McCarthyism and the Red Scare dominated society and culture‚ instilling the terror and suspicions of an invisible enemy on an uninformed people. This enemy was that of communism. Written to alert society of the doom that lurked nearby‚ Arthur Miller’s The Crucible‚ depicts the consequences that come from the hysteria associated with accusations made against one’s neighbor and in some cases friend. From the play‚ one can gather that guilt in society is destructive to communal relationships. The evidence that
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“How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” Says the character John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Probably the most powerful line the entire play‚ it is apparent that the idea of the importance of “names” is the central theme of this great classic. The author begins to develop this idea early in the play beginning with the conversation between Reverend Parris (a fearful reverend who instigates the witchcraft panic when he finds his daughter‚ Betty
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Crucible Passages 1. Page 11 Parris: “I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I came on you. Why was she doing that? And I heard a screeching and gibberish coming from her mouth. She were swaying like a dumb beast over that fire!” 2. Page 15-16 Ann Putnam: “And so I thought to send her to your Tituba” Rev Parris: “To Tituba! What ma Tituba---?” Ann: “Tituba knows how to speak to the dead‚ Mr. Parris.” 3. Page 38 Ann Putnam: “Mr. Parris’s slave has knowledge of conjurin’‚ sir.” . . . Ann
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In The Crucible‚ many individuals and institutions face moral tests. Characters such as John and Elizabeth Proctor‚ along with Giles Corey‚ faced such tests. During the time of the trials‚ Giles Corey was called by the court to release names of those suspected of witchcraft. Rather than reveal the names of the people significantly he was pressed to death and took the names of the people to his grave. As the claims of witchcraft troubled the town‚ John had hopes of ending the problem by revealing
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Honors English-10 19 October 2012 The Crucible Analysis Throughout The Crucible‚ the main character‚ John Proctor‚ had an internal change due to events and people in the story. Proctor was influenced by the Salem witch trials and the people involved in it. He learned lessons along the way and learned to stay true and honest to who he is. Proctor committed adultery with a girl named Abigail and felt terribly guilty. At first Proctor continued to fall into his guilt by lying and not moving
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The Crucible- Act 1 Page 913 (1a-5b) 1a. The key to maintaining a safe and orderly society was to go to church and stay on the path of God. The government they established was Puritan Theocracy. 1b. The community’s structure and philosophies led to its falling apart because 2a. Reverend Paris is trying to figure out what happened the night in the woods and wants to know if Tituba was talking to the devil and performing witchcraft. Abigail immediately responds saying that no one was performing
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In The Crucible‚ Reverend Parris’s character clearly displays‚ through actions and characteristics alike‚ that Miller is using him as an allegorical counterpart to the American government during the time period in which the play was written. At this time‚ xenophobia and fear of communism were rampant within the United States‚ and towards the beginning of this era of panic‚ the government attempted to use this hysteria to distract from internal problems that they were dealing with‚ like lack of finances
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The play “The Crucible” was published in 1953 by Arthur Miller and takes place in Salem‚ Massachusetts in 1692 during the Salem witch trials. The night before the actual action begins‚ Reverend Parris had discovered his daughter Betty‚ his niece Abigail Williams‚ his slave Tituba and some other girls in the woods‚ where they were performing an occult blood ritual and casting spells. Soon the rumor that something supernatural is going on in the village spreads and puts the village in turmoil. Abigail
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In the year 1953‚ a fresh young talent on Broadway released his latest dramatic tragedy known as The Crucible to the public. Arthur Miller‚ praised by critics since 1947‚ spun a thrilling tale of a village in Salem whose concept of reality was blinded by a threat -sometimes to the point of mental insanity- that did not actually exist. The plot surrounds an unforgettable series of deaths due to the witchcraft trials of the Puritans in 1692. Miller used his characters in the play to manipulate‚ lie
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right and wrong. In the Crucible‚ the idea of conscience in strongly emphasized. Miller himself said‚ "No critic seemed to sense what I was after [which was] the conflict between a man’s raw deeds and his conception of himself; the question of whether conscience is in fact an organic part of the human being‚ and what happens when it is handed over not merely to the state or the mores of the time but to one’s friend or wife." The idea of conscience in the play The Crucible is based very much on
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