The Crucible Analysis
The meaning of The Crucible
The definition from the dictionary of a “crucible” defines it as being:
1. “A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial” ("cru∙ci∙ble”). It is well represented in the play because the whole story revolves around the witch trials. The witch trials were caused by Salem’s beliefs, based on the Christian religion. This religion clearly indicated that witches were not to be accepted in a Christian community. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son of daughter to pass through fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch” (FYI – Act One - Deuteronomy 18:10). Everybody that got accused had to go to court to get tested in front of the girls, who decided …show more content…
whether the person was practicing witchcraft or not. If they were found guilty, they were hung or kept in prison. 2.
“Metallurgy. A hollow area at the bottom of a furnace in which the metal collects” (“crucible”). This is seen in the play in a figurative way. As the story advances, there are more people collecting in the prison, due to the fact that the girls are accusing several innocent human beings of practicing witchcraft. It is a metaphor to the definition of a crucible because the human beings are represented by the metal, and the prison is represented by the bottom of the furnace. If we take a look at the people that got accused, it started out by being the people from the lower social class, and as time advanced, the girls accused people from the higher social class. It took a while, because there were a lot of people getting accused. They were starting a collection of witches in prison such as Elizabeth Proctor, Tituba, Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse. This is the reason why it can be related to the definition of a crucible; the witches were starting to collect in …show more content…
prison. 3. “A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces” ("cru∙ci∙ble”). For this definition of a crucible, it is seen in the play more literally. The people in the town of Salem are getting accused of practicing witchcraft and are put in jail because they are not powerful people in the community. Therefore, the definition of the word represents the people in the play that are intelligent, that take part in the community with their political forces and the people that have money. They are the people that rule the town, and that control the witch trials. For instance, if we take a look at Reverend Hale, he is one of the judges in court and he is an important character because he has money, he is a knowledgeable man and he’s in the higher social class.
This is the reason why he is able to control what happens in the court. For example, in act IV, when he comes back in Salem, he makes Elizabeth agree to speak to John in order to make him confess of witchcraft. The other judges, Danforth and Hathorne, don’t argue with Hale. They always keep an open mind to what Hale has to say because of his importance in Salem. If someone else would have suggested this idea, such as Rebecca Nurse, the judges wouldn’t have considered it because she isn’t wealthy, she has no importance in the court and she isn’t
smart.
In addition, Reverend Parris also has the authority to control what happens in court because he is a powerful character in the story. He is in the higher social class, has a lot of money and he is intelligent. He is intelligent when it comes to saving his reputation in town, which makes the confluence of all three characteristics that control the witch trials. Most of them are very selfish, such as Reverend Parris, judge Hathorne and Danforth, causing the court to be a bad influence on Salem. These people don’t care about others, about the people getting hung, they only care about their names; their reputations. 4. “A container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures” (“crucible”). This definition is seen more metaphorically in the play. It represents the limits of the conflicts in the story. Everything was already stirring up in Salem before the trials, but once they have started, it made every conflict reach their highest temperatures, which led them to explode. They have reached their limits and it is getting very messy.
For example, before the witch trials, Mrs. Putnam was jealous of Rebecca Nurse because she had many children, and how she is old and even has grandchildren. Mrs. Putnam never had many children because most of them died. “Reverend Parris, I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth. Believe me, sir, you never saw more hearty babies born. And yet, each would wither in my arms the very night of their birth” (Miller, page 16). When the witch trials started, she blamed Rebecca Nurse of practicing witchcraft because it was said that she was the one that killed Mrs. Putnam’s babies. In reality, she only blamed her because she was jealous of the amount of children she had.
Before the witch trials, the citizens hid their hatred for each other and no one was getting hurt. Once the witch trials began, citizens started accusing others, in order to gain something. It was a time to get satisfaction out of vengeance by blaming others of practicing witchcraft, which could lead to death.
“The Vengeance is walking Salem”
Proctor’s summation of the trials is that “Vengeance is walking Salem”. He is right because numerous times in the play we can see that people are blaming others of practicing witchcraft when they aren’t, in order to get vengeance. They are being selfish, and selfishness can bring out the worst in people.
For instance, if we take a look at Abigail, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch out of jealousy and vengeance. Before the trials had started, Elizabeth Proctor had been blackening Abigail’s name because she had an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Parris questions Abigail in Act I:
Abigail, is there any other cause than you have told me, for your being discharged from Goody Proctor’s service? I have heard it said, and I tell you as I heard it, that she comes so rarely to the church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled.
What signifies that remark? (Miller, page 12).
This has made the tension between them rise up, causing a disaster when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of practicing witchcraft in Act II. Elizabeth is put to jail, while Abigail gets a satisfaction out of her actions because she has put her out of the picture. In addition, if we take a look at John Proctor and Mr. Putnam in Act I, they argue about the amount of land they own. The amount of land a citizen owned was something very important in that time. It made them climb up the social class and it made their name look better too. Some farmers weren’t fair and stole some land. Proctor says to Mr. Putnam: “Your grandfather had a habit of willing land that never belonged to him, if I may say it plain” (Miller, page 33). Giles gets in the argument and agrees with John, which stirs the conflict. Later on in Act II, Giles Corey’s wife is accused of witchcraft, and he gets put to jail too. This will bring satisfaction to Mr. Putnam because once a person is dead, or admits to practicing witchcraft, they lose everything. Their house, their land, their name, it’s all gone.
Many farmers would blame people they didn’t like in order to get vengeance for conflicts similar to the previous one with Giles Corey, John Proctor and Mr. Putnam. Once someone’s opponent was put to jail, he could have his land.
Finally, Mary Warren gets her revenge on John Proctor in act III. Proctor forced Mary to tell the judges that she never saw any spirits in the air attacking her, and neither did the girls. The girls then turn against Mary for ratting them out and they pretend she is lifting her spirit up in the air. This is making her fall down the ladder that she just climbed to gain her spot in the court. In order to get vengeance on John, she drags him along down the ladder. She blames him of making her sing the Devil’s book, which then brings him to jail too. “You’re the Devil’s man! […] My name, he want my name. “I’ll murder you” he says, “if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,” he says!” (Miller, page 124).
At last, by the end of the play, the town of Salem is a disaster. “Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots’ cry will end his life – and you wonder yet if rebellion’s spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province!” (Miller, page 137). These people destroyed Salem because of their selfish minds, which brought evilness along with it.
Work’s Cited
“crucible”. Dictionary.com. Random House Inc. n.d. Web. April 16th 2014.
"cru∙ci∙ble”. The Free Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. n.d. Web. April 21st
2014.
FYI – Act One. 1997 McDougal Littell Inc. Print.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. London, New York: Marion Boyars Publishers,
1967. Print.
The definition from the dictionary of a “crucible” defines it as being:
1. “A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial” ("cru∙ci∙ble”). It is well represented in the play because the whole story revolves around the witch trials. The witch trials were caused by Salem’s beliefs, based on the Christian religion. This religion clearly indicated that witches were not to be accepted in a Christian community. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son of daughter to pass through fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch” (FYI – Act One - Deuteronomy 18:10). Everybody that got accused had to go to court to get tested in front of the girls, who decided …show more content…
whether the person was practicing witchcraft or not. If they were found guilty, they were hung or kept in prison. 2.
“Metallurgy. A hollow area at the bottom of a furnace in which the metal collects” (“crucible”). This is seen in the play in a figurative way. As the story advances, there are more people collecting in the prison, due to the fact that the girls are accusing several innocent human beings of practicing witchcraft. It is a metaphor to the definition of a crucible because the human beings are represented by the metal, and the prison is represented by the bottom of the furnace. If we take a look at the people that got accused, it started out by being the people from the lower social class, and as time advanced, the girls accused people from the higher social class. It took a while, because there were a lot of people getting accused. They were starting a collection of witches in prison such as Elizabeth Proctor, Tituba, Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse. This is the reason why it can be related to the definition of a crucible; the witches were starting to collect in …show more content…
prison. 3. “A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces” ("cru∙ci∙ble”). For this definition of a crucible, it is seen in the play more literally. The people in the town of Salem are getting accused of practicing witchcraft and are put in jail because they are not powerful people in the community. Therefore, the definition of the word represents the people in the play that are intelligent, that take part in the community with their political forces and the people that have money. They are the people that rule the town, and that control the witch trials. For instance, if we take a look at Reverend Hale, he is one of the judges in court and he is an important character because he has money, he is a knowledgeable man and he’s in the higher social class.
This is the reason why he is able to control what happens in the court. For example, in act IV, when he comes back in Salem, he makes Elizabeth agree to speak to John in order to make him confess of witchcraft. The other judges, Danforth and Hathorne, don’t argue with Hale. They always keep an open mind to what Hale has to say because of his importance in Salem. If someone else would have suggested this idea, such as Rebecca Nurse, the judges wouldn’t have considered it because she isn’t wealthy, she has no importance in the court and she isn’t
smart.
In addition, Reverend Parris also has the authority to control what happens in court because he is a powerful character in the story. He is in the higher social class, has a lot of money and he is intelligent. He is intelligent when it comes to saving his reputation in town, which makes the confluence of all three characteristics that control the witch trials. Most of them are very selfish, such as Reverend Parris, judge Hathorne and Danforth, causing the court to be a bad influence on Salem. These people don’t care about others, about the people getting hung, they only care about their names; their reputations. 4. “A container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures” (“crucible”). This definition is seen more metaphorically in the play. It represents the limits of the conflicts in the story. Everything was already stirring up in Salem before the trials, but once they have started, it made every conflict reach their highest temperatures, which led them to explode. They have reached their limits and it is getting very messy.
For example, before the witch trials, Mrs. Putnam was jealous of Rebecca Nurse because she had many children, and how she is old and even has grandchildren. Mrs. Putnam never had many children because most of them died. “Reverend Parris, I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth. Believe me, sir, you never saw more hearty babies born. And yet, each would wither in my arms the very night of their birth” (Miller, page 16). When the witch trials started, she blamed Rebecca Nurse of practicing witchcraft because it was said that she was the one that killed Mrs. Putnam’s babies. In reality, she only blamed her because she was jealous of the amount of children she had.
Before the witch trials, the citizens hid their hatred for each other and no one was getting hurt. Once the witch trials began, citizens started accusing others, in order to gain something. It was a time to get satisfaction out of vengeance by blaming others of practicing witchcraft, which could lead to death.
“The Vengeance is walking Salem”
Proctor’s summation of the trials is that “Vengeance is walking Salem”. He is right because numerous times in the play we can see that people are blaming others of practicing witchcraft when they aren’t, in order to get vengeance. They are being selfish, and selfishness can bring out the worst in people.
For instance, if we take a look at Abigail, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch out of jealousy and vengeance. Before the trials had started, Elizabeth Proctor had been blackening Abigail’s name because she had an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Parris questions Abigail in Act I:
Abigail, is there any other cause than you have told me, for your being discharged from Goody Proctor’s service? I have heard it said, and I tell you as I heard it, that she comes so rarely to the church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled.
What signifies that remark? (Miller, page 12).
This has made the tension between them rise up, causing a disaster when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of practicing witchcraft in Act II. Elizabeth is put to jail, while Abigail gets a satisfaction out of her actions because she has put her out of the picture. In addition, if we take a look at John Proctor and Mr. Putnam in Act I, they argue about the amount of land they own. The amount of land a citizen owned was something very important in that time. It made them climb up the social class and it made their name look better too. Some farmers weren’t fair and stole some land. Proctor says to Mr. Putnam: “Your grandfather had a habit of willing land that never belonged to him, if I may say it plain” (Miller, page 33). Giles gets in the argument and agrees with John, which stirs the conflict. Later on in Act II, Giles Corey’s wife is accused of witchcraft, and he gets put to jail too. This will bring satisfaction to Mr. Putnam because once a person is dead, or admits to practicing witchcraft, they lose everything. Their house, their land, their name, it’s all gone.
Many farmers would blame people they didn’t like in order to get vengeance for conflicts similar to the previous one with Giles Corey, John Proctor and Mr. Putnam. Once someone’s opponent was put to jail, he could have his land.
Finally, Mary Warren gets her revenge on John Proctor in act III. Proctor forced Mary to tell the judges that she never saw any spirits in the air attacking her, and neither did the girls. The girls then turn against Mary for ratting them out and they pretend she is lifting her spirit up in the air. This is making her fall down the ladder that she just climbed to gain her spot in the court. In order to get vengeance on John, she drags him along down the ladder. She blames him of making her sing the Devil’s book, which then brings him to jail too. “You’re the Devil’s man! […] My name, he want my name. “I’ll murder you” he says, “if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,” he says!” (Miller, page 124).
At last, by the end of the play, the town of Salem is a disaster. “Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots’ cry will end his life – and you wonder yet if rebellion’s spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province!” (Miller, page 137). These people destroyed Salem because of their selfish minds, which brought evilness along with it.
Work’s Cited
“crucible”. Dictionary.com. Random House Inc. n.d. Web. April 16th 2014.
"cru∙ci∙ble”. The Free Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. n.d. Web. April 21st
2014.
FYI – Act One. 1997 McDougal Littell Inc. Print.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. London, New York: Marion Boyars Publishers,
1967. Print.