In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the play conveys the hysteria that took place in Salem in 1692. Although the play is fiction, Miller based the plot of his play on historical events and his characters show how paranoia and fear can escalate. There are many references to chronicle how the setting, Salem, is like a crucible. A crucible as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a pot in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted, a difficult test or challenge and a place or as a situation that forces people to change or make difficult decisions. Appears akin to an authentically decent illustration for the bellicose hysteria that the little village of Salem contained amid the witch trials. With all …show more content…
All through the play, Miller deliberately peels away the layers of every character so that the audience of people can recognize the character's inspiration, as well as can rethink the character through his or her activities. At the end of the day, the crowd watches the character as he or she is tried, and the group of onlookers eventually figures out whether he or she passes the test. Proctor provides an excellent example. His affair with Abigail results in a fall from grace, not only with his wife Elizabeth, but also within himself. Proctor trusts he is condemned and can't in any way, shape or form recapture Elizabeth's affection and regard, his own sense of pride and good uprightness. Proctor is tested severely when he goes to the court to defend Elizabeth. In order to save his wife, he must publicly announce his sin and, therefore, lose his good name. Although he gives up his good name in court, he regains it at the end of the play by destroying his signed confession. The crowd watches Proctor as the play advances and judges his activities as indicated by his inspirations and responses to the different "tests" through which he passes. As the audience observes the characters, the audience itself is tested and forced to acknowledge that desire — whether positive, such as the desire for pleasure, or negative, such as lust, greed, or envy — is a realistic part of life. The acknowledgment that yearning influences people and their conduct keeps the group of onlookers fascinated in the