The Crucible Essay Rough Draft In Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible,” he analyzes fear and how it is used to reveal the hysteria of the characters caused by the witch trials. CONTINUE INTRO Miller shows how the citizens of Salem neglect to confess, due to their fear of the court. Mary attempts to convince Proctor that "they will not hang them if they confess" (Miller 48). Mary explains that the women on trial “will not hang” if they confess, leading the town to begin confession. Though, some who confess do not always tell the truth, to avoid further punishment and accusations. This is when Mary realizes the towns fear of the court and a change in their normal society. The overall affair puts pressure on those on trial since their fear is
The Crucible Essay The overall theme of the play, The Crucible, is about lying and deceiving people of the court and the people of Salem, while the main message of the Crucible is about how making accusations and rumors up can sometimes go way farther than they are meant to go. The Crucible play centers around accusations that are made about people throughout the town of Salem, without any real evidence these accusations are believed by the courts and people. Some of the quotes from this piece would go perfectly for this. For example Arthur Miller’s quote “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven” works out well because the people are great people until they get wrongfully accused so much they just fall apart.
Arthur Miller in “The Crucible” is a play that takes place during the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. Similar to these early events in American History is the Red Scare that took place during Millers own time, in which the play symbolically represents. Miller used the play The Crucible, that is set during the Salem Witch Trials, in order to criticize McCarthyism and The Red Scare of the 1950s. He was stating that history is recurrent and we need to recognize that history, in this case, is repeating itself. Miller’s claim was that McCarthyism was nothing more than a modern-day witch hunt.
Ever since the beginning of time people have been afraid of the unknown. This is because every time something new appears people immediately try to disregard it, making themselves open to ignorance. This is exactly what happens in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, when people started accusing each other of witchcraft. Because of the factors of the unknown the people of Salem are strucken of fear because they are afraid to go against what the majority says thus, making people unreasonable and brings misjustice to the accused. To begin, John Proctor tries to go against the flow of the river, by attempting to reason with the people of Salem.
In the Crucible, grudges and personal problems play a key role in creating the witch trial hysteria. The very first event in the play was spurred on by a grudge. Abigail, wanting to be with John, slips out into the woods with her friends and drinks a charm to kill his wife. After being nearly caught, she accuses Tituba of doing witchcraft to save herself. Tituba then accuses two other women to save herself as well.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller leaves readers wondering if fear and pride can have a fatal partnership. He uses the opposing forces, the court and the accused, to display how the pride of the judges cost many of the accused their lives. Throughout The Crucible, readers are shown that the pride of the court feeds into the fear of witchcraft all throughout Salem. For instance, Hale, who is a well-educated man, thinks he is above being at fault. As a result, he wrongfully sends many citizens off to their deaths.
The Crucible Essay Characters were willing to do almost anything in order to protect their reputation. “And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out… why she done it herself (Miller 71.) People were prepared to commit many sins in order to keep theur reputation clean. If they were accused of witchcraft, their reputation would be destroyed. In effors to save their reputation, characters would go to great lengths to frame others.
Arthur Miller is an upper class, well-educated man who has been influenced by the Red Scare of the late 1940s and 1950s. This piece is about the Red Scare, which took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s. As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s, hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. The audience of the piece is the upper-class wealthy people who were well educated and knew about the Red Scare. Arthur Miller wrote this piece to reveal to the American people the government and their misinformation.
The Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations.
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
What is fear? Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief of someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or threat. In my own words fear is a feeling people get when someone is going to kill them. But not all fear is bad because some people feel fear differently How is fear used in “The Crucible” ?
Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth.
Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.
Mass hysteria or collective hysteria is a phenomenon when a group experiences real or imaginary illusion of threats through rumors and fear. One book that shows mass hysteria is The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This book is about the salem witch trials. The Salem Witch Trials was a series of hunts and hangings based on a witch scare throughout the town of Salem. Many people accused others and there was widespread panic all throughout Salem.
The Crucible: How Fear Changes People During his first Inaugural Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt once announced, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Fear manipulates a persons rationality resulting in them behaving in ways they normally would not, especially in the story The Crucible written by Arthur Miller. The characters in The Crucible allow fear to manipulate their beliefs and actions. They all know what is right, but fear alters their mindset causing them to act differently.