THE CRUCIBLE BY ARTHUR MILLER CAST (in order of appearance) |Reverend Parris |Fred Stewart | |Betty Parris |Janet Alexander | |Tituba |Jacqueline Andre | |Abigail Williams |Madeleine Sherwood | |Susanna Walcott |Barbara Stanton | |Mrs. Ann Putnam |Jane Hoffman | |Thomas Putnam |Raymond Bramley | |Mercy Lewis |Dorothy Joliffe | |Mary Warren |Jennie Egan | |John Proctor |Arthur Kennedy | |Rebecca Nurse |Jean Adair | |Giles Corey |Joseph Sweeney | |Reverend John Hale |E.G. Marshall | |Elizabeth Proctor |Beatrice Straight | |Francis Nurse |Graham Velsey | |Ezekiel Cheever |Don McHenry | |Marshal Herrick |George Mitchell | |Judge Hathorne…
Describe the personality of Reverend Samuel Parris. Reverend Parris believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side. He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent in them. He never conceived that they were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak. He is described to have cut a “villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him.” Describe the life in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who were shipping out products of slowly increasing quantity and value to the European world. Salem’s creed forbade anything resembling a theater or “vain enjoyment.” The town was very centered around the idea of prayer. Hard work kept the town’s morals from spoiling, for the people were forced to fight the land like heroes for every grain of corn, and no man had very much time for fooling around. Personal privacy was taken quite lightly in Salem, for the people believed that it was their duty to mind people’s business. How did the men who settled Salem differ from those who settled in Virginia? The people and church of Salem found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom (their fathers had been persecuted in England) lest their New Jerusalem be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas. They believed that they held the candle that would light the world. They were dedicated folk and they had to be to survive the life they had chosen or been born into in this country. People of Jamestown in Virginia were the complete opposite. The Englishmen who landed there were motivated mainly by a hunt for profit. They had thought to pick off the wealth of the new country and then return rich to England. They were individualists and tried to kill off the…
Rev. Parris and Rev. John Hale are both important characters in the story. These two characters can easily be compared and contrasted. There are some commonalities between the two in the story. Both men are lead male figures in the town, but they were also ministers in the Puritan faith. This was important during this time period because of the beliefs of the time period. And the obvious one if you read the book, is that both are main characters in the story.…
It has been said many times that if people don't learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them, such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one example is the blatant similarities between the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When considering the nature of these events, it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not would only once, but twice. If one would take the time to compare these events he or she will be able to see numerous similarities between them. In The Crucible Miller relates an analogy of the witch trials in Salem to the investigation of communists by Joseph McCarthy. There are many similarities between these two events in history.…
In the play, The Crucible, there are a variety of characters that serve various purposes, a primary one being a representative of the people that were actually present during the Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthyism era. Albeit different people, many of the people presented in both of these times had similar roles to play in the grand scheme of things, and thus, Arthur Miller created Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor to portray two kinds of people that were present. We are comparing Abigail and Elizabeth due to their stark differences in personality and character. In the play, Abigail serves an antagonist role, fully utilizing her devious nature to bring about chaos in the Salem village, and even more so, bring destruction in the Proctor house. Whereas, Elizabeth, with all her righteousness and chivalry, attempts to save her family, and also try to reason with the reverend to persuade them to use better judgment. They both play different roles in the play, and it naturally the consequences of their actions are remotely different.…
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is a play that explores the unfortunate events that the small town of Salem, Massachusetts undergoes. The play contains numerous forms of belonging from numerous characters. The church demands its members to obey its commands signifying they belong, and those who rebel against the church, such as John Proctor, who refuses to attend Sabbath are alienated and suffer persecution as a consequence. The churches commands displays how belonging can be enforced by a higher power. The play also reveals that faith and belonging to God can result in contentment, a prime example being Rebecca Nurse. The Crucible also explores the concept of belonging through relationships, place and ideas and that belonging to a group can lead to empowerment for individuals.…
Arthur Miller in the novel, “The crucible”, analyze obliquely the relation between The Salem witch hunt with The McCarthyism. Miller supports his analogy by emphasizing the characteristics that relate the witch hunt with the McCarthyism. The author’s purpose is to express his philosophical assumptions about the misjudgment, chaos and hysteria, that is reappearing throw the history in different faces and political assumptions of the McCarthyism in order to arouse people from their blind obstinacy for what was really happening. The author writes in a formal tone to of course all socialists, historians, and people with vulnerability to suffer this kind of event.…
It is amazing how lies told by a young female in The Crucible can start so much trouble in society. In a puritan society they thought of woman as inferior to men, and that they were not capable of doing much. George Orwell who was a author and a critic once stated that,” Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits yet he is the Lord of all animals.” This quote is the perfect summary of women that are in The Crucible. They are forgotten and underappreciated in the play. Though they do so much for their husbands and have such a big part in the men’s lives, they were not given the respect they deserved. Arthur Miller took that idea and broadens it in his play The Crucible. Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren and many other women portray Arthur Miller’s views on women in the play. His treatment of women throughout the novel is a look at what was thought of women during that time in history. It was thought that a women’s role was to live a holy lifestyle, reproduce, and stand behind her husband at all times. The main women in the play image certain types of women and Miller uses these characters to portray his views and reflect the title of the play. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a troubled literary work, not only because of the madness surrounded by the hangings but, because of the way that Abigail, Elizabeth, and the other women are treated at that the writing of Miller and by the comments of critics. Many people have come out spoken about their lack of enthusiasm over the treatment of these women in the play. Since the debut of The Crucible very little has been said about the stereotypes that have been involved with the play or any of the sexism.…
In the 1950’s people were imprisoned for being accused as communists. Many lost their jobs and family. Many were afraid to stand up for themselves, therefore people just accused them even if they were innocent. How would innocent people feel if they were used as everyone’s scapegoat? Imagine if they had to accuse other people of witchcraft just to save there job, and social status. Senator McCarthy had accused various amounts of people, of communism. Even the people from the Government that have a higher power would not stand up to him. There were only a few people that would stand up to Senator McCarthy. A definition, a theme, and how the theme affected my daily life are important in understanding The Crucible.…
Crucible [kroo-suh-buhl] noun: A severe, searching test or trial. Author Miller titled the play “The Crucible” because it has to do with witchcraft trails in Salem. Witchcraft [wich-kraft, krahft] noun: The art or practices of a witch; sorcery; magic. McCarthyism [muh-kahr-thee-iz-uhm] noun: The practice of making accusations of disloyalty; the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigating techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism. In the play “The Crucible” by Author Miller the characters or John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Reverend Hale are motivated by these ideas of Witchcraft and McCarthyism and in turn effect the plot of the play.…
In the play, The Crucible, who is to blame for the 1692 witchcraft trials of Salem, Massachusetts? Abigail Williams is to blame; she is a mean and vindictive person. She always wants her way, no matter who she hurts in the process. Throughout the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, costing nineteen people their life’s. She led a group of twelve girls and made them lie to save herself from getting in trouble. Since Abigail would do anything to get out of trouble and to get the man of her dreams, she is the one to blame most for the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials.…
Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the whirlwind events of the Salem witch trials stem from the community's bottled up bitterness over political, financial, and personal issues. This devil-worship scandal is quickly seized by Abigail Williams as an opportunity to seek power and revenge. Abigail is a small-minded girl overflowed with resentment. She is an unmarried woman and also an orphan. Abigail must take the humble position of a servant, but her pride causes her to resent her low position on the social ladder. Abigail is hit with more bitter wind when John Proctor refuses to reciprocate her love. As an orphan, the young Abigail seems to have been deprived of nurturing love and becomes deeply attached to John Proctor, the only man who has given her passion and whom she claims "put knowledge in her heart." Abigail's desperation to cling onto Proctor's no longer existent love drives her to take advantage of the havoc in Salem to achieve her desires.…
After studying Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, I have come to the conclusion that the three people most to blame for the witch hysteria and the subsequent death of innocent people are Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and the judge Hathorne. Each of these people, in some way, caused harm to blameless people, and I will, in this essay, explain what these people, knowingly or unknowingly did to contribute to the death of the innocent people hanged as witches in Salem Village in 1692.…
‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a relationship between a male and female character that changes throughout the course of the play. This relationship would be the relationship of John and Elizabeth Procter. This relationship changes from being hostile and awkward at the start and changes to a loving and caring one by the end of the play. This illuminates the central idea in the play of forgiveness.…
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible set in 1692, takes place in a small village in Salem, Massachusetts. At this time many puritans, who were of greater strictness in religious discipline, were to believe in witchcraft and considered it a very wrongful sin. This had led to much hysteria around the village. Miller’s work The Crucible presents a study of Manipulation, a tragic hero and hysteria in Salem during the 1600’s.…