The Crucible and the Ironies of Religion Arthur Miller wrote the famed play “The Crucible” as an analogy of his experiences during the red scare. He undoubtedly demonstrated the ignorance of the people whom were accusing he and others of being affiliated with the communist party. I also believe that he did much more than expose the corruption going on during the red scare. I believe that in “The Crucible” Arthur Miller paints a vivid picture of how corrupt and evil religion itself can be. A particular scene where Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris are questioning Abigail and Tituba is a great example of this immorality. Religion can be dated back to the origins of man-kind, far before we have records of written history. As far back as when The Neanderthals roamed earth, they would bury their dead as perhaps a way to ease them and prepare them for the afterlife. Humans have always created stories to help explain the unexplainable, things that were not yet understood through science, and to bring a sense of hope and peace to our inner …show more content…
Either something is of God, or of his opposition, the Devil. Reverend Paris and Reverend Hale are both presumed men of God who are to be of the upmost respect yet they bring me the opposite of peace and love to their community. They ironically place and use the main tool of “the devil”, fear. By planting the seed of fear into the minds of the people through talk of the Devil, spirits, and witchcraft the reverends unleash all sorts of hell and misery upon the people of Salem.
If the adults would have never spoke of such things, Betty would have most likely never fallen into the deep spell of depression and fear that she did. If the Reverend’s had never brought up such nonsense, then Abigail would have not accused the other women to take the blame of such terrible things off
The Puritans arrived in America in the 16th and 17th centuries hoping create a purified version of the church as they believed the Church of England had still had too many components of catholicism. Humans are also invertly evil and this wickedness is displayed throughout many stories. Finally, moral values are also a central conflict to many stories. Puritanism, the evils of all humans, and moral conflict are a central themes to all three of The Crucible, “Young Goodman Brown”, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Although these stories are seemingly unrelated stories on the surface however when considering the under-the-surface meanings of these stories many similarities appear including the impact of Puritanism, the wickedness of all humans, and moral conflict.
“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. “The Crucible” describes the Salem Witch Trials. These trials were during a period of time where men and women were very rancorous so others feared to speak up because they would be accused of witchcraft and killed. Similar to Arthur Miller’s book, the Red Scare was a period of time in the late 40’s and 50’s in which United States citizens were intensely paranoid of an opposing threat of communism in Eastern Europe and Asia and ultimately communists infiltrating the United States. What the Red Scare and “The Crucible” have in common is that accusations of witchcraft or communism were false, people were blind to the truth, and the accusers weren’t very tactful and
Cameron Oldfield Mrs. Brincks English III 15 November, 2015 The Crucible and Red Scare Imagine being thrown in jail, blamed for something that you didn't do .The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story about how certain propaganda and false accusations can ruin lives, just like in the case of the Red Scare. Although 1692 the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare were over 200 years apart, The similarities are striking. both trials used intimidation, fear, hatred, and false accusations to ruin innocent lives. Both trials resulted in terrible outcomes, with both ending with innocent people being put to death and shunned from society.
Soon after the release of his play critics began to notice the allegorical nature of the play. It was released in a time when the paranoia and hysteria was very relevant. It was dealt with by people regularly. Miller comments though that the reality of the situation was that The Red Scare was almost a more serious event in his mind. “Inevitably, it was no sooner known that my new play was about Salem than I had to confront the charge that such an analogy was specious -- that there never were any witches but there certainly are Communists.(Miller, Why I wrote The Crucible)” Miller was guilty of egocentrism.
Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
Religion In The Crucible In The Crucible, religion is a theme that aids in developing the story, it helps to begin the story and build the plot. Religion in the story is what, overall, pushes many people to talk about witchcraft, and blame it on others. Though religion is normally thought of as a thing of value amongst those who follow one, the people of Salem use it to their advantage, as trying to take someone 's land. “Old scores could be settled on a plane of heavenly combat between Lucifer and the Lord” shows how the people of this time period could call a person evil, or a witch, in order to take their property from them, using religion all the while (Miller 8).
Reverend Parris, worried for his own job, explains to Abigail that her “punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” Even the idea of witchcraft in Reverend Parris’s house could ruin his reputation in the town and therefore risk his job. By Betty being ‘afflicted’, she is holding power over her own father and his position in the town. She knows that the longer she is asleep, the more desperate her father is going to be blame someone for the witchcraft who is not her.
Many counterparts can be drawn between good and evil in The Crucible, and Miller’s juxtaposition of the characters shows the audience how one person acting with integrity can influence a society for good, and vice versa. Reverend Parris is an example of somebody who is extremely concerned with his standing in Salem village. He is afraid that when the people hear
Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. In the book the Crucible there are many hypocrites some dishonest some just following any one to be guilty, but one of the many character is Judge Danforth he mocks Marry when he ask "How were you instructed in your life? Do you not know that God damns all liars?"(3-84), since Danforth is in power for being the judge he thinks that everyone else is ignorant and not being equal as him.
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.
In The Crucible Arthur Miller’s reasons for his conflict was religion which tight everything in the story. Throughout the story faith was the main topic. The church and males had power in the community of Salem. “The Salem tragedy… developed from a paradox… Purely it was this for good resolutions, even high purposes the people of Salem developed a theocracy, an association of state and religious power whose role was to keep the community together.” The community of Salem is a very patriarchal.
The Crucible took place in Salem, Massachusetts where the Puritans lived in a restricted society with a unique culture and lifestyle. Puritans lives focused on religion and following God’s plan. Throughout the The Crucible religion played a major role in regards to the plot of the story. Religion was a big deal to the Puritans as it was a requirement to attend church. They wanted to live a simple and peaceful life.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the power of the towns government and religion are the backbone of the story, the case of the witch trials. In the book, the main character, Abigail, blames numerous girls for witchcraft. "I'll lead them in a psalm,but let you say nothing of witchcraft yet" (Miller 17). She does this out of spite due to jealousy over goody Proctor. In their town, based on their religion, witchcraft is serious, devilish ritual and forbidden.
Reasons Behind The Crucible Arthur Miller’s main purpose in writing The Crucible was to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials and to warn against government propaganda. At the time that The Crucible was published, America had a huge fear of communism. Anyone accused of having ties with the communist party was shunned. It much resembled the Salem Witch Trials in how the government, or leader of the time, used fear against the people to gain power. For example, Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Reverend Parris in how they both lead the people into the belief that there were intruders in their mists that had plans to sabotage the community.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, as a response to McCarthyism, which is, in general, accusing people of crimes with little to no proof. It ran rampant through the United States during the Second Red Scare through the early 1950s (exactly when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible). In The Crucible, Miller juxtaposes the leaders, who rationally think for themselves, and the followers, who believe what everybody else believes, through irony, imagery, and denotation. The Crucible is riddled with irony, and Arthur Miller utilizes situational and dramatic irony to show the difference between followers and leaders.