How Does Arthur Miller Create Tension In Act 3 Of The Crucible
Explain How Arthur Miller Uses Act Three As A Dramatic Device To Expose The Rivalries Which Exist In Salem.
In 1952, Arthur Miller wrote a play entitled, ‘The Crucible’. The play is centred on the witch trials that actually took place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote about the event as an allegory for McCarthyism which occurred in the United States in the 1950s. McCarthyism was a time of great anti-communist suspicion in the late 1940s and 1950s. The key connections in the two occurrences were that many people were accused on little or no evidence and all of it was inconclusive. Also, characteristic was the hysteria in all the places where the problems struck. ‘The Crucible’, is structured around four main themes which are, hatred, feuding, revenge and conflict of authority. All these add equal twists in the play. Hatred is a strong theme throughout the Salem Witch Trials. The strictness of Puritan laws meant people were bound to break them, whether on purpose or by accident, and the strong religious views shared in Salem aroused suspicion for the most trivial of matters. As a result of this, feuding was inescapable. Petty rivalries caused many arguments in varying situations, and the resulting tense atmosphere in Salem resembled a rumbling …show more content…
As Giles was a learned man, who had been to court many times, he knew that if he was pressed to death without pleading innocent or guilty, the trial would not have been complete. This would prevent his land from being taken from his family by Putnam. So, when he is having stones laid upon him to try and force him to plead innocent or guilty, he says nothing but ‘more weight’ and consequently dies. So, although Giles Corey loses his life, he keeps his land in within his family and thus succeeds in his aim to prevent it falling into Putnam’s
In 1952, Arthur Miller wrote a play entitled, ‘The Crucible’. The play is centred on the witch trials that actually took place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote about the event as an allegory for McCarthyism which occurred in the United States in the 1950s. McCarthyism was a time of great anti-communist suspicion in the late 1940s and 1950s. The key connections in the two occurrences were that many people were accused on little or no evidence and all of it was inconclusive. Also, characteristic was the hysteria in all the places where the problems struck. ‘The Crucible’, is structured around four main themes which are, hatred, feuding, revenge and conflict of authority. All these add equal twists in the play. Hatred is a strong theme throughout the Salem Witch Trials. The strictness of Puritan laws meant people were bound to break them, whether on purpose or by accident, and the strong religious views shared in Salem aroused suspicion for the most trivial of matters. As a result of this, feuding was inescapable. Petty rivalries caused many arguments in varying situations, and the resulting tense atmosphere in Salem resembled a rumbling …show more content…
As Giles was a learned man, who had been to court many times, he knew that if he was pressed to death without pleading innocent or guilty, the trial would not have been complete. This would prevent his land from being taken from his family by Putnam. So, when he is having stones laid upon him to try and force him to plead innocent or guilty, he says nothing but ‘more weight’ and consequently dies. So, although Giles Corey loses his life, he keeps his land in within his family and thus succeeds in his aim to prevent it falling into Putnam’s