Crucible: a situation of severe test, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new. This definition can be interpreted . In the play, it is a test of how far people will go to keep up a hoax. The new idea that is created is …show more content…
to the ceiling: My face? My face?
The meaning of crucible is present within the storyline, as well. Once people start realizing that they could get revenge on someone they disliked, accusations started to kindle in the town. The first time the audience is given a specific number of people who were accused is in Act II:
ELIZABETH. I would to God she were. There be fourteen people in the jail now, she says. Proctor simply looks at her, unable to grasp it. And they’ll be tried, and the court have power to hang them too, she says…
MARY WARREN. No, sir. There be thirty-nine now-- She suddenly breaks off and sobs and sits down, exhausted. (Miller 54-56)
The storyline and characters don’t have to represent crucible, though. The title The Crucible is not significant to the play because it doesn’t have anything to do with the plot or characters. The play is an allegory, so it has two ultimate meanings behind it, and the definition of crucible isn’t one of them. It has to deal with the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism, which was a campaign against alleged communists back in the 1950s. Neither one of those overlying ideas has anything to do with the meaning of crucible, so the title isn’t that