How Does Arthur Miller Present Motivation In The Crucible

Motivation can be clearly defined as why someone chooses to do what they preform, the reason behind the madness. Within Arthur Miller’s drama, The Crucible, the motivation of the many different characters is very conspicuous, as there are many hints throughout the text. The play is a fictionalized and dramatized version of the story of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts that took place during 1692. The drama was allegedly a representation of McCarthyism, the practice of making accusations without having proper evidence. Joseph McCarthy produced a series of investigations in order to uncover a communist penetration, just as the Christians of the Chesapeake Bay did to reveal witchcraft. Miller exhibits how quick many characters were to accusing their neighbors of these preposterous allegations, such as Abigail. He also prevails that others stood strong willed and refused to give in to the deranged assertions, such as John Proctor. He was a farmer and tavern keeper in Salem whom rarely made an appearance in Church and enjoyed voicing his strong opinion. Through characters like John Proctor, Miller is able to display that vocalizing the truth can overcome ludicrous claims, such as witchcraft and is motivated by integrity and self preservation. John Proctor is a very prideful character that would rather die than lose his name and honor. He is constantly
Between confessing the affair to Elizabeth to even telling the entire town, Proctor is driven by getting the guilt off of his chest, telling the truth. Overall, Miller accurately displayed the story of the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible by vividly flaunting the motivation behind multiple characters and allowing the readers to dive into their thoughts. The play depicts that the people that are driven by the truth are the ones that have the most abundant