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Intolerance In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

795 Words4 Pages

Thesis: As expressed in The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the theme of intolerance as a stem from personal experience and strict religion, a premise of the witch trials, and the behavior regarding the accusations.

Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, uses the very basis of a time of intolerance in his life as a parallel to the story. In a time period known as McCarthyism, which is anti-communist, a Senator named Joseph McCarthy makes hundreds of accusations against those he suspects to be communists that infiltrates the United States. Arthur Miller, along with numerous other writers and actors, is accused of communist sympathies, goes before a committee, and black-listed. Few are willing to stand up against McCarthy and thus those …show more content…

In a desperate attempt to get information of out Abigail, he exclaims, “It must come out--my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you have done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?” (Miller, I, lines 82-84). Here, Parris explains that he suspects his “enemies,” members of the church, have a desire to remove him from his job and will be intolerant to any questionable activity. Later, when Abigail accuses Tituba, the reader learns of the townspeople’s intolerance of not only witchcraft, but of Tituba’s status, race, and practices. When Hale asks Abigail what Tituba said in the forest, Abigail tells him, “I know not, she spoke Barbados” (Miller, I, line 886). Tituba already has slight intolerance shown towards her because of the class as a servant from Barbados, but once they find out she speaks Barbados, accusation after accusation falls on her. In the Puritan church, their religion is the only tolerable religion, so for her to be speaking from a different one is interpreted as an act against God. Also, because she is a servant, she can be blamed for anything, knowing that there is little toleration if she tries to defend herself.

After countless people are accused, the scene shifts to the courthouse where judges put people on trial for witchcraft. Judge Danforth and Judge Hawthorne,

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