There has come a time in everyone’s life when their character was called into question, or someone accused them wrongly of something they did not do. This puts a person’s morality on the line and tests whether they will do what’s best for them or the masses. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows the characters John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams going through this same test. The play provides a narrative on how people choose to value their own reputation and honor over protecting the lives of themselves and others.
The Crucible Essay A world where everyone must conform to society’s strict standards, and suppress their opinions and emotions may seem unimaginable nowadays; but in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, that is only part of a harsh reality. Based on a true event in history, The Crucible takes place during the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600’s. The strict conformity expected of the Salem citizens, and the Puritans’ religious beliefs both illustrate how insisting on orthodoxy can only lead a society to hurt itself.
Arthur Miller’s work, The Crucible, was written during the “Red Scare” time period, and many themes and ideas regarding both events are presented through a drama based on the Salem witch trials. In this drama, a lack of justice is shown when some jealous, vengeful characters in Salem are willing to use manipulation and deceit, and sacrifice the reputations and integrity of all involved, in order to empower themselves.
In Act I of the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, we are introduced to Reverend Hale, a “spiritual doctor” who comes to Salem as an authoritative figure on the science of demonology to try and assess whether the presence of witchcraft in Salem is true or false. However, as the play proceeds, we see Hale deviating from his original purpose and ideas. His intentions shift from figuring out whether or not witchcraft is afoot in Salem to the desire of making the accused confess to save themselves from being hanged. In Act II, after Hale has seen all of the girls confessing to seeing others with the Devil, such as Elizabeth Proctor, he goes to John Proctor’s house to find out more.
In the play “The Crucible”, Arthur Miller uses his writing as a way to inform readers of the dangers of conforming. He writes about the years of the Salem witch trials, while adding realistic fiction drama in
Throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are few examples of characters that choose to uphold their own integrity rather than save their life, such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. However, there are many characters, such as Mary Warren, who choose to sacrifice their honesty and integrity in order to save their own life. Overall, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible speaks for both types of people in this situation: those that are honourable, and those that are dishonourable in their actions. Both types of characters draw upon different aspects of human nature. For example, self preservation is evident in those that chose to accuse rather than be accused themselves as well as those that lied and made false confessions in order to save their life.
Based on the tragic events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, The Crucible is a hard-hitting tale that reflects upon the subjectivity of goodness and virtue, sparking the reflection of the importance of moral behavior during times of hardship and crisis. In an unyielding and restricted Puritan community like Salem village, a bad reputation could result in social exclusion and scorning from the community. As a result, many members of the community would go to extremes to avoid tarnishing their reputations. The Crucible asserts that those who are concerned only with protecting their standings are dangerous to a society, as they are willing to blame and hurt other people in order to protect themselves.
Pride and Life Altering Choices Over the course of a lifetime, human beings are constantly faced with choices, some more important than others. As decisions are made, one factor that is strongly influential on decision making is the opinion of one’s own excellence and importance, also known as pride. Throughout the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the effects of pride on decisions is constantly demonstrated. The play takes place during 1692-1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, where God-fearing puritans reside.
Reading the “Crucible by Arthur Miller” can be one of the most drama-filled intense stories anyone might ever get to read. Each page is filled with countless accusations and inequities, leading us to contradict ourselves and in time, make us question our own morality. In the book the reader gets to immerse themselves into what it would be like to be any part of a minority in 1692. They get multiple perspectives on what it is like to live in fear of judgment and false trials, they get to see how different characters react under these circumstances. The village lived in fear of anything “different.”
Fear, anger, and distrust are feelings that all humans face on a daily basis. In Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible, Abigail Williams’s actions opened Pandora's box in her small town. The story takes place in Salem, a puritan village, and it’s a tale of how a single person can bring havoc to the ones around them. The Crucible acts as a morality play by illustrating how manipulation and panic can cause false accusations that lead to death. Miller shows this through symbolism and characterization of good and evil.
Self-Preservation Can Lead to Self-Destruction In today’s society, a person’s reputation plays a huge part in how one is viewed and treated. The same was true for the citizens of Salem Village, a Puritan dwelling in Massachusetts. To the Puritans, self-reputation was everything. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, based on the Salem Village Witch Trials that took place in the early 1690s.
Goodness and nobility is determined by an individual’s morality and their willingness to follow a virtuous path in their life. It is also determined by the ability of an individual to acknowledge their shortcomings and become more self-aware. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a good man as he showcases righteous morals and principles. This is shown, as he ends his affair with Abigail, protects his wife and his friends’ wives, and dies to preserve his integrity and honour. First, John Proctor shows his goodness, by refusing the physical advances of Abigail, who wishes to continue their love affair.
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.
How do the Values and Morals that individuals choose to uphold help define personal identity and also affect the wider community? The Values and Morals upheld by Individuals within the progression of the play The Crucible allows for a further understanding of the individuals personal identity, and consequently affects the relationships of these Individuals. The values and morals of an individual determine how they’ll react to a situation as the play progresses, whilst the personal identity of an individual is the personality, and roles within the community that the individual associates himself with. The perception of individuals by the community of Salem is heavily reliant upon the shared understanding of the values and morals of individuals
The Sioux lived in now Wisconsin, Minnesota and North and South Dakota. They were corn farmers, and they were good at that, so that did not need to worry about the eating problem. When Spanish brought horses to America, the Sioux rode horses to hunt buffalos.
