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Fear As An Allegory In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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Honor, An honorable person keeps a promise and is loyal. For example, If you borrowed money and you promised to pay next month you must stay true to that. You must pay the person on the date you promised or earlier than that. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The play follows the story of John Proctor, a farmer who is accused of witchcraft and must face the consequences of his actions. The play is an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare in 1950s America. Through its characters and themes, The Crucible explores the power of fear and how it can be used to manipulate people into doing things they would not normally do. The theme of fear is explored throughout the play as it is used to manipulate people into believing lies and accusations. In Act I, Reverend Parris discovers his daughter Betty and her friends dancing in the woods with Tituba, a slave from Barbados. He immediately assumes that they were practicing witchcraft and begins to spread rumors throughout Salem about witches being among them. This causes mass hysteria among the townspeople as they become paranoid about witches living among them. This fear leads to false accusations being made against innocent people as they are accused of witchcraft without any evidence or proof. …show more content…

In Act III, Proctor is faced with a difficult decision: confess to witchcraft or be hanged for refusing to do so. He knows that if he confesses he will be branded a witch but if he refuses he will be hanged for his refusal. Despite knowing this, Proctor chooses not to confess because he does not want to give into fear and compromise his integrity by lying about something he did not do. His decision shows how powerful fear can be but also how it can be overcome with courage and strength of

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Fear functions as a powerful force driving morally questionable actions among characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Reverend Parris, anxious about losing his job, and Abigail, fearing prosecution and the loss of John Proctor, epitomize this phenomenon. Tituba, motivated by the fear of physical harm, also succumbs to this trend. Fear compels individuals to safeguard their own interests and exert power to harm others.

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