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Fanaticism In The Crucible Analysis

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The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, relates the events of a witch trial taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1692. The spark that ignites this story begins with a mediocre offense of the time: young maidens dancing in the woods. However, the events become hyperbolized and spun to a point that order devolves into chaos and truth devolves into lies. Such a progression of corruption throughout the book is representative of the major theme of The Crucible, which is the religious fanaticism that plagues the settlers of Salem from logical thought throughout the four acts. Another literary aspect accompanying the religious corruption is the general archetype of logic who is represented by a number of characters, though most notably through …show more content…

Through the juxtaposition of these entwined yet separate forms of logic can the breadth of religious fanaticism be seen. Hale, devout to his religion, is prideful of his abilities to distinguish the mundane from witchcraft, utilizing his religious texts and knowledge to do so; however, such devotion to his religion is misused by the people of Salem, for whenever there is a rumor or heresy that someone is involved in mystical happenings, he scrutinizes the suspect’s actions beyond the usual. Contrasting this to Proctor’s statement, it is paradoxical to the suspect since they will be guilty of the accused actions regardless of what they may do. Regardless, both Proctor and Hale utilize their logical knowledge to refute the other’s claims, thereby defining the general theme of religious fanaticism in a unique approach that supplies reason to both sides - for reason and logic, while synonymous, are not exactly the same in meaning or …show more content…

Unlike most of the pro-theocracy reasoning before this, Danforth seemingly does away with any form of secularized logic and characterizes his actions and the punishments enacted upon the many convicted townspeople of Salem as “God’s law” (Miller 129), effectively representing the religious fanaticism that the book has been building up to and continues to build up in the remaining twenty-six

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