From working in a warehouse to becoming a famous, influential American playwright, Arthur Miller has been known for his astonishing plays, including The Crucible, published in 1953. Furthermore, his inspirations for this particular play come from his experience of being improperly convicted as a communist in the American society of the 1950s. Indeed, The Crucible reveals the intensity and perplexity that innocent people experience against the biased and arbitrary decisions from authority. Notably, Arthur Miller reflects his personal point of view regarding injustice based on John Proctor, Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris, who precisely engage an active debate in their distinct points of view and motivations based on saving the innocent people, …show more content…
To illustrate, Proctor shows how the desperation of achieving his goal provokes him to make personal confessions, including the inappropriate affair with one of the people in the witch trials, Abigail Williams. However, Judge Danforth rejects his shocking confession and leads Proctor to answer, “I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name—you will believe me, Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one!” (3.874-877). Doubtlessly, he is concerned about the injustice against not accepting his valuable confession, which can be related to the inopportune conviction of Arthur Miller. Similarly, they both have a viewpoint of court as spurious and fraudulent. In The Crucible, Miller not only shows the point of view of the innocent people, but of the people in power, including Judge …show more content…
For example, the provocative dialogue during the witch trials creates controversy among the town of Salem based on his strict statements such as, “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it” (3.345-347). Considering this, Arthur Miller shows how ultimate control of the paramount decisions of the incriminated people makes Danforth have a stern viewpoint of maintaining order instead of bequeathing proper justice. Moreover, innocent people who are accused of witchcraft must follow the inconsiderate consequences, “The law, based upon the Bible, and the Bible, written by Almighty God, forbid the practice of witchcraft, and describe death as the penalty thereof” (3.611-614). Under those circumstances, Miller shows how the decisions of the witch trials are mostly influenced not only by Danforth, but their legitimate successors, including Reverend Parris.
Speaking about this, Arthur Miller reflects his point of view regarding injustice based on the desperate attitude of Reverend Parris in motivation to protect himself in court. Alternatively, Parris decides to intervene against the people who are trying to discredit the court in order to become the right hand of Danforth throughout the witch
In the play/act The Crucible by Arthur Miller was a tragic and sorrowful play. The overall summary of the play was is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. A few young ladies claim to be burdened by witchcraft, beginning with Reverend Paris’s little girl Betty. The tormented young ladies blame individuals in the town for witchcraft, frequently picking casualties who they or their families hate. In this story the whole reason for the tragic ending is often thought to be just Abigale, but that is not true.
A Shattered Confidence Arthur Miller’s The Crucible tells the story of how the Salem witch trials created a huge uproar and showed the fear of evil in the Puritan town. Young girls who were fooling around with witchcraft were able to save their reputation by blaming other citizens for using their spirit to compel them to see hallucinations and become unconscious. Reverend John Hale was called to save one of the young girl’s from “the devil” and also to free Salem from witchcraft. Through Reverend John Hale’s change from a confident savior to a guilty bystander, Miller illustrates the dangers of ignorance. Reverend Hale is passionate about saving Salem from evil spirits, being that he is well-educated on the subject.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) According to famous speech speaker and black rights activist, injustice even in its most small form is a threat to social equality in society. Social injustice is a continuous problem that has developed over the years. For example, the McCarthy case and the witchcraft problems that were hundreds of years apart but still posed a great conflict in life.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. He wrote this because he had a story to tell, a story about modern issues which is individual freedom versus conformity. During the 1950s there was a period of political dispute in America, many were suspected of being communist and were put under investigation which was led by senator Joseph McCarthy, even though the play was dated back to 1693 there was a parallel between the Salem Witch Hunts which was described in the play and the general political atmosphere in the 1950s. Arthur Miller was summoned by the “House of committee” on Un-American activities, he was accused of being a communist, and he also refused to name others as a communist, he was sentenced to thirty days in jail. In the overture
the Crucible is a play written about events that happened in the 1690s. It was written by Arthur Miller in 1953 which was adapted into a film thirteen years later. Miller’s play focuses on the events that revolve around the factional events in Salem. In The Crucible, power is the focused theme which becomes very important in Salem, and Miller uses that to determine how a character, with or without power, reacts to the situation at hand. Power is to have the ability to determine people’s actions and behaviours and to determine the outcomes.
This viewpoint displays the silly, yet serious, message that was produced by The Crucible. To support his argument, Miller uses evidence such as historical facts and convincing stories of injustice. Throughout his article, Miller states his opinion on a certain matter and backs it up with at fact or story that will help the reader understand the abnormalities contained in the opposing
The Crucible Theme and Conflict The Crucible by Arthur Miller is filled with different themes and conflicts. Throughout the book you could pick up many different themes and conflicts, although I found many just one sticks out to me. If you tell the truth, good may come your way. When proctor is being accused and he confesses but the judge needed it in writing also, which he didn’t do.
Danforth tries to turn the evidence that Giles gives against him. Parris tries to deny Mary Warren when he says "Your Excellency, this is a trick to blind the court!"(Miller 518). What he is trying to do is to turn Mary's confession to not seeing spirits against her. Parris doesn't want to look bad and tries to save himself. The people have no power to defend themselves to be innocent.
Natalie Orlowski October 10th, 2015 In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller the large and diverse characters add to the story, with their dialogue and personas. Some of the characters change from good to bad, or change their opinions during the course of the plot, but others like Judge Danforth are static and remain the same, with the same viewpoints throughout. He stays stubborn, is unjust and believes in witchcraft from beginning to end of the book. The first trait Deputy Judge Danforth has is that he believes in witchcraft and the girls from the start of the book until the end.
Imagine living in a society where an accusation could leave you hanging by a noose. In 1692, that was an everyday concern for the people in Salem, Massachusetts as the accusations of witchcraft began to expand and take away the people they love. Many might wonder who was at fault for such a devastating event, and the answer is Deputy Governor Danforth. One who has immense power over a community should not possess qualities of an egotistical, Manipulative, and ignorant person. However Danforth exhibits these qualities throughout the Play The Crucible By Arthur Miller.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.
Miller’s purpose of The Crucible was to represent and mirror the social injustice under McCarthyism as people falsely accused each other because their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another. Although, around 1950-1954 the “innocent until proven guilty” clause existed, most trials and accusations were led by “guilty until proven innocent.” Despite Miller’s efforts to criticise people’s actions as
Danforth: Judge, Jury, and Executioner Judge Danforth’s position in the crucible is the Judge assigned to the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. Instead of treating this immense responsibility with the respect and restraint that is needed, Danforth abused his power by betraying the people of Salem and the Law. He did not listen to the people of Salem defending themselves before inevitably being sent to death; and he cared more about his reputation and the law than he did about peoples’ lives. Danforth was a ruthless power over the people of Salem he demanded respect for himself and the court; and nothing was more important than that.
Who Is To Blame? In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Judge Danforth was the cause of the Salem Witch Trials. He was about 60, He came to Salem to judge the witchcraft, he also from Boston, and he judge the witch trials with three other People. Miller demonstrated that it was Danforth’s Flaws of Stubbornness, Quick-tempered, and Pride that led him to be most responsible for the tragedy of the witch-hunt in Salem.
Judge Danforth’s unwavering egotism culminates in the unfortunate deaths of Salem townsfolk. Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible demonstrates how the actions of one person can affect many others. Judge Danforth cares more about his own reputation than what is right. Often times people try to think of what is right instead of saving their own face, Judge Danforth is an exception to this stereotype. The Salem Witch Trials were a horrible time where many people lost their lives due to an unjust court system.