The Crucible

Representations of people, events and personalities in both Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible 1953 and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s sonnet Ozymandias, reveal the composers personal agenda and effectively demonstrate this in relation to people and politics. Millers The Crucible is a classic parable of mass hysteria drawing a chilling parallel between the Salem witch trials of 1692 and the Congressional hearings of the McCarthy era which griped America in the 1950’s. Shelley’s masterful sonnet is a first person persona describing a meeting with someone who has travelled to a place where ancient civilizations once existed. Both composers even though they have varying contextual eras, both display similar ideals including those with power are deluded

In January 1953, the American playwright Arthur Miller debuted his new play “The Crucible” on Broadway in New York City. It tells the story of the speculative, baseless hysteria and witch trials that took place during the seventeenth century in the village of Salem, Massachusetts and the horrific calamity that ensued. It examines the haunting reality of a society based on rigid, religious customs, superstitious norms and how these can be used as a weapon and prey on people’s irrational fears.

The pursuit of power outweighs moral motives causing the manipulation of fear and its detrimental consequences. In The Crucible, Miller represents the dangers political power poses to individuals that are manipulated with fear for political gain through the parallel of the 17th century Salem Witch Trials to the 20th century McCarthy trials. In both contexts individuals experience social injustice as a result of political wrongdoing. Salem “developed a theocracy… to keep the community together” whose fundamental purpose was to guarantee that individuals in society adhere to a moral code of conduct. However, this theocracy enabled religious individuals to further their motive of power by dictating the lives of others. Miller’s characterisation

Arthur Miller, a prominent twentieth century playwright, is well-known for his play The Crucible. The play opens in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Puritan religion is against dancing and singing because the Puritans believe these are sensuous activities. The Puritans also believe that Satan tempts human beings to carry out his work. Fear and hysteria strike Salem over the belief that the devil is in the town because Parris’s niece, Abigail Williams, was found dancing in the forest with other girls and Parris’s servant; and soon after two young girls fall sick. The town suspects the girls of witchcraft; however, Parris does not want to believe witchcraft is the cause of the trouble in Salem; so he calls in Reverend

Human is a species that live in group, and conformity is one of the distinct characteristic of human nature. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller investigates various natures in community throughout Act 1 and 2. The play took place at Salem, a town that primarily based on puritanism, the major plot of this play is about witchcraft and witch hunt. Miller conveys a essential message of people always search for conformity from society as a form to prove their identity, further, any rebellion would consider as outcast from majority. The author explores the theme by the use of conflict, this literary element best demonstrates changes of characterizations and complication between others and internal struggle.

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing Himself.” Leo Tolstoy is correct about how we like to blame others before we see each other. However In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. There are Dramatic changes in many characters and their journies.One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it’s guilt, anger, love, loss or betrayal. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go. So does John Proctor the guy who changes somewhat, Abigail Williams who changes the people that surround her, and John hale who changes very dramatically throughout the book.

As Bob Marley once said, “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Integrity is the quality of being honest and upholding one’s morals and principles. Living in a fast-paced and ever-changing society, human beings have come into contact with adversity and hardship all throughout history. Those who act with integrity during tough times have a major influence on those around them, and taking a stand and upholding ones’ beliefs and morals at great self sacrifice can inspire and encourage others to do the same. Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible is a prime example of upholding integrity, and the characters within the play face difficult choices between doing

Cruelty is a recurrent theme in literature that often acts as a critical factor in a novel’s development. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the occurrence of cruelty is seen to be gradually increasing as the story goes on from accusations of witchcraft that lead into chaos and death. Through Miller’s depiction of the merciless accusations and murders of innocent people, cruelty reveals a high extent of people’s animosity and vengeance that is greatly influenced by the attitude of the surrounding atmosphere.

Arthur Miller in “Are You Now Or Were You Ever” in relations to “The Crucible” explains the problems that society has with the idea of Communism; Communism is the belief that all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. During this time there was the issue with Mccarthy and his anti-communism ideologies. Miller gives the argument on how this has affected not only himself but the people around him and society which had led to a sense of paranoia. To give the argument in which society has become paranoid and separate, he uses the Rhetorical strategies such as the usage of analogy, Rhetorical questions, and imagery.

When push comes to shove, everyone makes a tough decision, but in the end the decision was either out of fear to protect themselves, or a strategy to gain a designated amount of authority. In today 's society, many of the decisions people make lead to riots in the streets and people getting hurt. Similarly, the Ferguson riot in Missouri years ago, where many civilians were injured because of decisions made by everyone involved. Whether it turned violent because they wanted to prove something or because they feared the police when they showed up. In the story, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the characters also illustrate the fact that it is human nature to defend oneself, to strive to survive despite the harm such actions can cause to

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.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a multitude of complex characters . In the play, the characters’ motivations and inner processes are explored. Because of the historical setting, the characters live in a society of judgement and extreme religious devotion. This is a factor that places any of the characters’ choices and morals in a public balance to be judged by others. Abigail Williams is the main character of the play and acts with an utter selfishness and obsession.

Arthur Asher Miller was born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem, NY, and was the son of two Polish immigrants. His father owned a successful clothing shop and the family was wealthy until the stock market crash of 1929, the start of the Great Depression. The family moved to Brooklyn afterwards. Unable to go college after high school, Miller worked numerous odd jobs until he was accepted into the University of Michigan. There he wrote his first play, No Villain. Miller’s playwright professor was Kenneth Rowe, who taught him various techniques to create intricate plays. Due to a college football injury, he was not in active service during World War II, thus starting his writing career.

Within The Crucible, many characters discuss public matters in private spaces and private matters in public ones. These occurrences demonstrate society’s natural tendency to exploit the less relevant, private affairs of citizens in order to influence public opinion and remove blame from oneself. Before the play itself begins, Miller emphasizes the common act of “express[ing] publicly ... guilt and sins under the cover of accusation” (7). Whether the guilt is deserved or not, discussing private matters in the form of public knowledge allows one to place the burden of one’s on actions on others around them. Reverend Parris first utilizes this form of accusation as he states that he “discovered” many girls “dancing in the forest” at night (38), using his sight of them as evidence of hooliganry. Though the reason for

It took just forty five days for United States citizens to acquiesce their rights to freedom and privacy for the sake of safety following the events of September 11, 2001. Forty five days is how long it took the United States Congress to pass a law that gave up the very concept of liberty upon which this country is founded. The morning sky was a brilliant shade of blue with not a cloud in sight in New York on that fateful day of September. That all changed at 8:45 AM when a Boeing 767 jet plane tore into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Eighteen minutes later, a second Boeing 767 bit into the sixtieth floor of the south tower. Screams and sirens pierced the air; thick, black smoke and flying debris ruined the perfectly clear