The Crucible: Confession For Peace

The play The Crucible, was written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is a story he wrote after his own experience being accused of communism. This affected a lot of well-known people in the United States during this time, and was considered a witch hunt similar to the Salem witch hunts. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about a man, John Proctor, who has an affair with Abigail Williams. She catches feelings for him and tries to cast a spell on John Proctor’s wife to kill her; this gets out of hand when Abigail’s uncle catches her and some other girls dancing during the spell in the woods. Suddenly, the whole town is living in fear of who is practicing witchcraft, who could be a witch, and innocent people are killed if they don’t confess to being witches. Overall, mass fear and panic, and false accusations are seen over and over throughout the play.

In the book “The Crucible” is about The Salem Witch Trials that took place in 1692 and ended in 1693. Arthur Miller wrote the book about the trials that were so hateful. His book was made a play and stared John Proctor who was affected greatly by the crucible. He tries to keep his “name” and morals end up forcing him to surrender. The act of vengeance of one girl's, Abigail, made the towns people choose sides.

It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in a Puritan society where religion is a way of life. The town's people believe there are witches among them, and persecute anyone believed to be a witch. All accused witches will be hanged unless they confess and accuse other people who they think are a witch. Joseph McCarthy was a senator who searched for communists in the U.S. People accused of being communists would either go to jail, or admit to being communists and say the names of other communists, starting the McCarthy era. Many innocent people were arrested and sentenced to jail for being suspected communists. Miller believed that "the whole thing would soon go away" (Meyers), but it did not. During this era, Miller wrote The Crucible to compare the Witch Trials with this McCarthy era. The Crucible was written to convey Miller's thoughts about this time in U.S. history. At first, people felt the book was "spearheading his own attack against ... American values" (Lavanture), but, it has become a very popular play, and is read by many

The Crucible is a play written in 1953 by a New Yorker named Arthur Miller. The play revolves around the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts, which happened during the late 1600’s. This was the time period where people would accuse others of performing witchcraft and “signing the devil’s black book in their own blood.” The witches would then either be jailed, hanged, or burned at the stake. It was a very dark time for the Puritans of Massachusetts. In the play, it is caused by a group of girls falsely accusing people they don’t like of being witcher. Miller threw in references to the “Red Scare” and the Communist Hunts during the 1950’s as well, as he was comparing the two events to each other. The characters and events in The Crucible were based on the diaries Miller found, so every character in the book were real people who were alive during the trials. Even though Rebecca Nurse, a wealthy old woman, and Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor, are separated by wealth, social status and likability (how liked they are), but they are very similar to each other because they have both been accused of witchcraft, and their personalities are more similar than once thought.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play written to mirror the anti-communist hysteria and how Joseph McCarthy went on “witch hunts”, which was basically finding an innocent person who was accused of being a witch and punishing them. Throughout The Crucible you will see very similar actions that mirror the McCarthy era; like how Abigail gets mad John Proctor does not want to be with her and spreads a rumor that his wife is a witch. “A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy,” directly describes John Proctor. John Proctor is the husband of Elizabeth Proctor and one of the most well known and respected men in the village. They both have trust issues after John has an affair with an old “maid”, Abigail. She was fired or ‘let go’

''The Crucible,'' is a 1952 play written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of Mcarthyism. The play follows a theocratic society in which the church and the state are one, and reputation plays an important role in Salem where private and public moralities are the same. In act one, the secret affair of John Proctor and Abigail Williams was revealed that led to conflict between John and his wife. Divorce was not permitted in the late 16th century, hence, the Proctors had to maintain their marriage causing discord within the Proctor household. At the start of Act 2, Miller creates a tense atmosphere of animosity portrayed by John and Elizabeth Proctor in their lack of affection, awkwardness, appraisal and guilt leading to affliction.

The Crucible is the fictional story of the Salem witch trials in which many women were accused of being witches. The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, who was recorded as the greatest American playwright (“Arthur Miller” 1). The scene for the play is based in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. McCarthyism was the act of accusing people of treason without evidence, attacks on a person's character, and attack on their patriotism by accusing many Americans of being communist (Ortega). Lisa Martin says, “Communists control led the two world superpowers, China and the Soviet Union Americans feared a takeover in their own country” (Martin 1). Many people tried to accuse the men and women who were spreading the fear. One man named Joseph McCarthy was a senator that charged communists that interfered with the U.S. State Department (“Joseph McCarthy” 1). The accusations lead to investigations, questioning and finding people guilty without evidence,

“Hale: Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws away for pride” (206). Reverend Hale’s eye-opening words make Elizabeth realize that John Proctor should do the right thing for God, even if that includes lying. This quote relates to the Salem witch trials because during this time, the court was getting involved with the town, so everybody had to constantly tell the truth. Overall, the play gives a feeling of the Salem witch trials by using facts and events relevant to the time period. On a similar topic, Arthur Miller feels that everybody is vindictive, manipulating, and betraying each other; therefore, Miller uses his troublesome experience to commemorate the demeaning investigations of witches. Miller’s high disapproval of the American government, especially how the court handles situations, is greatly represented in his play. The characters change throughout the story, and they start to realize that it is not all about what the government wants for their life. They soon enough start thinking and speaking for themselves which leads to big decisions and disapproval from the American government. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he artistically manipulates the authentic facts of the Salem witch trials’ victim John Proctor to fiction in order to similarly represent his interrogation during the Red Scare while also putting a spin on the trials through his style, characterization and tone.

At the beginning of the play, Abigail Williams lies to avoid trouble. She tries to protect her life over the life of others instead of doing the right thing by being honest about what happened in the woods. She lies multiple times in the play accusing others of witchcraft, although it was false. When the courts put Abigail to the test to see if she tells the truth, she fails and drags most of the town down with her. Unlike Abigail, Elizabeth has always been known for her honesty. Her husband John says that Elizabeth never told a lie. Yet when it matters most, Elizabeth lies to try to save her husband’s life. Ultimately, when Danforth and Hawthorne put her up to the test she fails to tell the truth and kills John. John, attempting to save himself, confesses to witchcraft. He lied to the courts and told them that he indeed was practicing the sorcery, when truthfully he was not. John thinks that this is the right thing to do to save his

The Crucible is a play that brings a rollercoaster of emotions to the reader. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is about a group of girls caught attempting witchcraft. This leads to a witch hunt in Salem, which is now known as the Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible is an allegorical representation of McCarthyism. Pivotal themes throughout the play use dialogue conventions which are used to evoke an emotional response.

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller written in the 1950’s. It was set in the 1690’s in Massachusetts. The play is about the witch trials and how something like a group of girls in the woods could lead to about 200 people being hanged and accused of witchcraft. The people of Salem were new to Massachusetts as they were puritans who went off to America to set up a new religious colony . The people were new to their surroundings had the Native Americans as enemies because they took their land. Although the Crucible is about the witch trials, it is thought to be a metaphor for the McCarthy Communist trials

‘The Crucible’ is an allegory. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. In this case, the obvious meaning is the Salem witch-hunt and the hidden meaning is McCarthyism. McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s and it was governmental accusations with no evidence. Joseph McCarthy started doing trials on those he thought were communist, but he had no evidence for it. This is the same as the witch trials in The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this in response to McCarthyism.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was a historical play written about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The Salem witch trials created mass hysteria throughout the entire village of Salem, which was also mainly inhabited by Puritans. Puritans had a set ideal of firm beliefs that managed how they lived. Essentially, they were living as an elect, which meant they (referring to the Puritans) had a place in heaven for the righteous acts they have done in the physical world. Meaning, any sinful acts could potentially hinder the chances of entering heaven as an elect. The Crucible, questioned everything the Puritans abided by. It questioned the basic morals of a pure lifestyle, adultery and

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.

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