John Proctor compromised the reputation of his name, and values that he cherishes by having an affair with Abigail Williams. This flaw will forever haunt him. Arthur Miller uses symbolism and irony to support the central idea that Proctor can either die honorably or live a lie.…
In 1672 The Puritans belief was very strict which made it hard on the women during that time.The roles and treatments of the women was made were they had to submissive to the men. The characters Abigail, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth was portrayed as simple-minded, controlling, weak, and submissive women.…
To be puritan is to be pure of any physical or mental pleasure; when pressure built the citizens of Salem massed into a frenzy of noose casting. Only to realize the heavy weight of truth as a course rope began to constrict around their necks. In “The Crucible” a story taking place in Salem, Massachusetts: the restricting ways of puritan life began to take their toll on the human population, the inability to be flawed or express one’s personal thoughts lead to a series of hysterical outbreaks with catastrophic effects known as the Salem witch hunt. The impossible expectations laid ground for a series of exhilarating…
The Crucible has such a title, meaning severe trial, because puritans believe that life is a test. They lived a very strict style and understood that if you do anything wrong in life, god would harshly punish you for it. This puts a lot of stress on the characters to live up to the expectations of living perfectly and faithful.…
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller explores the themes of hysteria and fear, drawing parallels between the Salem witch trials of the 17th century and the McCarthy hearings of the 20th century. One of the central themes of the story is the destructive nature of hysteria. The fear of witchcraft in Salem spread quickly, leading to baseless accusations and the wrongful death of innocent individuals. This theme is evident when Reverend Hale exclaims, "Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it" (Miller 132), highlighting the disastrous consequences of unchecked hysteria. Through vivid portrayal of mass panic and paranoia, Miller shows the dangers of succumbing to irrationality and mob…
The church is against the devil, yet at the same time it is against such things as dancing and premature acts. The reputation of the family is very important to the members of the community; when the girls were caught dancing they lied to protect not just themselves, but their family name. The unexplained was caused by the devil, so some members of the community used the unexplained to their advantage. The girls claim that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance, they also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. In Act I under pressure from Parris and Hale, Tituba names as witches two women suggested by Mr.Putnam "And I look-and there was Goody Good"(50), and she then added "Aye, sir, and Goody Osburn"(50). These type of rumors went on because people didn't want any blame to be put on…
T: Reverend John Hale changed from the beginning to the end of the play the Crucible.…
Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams are two main characters in Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible. Abigail Williams was once the servant for Proctor however Elizabeth Proctor fires her after she learns about Abigail and her husband’s affair. Both women are same in some ways but they have different motives.…
Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they struggled to settle into a strict, religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational fears and a confined lifestyle.…
Written about a small town’s suffering, The Crucible creates an allegory connecting the Salem Witch Trials of1692 to the McCarthy trials of the mid-20th century. At the beginning of this Play, one can see the anarchy created by a group of girls. The girls, led by Abigail William, were simply sporting around in the woods. This incident led to the pointing of fingers, false confessions, vengeance and ultimately the death of more than 15 innocent Puritans who did not, in fact, commit witchery. The playwright, Arthur Miller, focuses on the hysteria this group causes for the town of Salem and while doing this he pokes at the current problem of the McCarthy Trials. Puritans were those who moved from England with intentions of Purifying the corrupt ways of the Church of England. This ideology of this “perfect” religion passed every test but life itself; the high standards that were demanded to keep the religion going could not be met as time passed. The Puritans endorsed Theocracy, a flawed system of justice that blends church and state; therefore uniting the jobs of judges and minsters. Hence, one could not fight the court because it could be seen as an attempt to overthrow God. Using the power of the court to her advantage, Abigail Williams became the force of evil for not only the town of Salem but for the Puritan Religion itself by committing the sins of adultery, bearing false witness against thy neighbor and causing the deaths of innocent people.…
Nearly everyone can agree that the Puritans had some issues. They killed countless innocent people for ridiculous reasons, accused anybody different from them of being a witch, and were extremely strict about religion. Some Puritans even accused people they didn’t like of witchcraft just to get them executed. The Puritans that saw problems with this system were accused of being witches and hanged as well. These actions are shown very clearly in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. In this play, several teenage girls begin to accuse people they don’t like of witchcraft and pretend that they are being afflicted by them. The people of Salem all believe them and almost every person the “afflicted” girls accuse…
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play modeled after the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a period when fear of communism grew to hysteria, and it reflected the topic of The Crucible. In this play, a wave of fear spreads throughout Salem ad accusations of witchcraft begin to rise. A character, John Proctor, displays great pride throughout the play but also demonstrates change because he was at first doubtful, but later comes to realize its severity. John Proctor’s combination of these traits influences the outcome of the play and causes his own demise.…
Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is a social commentary on witch hunts in early America, as well as an Aristotelian tragedy. In Aristotle's essay Poetics, Aristotle explains that a character flaw (imperfection or weakness in one's personality or values) or an error in judgment can lead to tragedy. The word for this is hamartia. Aristotle also goes on to state that the tragic hero will find enlightenment through his or her lamentable situation. In Miller's play there are two characters in particular, John and Elizabeth Proctor, who are tragic figures that find psychological insight, stunning facts of self-sacrifice and heroism through their personal tragedies.…
Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior. ~Logan Pearsall Smith “The Crucible” a 1952 play written by Arthur Miller is an allegory of McCarthyism. The play itself is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. In Miller’s masterpiece we meet a wide array of characters, village people, ordained ministers, judges, and farmers. We have the major characters, John Proctor, Rev. Hale, Rev. Parris, Abigail Williams, and Elizabeth Proctor. Arthur Miller’s 1952 drama The Crucible illustrates that, moral integrity and human dignity are worth sacrifice. The clearest representations of a characters sacrifices for the preservation of their own moral and human dignity can be seen by the actions of three key characters; John Proctor’s sacrifice of his reputation and eventually his life to do the right thing, Giles’s brute force and refusal to save his own life by confessing a lie, and Rebecca Nurse’s will to stick to her moral believes to her grave. Reputation, a man’s image and how he is seen by those around him impacts his whole life, some can say that a man’s reputation is their most prized position if it is good, but can be a curse if bad. For Proctor to sacrifice his reputation, and name in the village to save his wife, and stop the courts trials is a truly selfless act and preserves ones integrity because they are making a large sacrifice to do the right thing. “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I have thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance.” – (John Proctor 116) this public confession of John’s affair with Abigail was meant to expose Abigail’s hidden motive for the accusation of Elizabeth. Although this confession destroys John’s reputation he confesses not only…
Through my time being with the church I have never questioned or doubted the sacredness of our work once, but recently I have come to find myself realizing that the duty performed by reverends of this sanction are ill minded in determining the wrongfulness of a fellow towns member’s affairs. I am now considering leaving the church; I must record all of my reasons for doing so in this journal.…