Literary Analysis Of The Crucible

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. By examining the characters of the play, I believe that the three major characters who should be blamed the most for the witch trials are Abigail Williams,

Quotation: “And in the Bible it says Thou shalt not kill but there were the Crusades and two world wars and the Gulf War and there were Christians killing people in all of them.” (pg. 29)

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 in his article, “Why I Wrote The Crucible,” identifies his motives for creating The Crucible as a political allegory for the Second Red Scare and McCarthyism by making correspondences between the two time periods. Both the Salem witch trials and the Second Red Scare share similar factors and origins which developed each society into a place of hysteria. Mob mentalities rooted in fear gave the people reason to throw away their reason and follow public norms to put suspects on trial. The wrongfully convicted were urged to name others guilty of the same crime and continued false accusations which further perpetuated the trials. The absolutism of the courts caused many of the innocent to be assumed guilty by simple association or some false

In the movie, The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials and their effects are highlighted. It begins in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Reverend Parris, the town minister, discovers his daughter, Betty, his niece, Abigail, and other girls dancing in the forest with his slave Tituba. Betty faints and does not wake up due to the shock and fear of being discovered. The villagers suspect witchcraft and gather at Parris 's house. He then questions Abigail about the girls ' activities in the forest. Abigail warns her friend Mercy Lewis and the Proctors ' servant Mary Warren, not to reveal that they were all casting spells in the woods. Abigail threatens the other girls if they tell that she cast a spell in order to kill Goody

Rhetorical appeals serve as a major role in the characters speaking style. The speaking style reflects his or her main points that the character is trying to convey. It also reveals the characters feelings and emotions. John Proctor uses strong rhetorical appeals throughout the play. John Proctor is loyal, honest, and kind-hearted. Proctor can end Abigail Williams only if he admits to adultery. Proctor does not want to ruin his reputation. The famous play, ‘The Crucible” Arthur Miller explains Proctors speaking style through the use of diction, logos, and ethos.

The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a play that expresses the life of the Puritans within Salem, Massachusetts around 1692. The Puritans had a very strict sort of lifestyle that was influenced by their religious views. This caused a theocracy-based town that had no tolerance for witches or God’s enemy -- Satan. When people were accused of being a witch, hysteria would plague the town; many innocent lives would be taken in attempts to ‘cleanse’ the town of any sign of the Devil. Arthur Miller had the Puritan way of life (and their belief system) extremely accurately; the play connects extremely well to what actually happens. More specifically, how horribly the children were treated, yet how much they were trusted, their moral beliefs,

There have been many different "witch hunts" that have happened since 1692, that have shaped our world. One of the most known is The Holocaust that happened during WWII. This is important because a large mass of innocent people were killed due to their race. Some may say it was just a part of war; however, it's much more than that. It’s the fact that one person didn’t like a certain group of people besides their own so; they felt like they had the right to take away their lives. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, he shows us four ingredients that create a mass hysteria. Those include fear, personal motives, unfair treatment of the accused, and accusers. These can all be related back to The Crucible, in the way in which each character experienced

One of the main elements that eventually build up to the main plot in the play is power. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible have a strong desire for power. The Salem witch trials empowered several characters in the play who were previously marginalized in Salem society. It gave them the chance to misuse it leading to horrible suffering and even deaths of some innocent people in the town. Some of these characters are Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris.

The Crucible is a story by Arthur Miller this story was released during the Mccarthyism era and is written to relate what is going on during Mccarthyism time and compared to what had happened during the time of the Salem witch trials. The setting or the crucible will impact the characters, the plot and the tone of the story.

The Crucible has a setting in a place that is very religious. The people live in a theocracy, which means that the government and the church are one in the same. The courts in Salem made a lot of rash decisions based in religion and not enough evidence. Many people were hanged in The Crucible. The people were hanged because they were “witches”. The courts in Salem did not have any fool proof evidence of the existence of witches, but they believed in it anyway.

Fear often leads people to make rash, harmful mistakes. This emotion is to be afraid of (someone or something) likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. The Crucible is based on the Salem witch trials of 1692. A bunch of girls claim they are corrupted by the devil and accused many of witchcraft to get out of trouble because they were caught dancing in the forest by a fire which is forbidden. Fear is the reason why the village of Salem dealt with the witchcraft incidents so badly. Throughout the trials of the people living in Salem no evidence was found to convict anyone of witchcraft. Instead the word of a group of young girls was taken as the truth. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear increases and destroys the community.

The Crucible had so many lessons and purposes throughout the play, but only three main things stood out: Weakness, Courage, and Truth. Which all had huge impacts in the play.

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.

As said in the documents I read, the theme is "the fundamental and often universal idea of a literary artwork".