively about the society Miller lived in, in 1953. Thousands of Americans were accused of being communists like in ‘The Crucible’; hundreds of the town’s people were accused of being witches. Three major ideologies that are still relevant in society today are evident in the play, intolerance, mass hysteria and reputation.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1940s, America was hysterical over communism with McCarthyism everywhere. Author, Arthur Miller felt that the situation had many similarities to the Salem Witch Trials. In both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism fear, hysteria, and danger were common. A type of evidence called “spectral evidence” was being used in both situations and Miller used his play, The Crucible, as an allegory for McCarthyism to tell one story with an even deeper meaning. McCarthyism and the Salem Witch trials relied on public hysteria and spectral evidence to influence people and control them.…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you know about The Salem Witch Trials? If not, keep reading. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations of witchcraft towards older women. This took place between 1692 and 1693. As a result, many innocent people were executed. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is an example of what partially happen in the Salem Witch Tails using real names and real events in his play. The Crucible is mainly about the innocent people who lost their life’s from an injustice way and conflicts between peddling guilty or not guilty for serving to the devil. The reason Miller wrote the Crucible in the first place was to compare it to the accusations to the United States Administration, accusing anyone who supported Communism with or without evidence.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between February 1692 and May 1693, in several towns in the state of Massachusetts, dozens of people were accused of witchcraft. Nineteen people were sentenced to death by the state government because of all the villagers that accused each other of being possessed by the devil. In contemporary times, these events are generally known as the Salem witch trials. A few hundred years later, in the early 1950’s, author Arthur Miller wrote a play about this part of American history called The Crucible. In this analysis I will argue that The Crucible, a play with hysteria and paranoia as main themes, partly represents the McCarthy Era, in which hundreds of United States inhabitants were accused of being communistic without hard evidence.…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Core 1 - The Crucible

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Author Miller in his play The Crucible explores the lives of people who strictly live under the church’s authority in a theocratic society during the 1690s in Salem, Massachusetts. A community of Puritans with their strong beliefs will cause a paranoia in their entire village. The ministers of the church afraid of losing their power will do anything to keep it. Other individuals seek power for their own personal vendetta. With the use of direct characterization, allusion, and irony Miller shows his readers who has the power, who fears it, and who wants in The Crucible.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Those involved in the McCarthy witch hunts and those in The Crucible are mainly motivated to condemn others for personal gain or out of sheer panic and hysteria. Many--if they did not share views of the general population--are openly condemned in both the McCarthy era and in “The Crucible.” In both instances, regardless of the amount of evidence present, people were suspected of witchcraft/communism and consequently condemned. The many claims of witchcraft made by characters in Miller’s “The Crucible”--lacking sufficient evidence--share great similarities with the communist “witch hunts” of the McCarthy…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the opening scenes of the play ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller, key ideas of persecution of those who don’t belong and of those who choose not to conform to the strict rules of the Puritan society that the city of Salem believed in and the consequences and…

    • 3808 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The struggle of Reverend John Hale is that he was transformed emotionally throughout the times of lies and treachery as he goes from unbiased accuser, to uncertain power, to defender of the accuser. This connects to Arthur Miller’s reason for writing this play because in 1952 the same thing was going on but in this case it was McCarthyism which is a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” focuses on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas.…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Salem Witch trails took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It was a time where reason and facts become cloudy by unreasonable desires to place the blame for society’s problems on others. Many innocent men and women were convicted of witchcraft, and were sent to be hanged. Others spent many months in jail waiting for trial. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller illustrates the power of false confession and effect of fear in Salem proving that mankind will say anything to save their own life, when their life is in danger.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the time of 1692s in Massachusetts Bay Colony, there are partially fictionalized stories between the witch trials and it is reflected McCarthyism. In the story of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people are split into two major groups one is call “the witches” lead by Abigail Williams and another is call “witches hunter” lead by Reverend Hale. Along with the behaviors of the two factions, they seem to have the same goal to make Salem back to peace. Abigail William wants to save herself and the girls of the judge by accusing others who are Innocent and Reverend Hale wants to find the people who speak for the devil. The conflict between two factions is harming innocent people by performing a play and within different standpoint due to theocracy society.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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

    In Arthur Miller's “The Crucible” the last words uttered by the people at the end of the Salem witch trial were ones with no regret as they hung to death in front of the town. All of these people who were in fact innocent all faced similar problems due to the Puritan religion and government being, in essence, one in the same. Jealousy, revenge, and fear of the unknown sets the stage for how one persons should act vs how the people did act in the religious society.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The three main upbringing causes that lead to conflict are ignorance, intolerance and fear, which can be demonstrated in “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller. During the ‘witch hunt’ times in 1692, the town of Salem experienced suspicion and paranoia towards witchcraft within the town. The young girls in the play hid the whole truth with lies, because they were fearful of the consequences that would strike them if they were to be honest about their actions. The corrupt behavior of the girls caused many ‘innocent’ people to be accused and punished with hanging. This was not tolerated by the town folk. Most people were too ignorant to see past these lies that the girls brought up; hence these events show fear, intolerance and ignorance were the main causes of the conflicts that occurred in the…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The true essence of conflict is derived from the very thing we have no control over, what we fear. It often alters the way in which we act or manage situations and can provoke uneasiness.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays