about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is paralleled directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950’s. The story of The Crucible takes place against the background of the Salem Witch‚ trials but the themes lie much deeper. The main themes expressed in The Crucible relate to the events that occurred at both the Salem Witch Trials and during the McCarthy era. At the Salem
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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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Hyped on Hysteria The small‚ religious town of Salem‚ Massachusetts has become hell on earth as accusations of witchcraft spread like wildfire in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The characters of this play must find ways to protect not only themselves but also the ones they love from being pulled into this predicament. The theme throughout the play is how the different forms of hysteria motivate characters to perform consequential actions. One character that has gone practically insane from the
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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 as to why they “cry witch” on
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No matter how bleak they seem‚ all plays end in hope. Discuss how true this statement is of a non-Shakespearean play you have studied. What is hope? To place one’s confidence in the belief that something better will be obtained. "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is a play in which many innocent characters die. Although the main message of the play is the restoration of hope to the village of Salem in the 17th century‚ it leaves us with many questions of how much hope we should place in our own society
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Crucible: Questions and Answers. Act 1 1. Who is the leader? How would you describe Mary Warren in relation to the other girls? Abigail is the dominant figure in charge of the girls‚ making her the leader. In relation to the other girls‚ Marry Warren is very aware of the consequences and would like to avoid getting in trouble with the elders‚ therefore she tries to pull herself away from the girls. 2. What have the girl done to violate Puritan codes and could explain their behaviour? How does
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about something that’s impossible to change. But isn’t having guilt what makes us human or good? Doesn’t it show that we do have a soul? Having guilt makes us human‚ it makes us grow and try to become someone better than we were yesterday. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller many characters are engulfed in guilt and are either punished or rewarded by it. Arthur Miller uses these characters to show how guilt can make you want to become a better person. Guilt pushes John Proctor to not only protect his
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If someone saw girls dancing naked in the woods today‚ they probably wouldn’t put them on trial. In early colonial times‚ it would have been considered a sign of witchcraft and a sin! In Arthur Miller’s "The Crucible"‚ a story of that kind of odd behavior is told about the now infamous Salem witch trials. In 1692‚ a group of young women were caught dancing in the woods and witchcraft hysteria went rampant through Salem‚ Massachusetts. The political‚ social‚ and environmental settings in the late
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significant theme in The Crucible. Abigail and John’s lies and deceit precede the play. They had an affair before the play begins. However‚ this affair considerably affects the plot of The Crucible. ABIGAIL: Give me a word‚ John. A soft word. PROCTOR: No‚ no‚ Abby. That’s done with. (Miller 1) Through this quote the reader learns that Abigail and John have both told lies. They deceived people about their relationship. Throughout Acts One and Two of The Crucible‚ they continue to lie
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Honor 11 2/20/13 Changing over time The most important parts of any story or play are the characters. Characters behave differently depending on the circumstances or changes in the environment. In "The Crucible"‚ the hero John Proctor shows dramatic change for the good. Arthur Miller shows this by Proctor’s intense dialogues and Miller’s stage direction. Miller reveals the growth of Proctor from a man who is arrogant and conceited to a man who is determined and stands up for what he believes in
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