The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, provides a dramatic demonstration of the horrors seen through the execution of accused witches in the late seventeenth century. Miller intended his work towards the common people in order to clarify the irrational selection of identifying someone a communist is no different from colonists informing the court of witchcraft. Rather than giving a drama of the witch trials, Miller emphasizes the so-called “ideological war” to express the inner conflicts early colonists had (2). By having an academic, informal tone, he initiates with a background of the social instability of the country due the peak of communism. Besides, Miller’s capacity of making a linkage with the Salem witch trials with the 1950’s provides solid reasoning for making his well known play. Accounting from Miller’s past from the film production covering communists into the plot along famous producers who were assumed alliances with the Communist Party. To commence, Miller addresses the unstable social aspect during the mid-twentieth century. His interview presents …show more content…
Miller exceeded discussing the conflicts communism made into American lives. Until, Miller shifts into the movie production. The majority of films addressed controversial topics including communism. In the making of Death of a Salesman, having gangsters displayed “untrue communist propaganda” (Miller 18). The selection of “untrue” is bizarre given the fact Miller did not identify as a communist. If he did not selected “untrue”, then he would have chosen inaccurate; but Miller comprehends to chose “untrue”. Perhaps Miller meant that no American can understand the nature of communism without living in the former Soviet Union boundaries. His knowledge of audience increases because readers can begin thinking about the process of producing a belief to be seen by thousands. Clearly, Miller’s motivation into his play was due to
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical play set in 1962 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. As you may know, you've all placed your trust in the words and actions of someone close to you. And what do they do? They betray you! It's rarely justified, and can happen to the best of us. Based on authentic records of witchcraft trials in the seventeenth-century this play explains how a small group of girls manage to create a massive panic in their town by spreading accusations of witchcraft. These rumors in turn are the causes that many citizens are hung for. This essay will show how the lies and betrayal of a few individuals eventually leads to the downfall of Salem and its society.
In this paper, I will be talking about The Crucible, a story written by Arthur Miller in 1952 about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and the Red Scare, a time in the 1950’s when Americans were scared that Communists were a threat to them. I will also talk about how Arthur Miller uses “The Crucible” to help the reader understand that similarities such as fear and nationalism occur in historical witch hunts such as the Red Scare still exist, and society persecutes those who do not fit into society because it fears those who are different.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller, explains the marvels of witchcraft and the world of “magic”, which unravels a set of confusing disasters in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. While confronted between a choice of life and death, situations hastily get out of hand, and soon become uncontrollable. These events are based on true happenings that led to the writing of this play, which contains the themes mass hysteria, groupthink, and abuse of power. The vast world of witchcraft may not have seemed too intimidating, but it is proven that it’s more dangerous than one can truly imagine.
The Crucible is a dramatic play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. Miller intrigues his audience with the story of the Salem witch trials, which he loosely based on real events and people from that time period. While there are many different themes at work in this tragedy, the most thought provoking of these is the theme of religion. Puritanism was a large part of everyday life in Salem and this play clearly demonstrates its effect on society back then. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible exposes the evils committed under the guise of religion and the terrible things people are capable of doing in the name of God.
The year is 1692. Throughout the small, Puritan, seaside community of Salem, rumors and accusations fly like gusts of ocean wind. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and even the most holy church-goers are accused of being the devil’s servants. The Crucible details this real-life tragedy of the Salem witch trials, in which nineteen members of the Salem community were hanged for alleged witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a seemingly innocent girl, accuses dozens of Salem’s citizens of witchcraft through the support of her mob of girls and the complicity of the court officials. The title of this play gives significant insight into the experiences of several of these Salem citizens. Although a crucible is often used in chemistry for heating up substances, the title of the play carries a much greater weight. In his famous play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the title of “crucible” to signify the severe and unrelenting tests of faith and character that many of the community members endure throughout the Salem witch trials, which he achieves through the use of figurative language and fallacies of relevance and insufficiency.
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.
Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ is based on the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s. It is also a symbol of the 1950s Communism trials in America, which Miller was questioned in. The play begins with the town reverend’s daughter laying unconscious, supposedly bewitched, after being caught dancing naked in the forest with numerous other girls, one of which was Reverend Parris’s niece, Abigail Williams. This false accusation, and numerous others, lead to many being condemned to death. In addition, it is the beginning of a series of false accusations that control Salem, spreading paranoia and frenzy throughout the village, before resulting in the deaths of the play’s foremost moral characters,
To note the similarity, “The Crucible” was an analogy for a contemporary witch hunt in the McCarthy era. Miller's play, The Crucible, was a comparison between the Salem Witchcraft Trials and The Red Scare, yet the idea was never directly displayed in his work. To add on, the timeline of the 1680's and 1690's witchery accusations was very similar to those of the 1920's Red Scare, communist accusations (“The’). Within The Crucible, people are being
The Crucible is a 1958 play, written by playwright Arthur Miller depicting the events occurring in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The Crucible is an embellished and fictional interpretation of the Salem witch trials, which took place during 1692. The play follows the story of a small Puritan society, and their eruption of hysteria, as two young girls fall ill causing echoes of witchcraft corruption within the town, leading to further analyse of other ideas within the play. Through Miller’s disapproval of Salem’s history, Miller has written the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, an era of American history where communists were blacklisted and persecuted without regard for evidence.
One concept is capable of more destruction than almost anything else. It can change a person’s life, or end it. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play that is set in Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1690’s. The play revolves around the infamous Salem Witch Hunts and their proceedings both within the court and outside of the court. Within this plotline, a theme of greed functions in the play, influencing the actions of certain characters, including Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam, and Abigail.
One of the many works written and driven by Puritan influence, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has continued to influence life and thinkings. Its story tracing the 1692 Salem Witch Trials has been widely read, received and understood, along with influencing the reader and their ideals. The play has manifested into more than words on a page and has become of the greatest influences, even sixty years after its publication. Though its story has not changed and is merely a retelling of the original itself, its themes have greatly impacted its universal and enduring state.
The movie The Crucible has played a large part in our modern understanding of the Salem Witch Trials of 1962. The playwright became so popular that was added to many junior and high schools required reading lists. Although the writing style of Arthur Miller is both complex and compelling, the playwright is not historically accurate and was intended to be an allegory for the “witch hunts” that McCarthyism and the red scare brought about. The Crucible focuses mainly on the fictional romance between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, this relationship, and Abigail’s jealousy that stems from it, results in the false witchcraft accusations of many innocent townsfolk and the hanging of 19 people. This essay will attempt to separate fact from fiction
The play, “The Crucible” is written by Arthur Miller in 1953. During this time of American history, a war had just ended and there was a deeply rooted fear of communists infiltrating American soil; Americans had begun to turn on each other out of fear that people around them were against American ideals. Arthur Miller expressed his concern for the time by writing “The Crucible,” which is written about a witch hunt that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Arthur Miller used the themes of an earlier American event to remind people of his time that their actions were indeed following a historical pattern of fear. The play, “The Crucible” takes place in America in a time of deeply rooted religion, fear of the unknown, and early civilization. The juxtaposition of this play, it’s characters, and the time in which the play was written, teaches a very difficult, yet important, lesson about fear and it’s position in a society of people.
Unique to the literary history of America, Arthur Miller’s work shows significant impact upon the public and the history of the country. On October 17, 1915, Augusta and Isidore and Augusta Miller welcomed their son, Arthur Miller, into the world. Although Miller was born in Harlem, New York, his family moved to Brooklyn when Miller’s father, Isidore, lost his clothing company. Initially, the company provided the family with a considerable income, allowing them to afford luxuries such as a chauffeur and a summer home in Far Rockaway. Leaving their spacious home in Harlem, the family found themselves in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood where suicides regularly occurred. These surroundings and conditions, including the effects of the Depression, later made a great impact on Miller’s work.
The witch hunt can be compared to the Holocaust, both horrific historical events, that included the condemnation of members in society and the formation of prejudices against certain members. During this time, people had to transform their views and actions to either fabricate evidence to preserve their own wellbeing, or refusal to comply and even dying for what they believed was right. More specifically, in the The Crucible, by Arthur Miller the controversy of witch trials is discussed, which took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This play exemplifies the McCarthyite witch-hunts, which sought out to find Communist sympathisers. The theme of “individual vs. society” is prevalent throughout society in the play and is expressed through the actions of the characters Giles Corey, Abigail Williams, and John Proctor. The difference between right and wrong is clear to these characters, but their decisions reside on whether they chose to be selfish or are committed to the greater good of the community.