Lies and Deceit

Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.

In 1692 nineteen men and women and two dogs were convicted and hanged for witchcraft in a small village in eastern Massachusetts. People in Salem, Massachusetts were persecuted and accused for something that wasn’t true. The author is comparing the events of the Salem Witch Trials to McCarthyism throughout the 1950’s through the use of the morally ambiguous character Reverend Hale. Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, utilizes convincing logos, compelling pathos, and thought provoking ethos in order to highlight the dangers of McCarthyism through the morals of Reverend Hale.

Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible, is a quintessential masterpiece. The Crucible provides a nuanced commentary on the lives of men and woman who are affected by the outbreak of witchcraft in Salem. Miller provides a substantial representation of personal integrity that encourages the audience to acknowledge, that when members of the community feel threaten they throw their personal integrity away. This is highlighted through the characterisation of Abigail Williams, John Proctor and Reverend Parris.

Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.

“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” bellowed John Proctor to Danforth in Act IV. The Crucibles was written by Arthur Miller reminiscent of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Reputation and integrity is set forward in the story, as it causes the plot to develop and advance, and it is discernible all throughout the story, especially the end. Reputation is tremendously significant in theocratic Salem. The pernicious accusations of witchcraft cause the characters in the play to choose whether they want to salvage how they perceive themselves or how others perceive them. In the play, characters face a difficult decision of choosing their

The play ‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller is an allegorical reference to the McCarthyism of the 1950s. Set in the historical context of the 17th century Salem, this play explores several themes to point out how politics, greed and imaginative hysteria can tear a community apart. To further emphasize this, Miller uses different characters and develops them as the play progresses. In addition, his use of effective language intensifies the role of characters like John and Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris and many others in the play.

    Arthur Miller wrote the book The Crucible about the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time people were wrongly accused of being witches and then were sentenced to death. Many lives were ruined because of this and families were ripped apart because of this tragic time. One of the characters that was affected by these times was John Proctor as his life was turned upside down. John stayed to his truth and said he wasn't a witch and he was noble in saying such a thing.

John Proctor is motivated by his own pride and reputation, and is able to redeem himself at the end of the play in which he is able to save his own name, yet losing his own life in the process. John and his willingness to make things right is able to put an end to the

ublished in 1952, during a period of cold war tensions, which culminated in the ideological "witch trials" of the McCarthyism era in America; the allegorical play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is set in Salem Massachusetts, in 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials. The author has intentionally used allegory to draw parallels between the two events and invite the reader to think critically about the persecution that occurred during both time periods. One of the themes that the author has used to position the reader to recognise the immorality and idiocy of both historical events is the representation of personal integrity. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. This is achieved through strongly contrasted characterisation through characters such as Abigail Williams and Rebecca Nurse , as well as the use of textual features such as irony,symbolism, and dialogue. In the play characters can be assorted into three distinct groups: those who have completely relinquished personal integrity in favour of personal interests, Those who have good intentions, but struggle to display integrity at times and those who continuously display integrity, even when faced with harsh punishment. In "The Crucible" Miller has utilized a multitude of textual features to create characters whose personal integrity ranges from being nonexistent to exemplary. The positive characterisation of Rebecca Nurse and the conflicted but developing characterisation of John

Through the stories and plays in literature have helped people draw batter understandings of the problems they faced and different point of views. The Crucible tells the story of events that happened in 1600s, however, they very similar to those events in our present today. The crucible, written by Arthur Miller tells the story of the Salem witch trials that start off with a group of girls that blame others for the crime of practicing witchcraft to cover themselves. As a result this cost many people in the small town to lose their lives and other to lose the reputation in the pious town. Throughout the story the use of religion and personal judgment mix with a lack of evidence was not only the law, but the final decision on many of the cases. Arthur miller stated that the reason why he wrote the crucible was to show the similarity of Salem witch trial to the McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of accusing of treason with little actual evidence .Abagail Williams is the puppet master in this chaos, she able to use little proper evidence and control the whole town. As one of the main characters of the play Abigail fits into Miller’s themes of Empowerment, hysteria, and reputation and jealousy.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a work of historical fiction that illustrates the Salem witch trials that occurred between 1692 and 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. In the play, several esteemed members of Salem are tried and hung for the crime of practicing witchcraft. A wave of hysteria washes over the town as people realize that nobody is safe. In the play Arthur Miller explores the potential of using the word “name” to create a system of checks and balances on the characters in the play.

Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to show the widespread hysteria that can occur when people panic. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during a time when neighbors were throwing accusations against each other about forming pacts with the devil and drinking blood. It is said that Abigail Williams is the main antagonist because she commenced the perjury that happens in the play. Being aware that Abigail 's faults and flaws are quite obvious in the play, she most certainly does not deserve the blame for the outcome because the supporting characters of Reverend Parris, John Proctor, and Tituba and the other girls accused of witchcraft, all added their own deception to the pandemonium that occurred and were just as responsible for the play’s outcome.

“Each time a man stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. ”(Robert Vienndy) The witch trials had just begun in Salem and several people were trying to fight against the trials but John Proctor fights injustice most effectively in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.     John Proctor, a man with a blackened secret exposes himself to save the women he loved showing his honesty to the town of Salem. At the end of the play after Elizabeth Proctor is accused, John goes into the court with Mary Warren in hopes to prove his wife's innocence.

The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court

American playwright Arthur Miller, in his play The Crucible (1952) displays to us that which hunt still exists in American society. Miller supports this claim by drawing parallels between the Salem Witch trials and the senator Joseph McCarthy. His purpose is to warn his readers of the dangers of mass hysteria. He uses emotional appeals and logic to convince the readers that mass “hunts” are still a danger to Americans today. The crucial way however, that Miller achieves his supreme objective of revealing the risks of reputation vs. integrity is through a fascinating character, John Proctor. John is an example of an internally conflicted character because he had a huge argument with Elizabeth over Abigail, Proctor also had an affair with Abigail, and lastly John had a choice between life and death at the end of the play.