The Crucible has a containment of many different themes throughout all four acts. One theme that stood out to me was that it was set in a society where church and state were one with a strict religion. With this type of society the moral laws and state laws were pretty much the same‚ so sin and the status of an individual’ soul are public matters of a public concern. In Salem everything and everyone either belongs to God or the Devil. Another theme that was noticed was the role that hysteria
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The most important word in The Crucible is God because the word is used to defend and prosecute others and has an ironic meaning throughout the play. The word God is more important than other words because God is used to defend and prosecute others. To the villagers‚ all of their actions are judged by God and all sins are irredeemable. Although this is a large burden‚ it also holds the community together and prevents any form of disunity. However at the start of the story‚ this community begins
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In Arthur Miller’s play‚ The Crucible‚ the main protagonists are John Proctor‚ Elizabeth Proctor‚ and Reverend Hale. They had tolerated and however more struggled with the misunderstood references such as witchcraft that had effected their personal lives with dilemmas. Each character had exhibit a certain sin from the beginning and with their decisions made towards the end of the play it had expressed their true virtues. The play’s tragic hero John Proctor was an outspoken and honest man
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Cambria Anderson Petersen AP English III/Period 3 11 November 2012 Avarice and Vengeance in The Crucible The play The Crucible takes place during the Salem Witch Trials of the 1800s. Yet Arthur Miller does not reveal the tragedy of the witch trials in the manner expected. Miller expresses the underlying causes of the accusations made as those stemming from personal greed and the feeling of revenge. Abigail Williams‚ Mr. and Mrs. Putnam‚ and Reverend Samuel Parris all have their own agendas
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Though many people fear someone more superior than them‚ fear is just the devil’s way of devouring negative emotion and manipulating them back to frighten the weak. Mary Warren displays these actions when Abby frightens her into not mentioning the truth of what really took place in the courtroom‚ and becomes intimidated with terror. When Mary is arguing with John on whether to tell the truth Mary’s fear starts to take over "in terror: I cannot‚ they’ll turn on me"(Miller‚Arthur 80). Marry Warren
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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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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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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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In The Crucible‚ by Arthur Miller‚ a group of adolescent females went to go dance in the forest with Tituba‚ slave of one of the famed reverends in their town‚ Reverend Parris. Coincidentally Revered Parris stumbled through the woods and spotted them. For acting in an outlandish manner or in other words dancing they were all accused of being witches. Abigail without a thought betrays Tituba by telling Reverend Hale that Tituba “conspires with the devil” .The theme of betrayal is at the heart of this
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Arthur Miller’s modern play The Crucible‚ takes place in Salem‚ Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials‚ in which the theocracy in the Puritan community causes mass hysteria during the accusations of witchcraft against citizens. Abuse of legal authority is viewed throughout the play‚ and social issues of intolerance are evident. Arthur Miller’s characterization of Thomas Putnam‚ Mary Warren‚ and John Proctor exemplify their purpose‚ motivation‚ and character traits. In the beginning of the play
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