The Crucible Act 1-4 Reading Response Journal 1.a. Speaker: The speaker is Arthur Miller, who was the author of the book, as well as a popular essayist and playwright during the 20th Century. 1.b. Audience: Miller is addressing the reader of the book 1.c. Context: At the time the quote was written, Salem had been established for forty years and was involved in trade amongst other nations.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. Arthur Miller wrote the play because he was inspired by McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the hunt for communists that was taken too far. In The Crucible he presented a universal message. He was comparing how communists did exist and witches did not, but yet they were both taken as serious.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, as a response to McCarthyism, which is, in general, accusing people of crimes with little to no proof. It ran rampant through the United States during the Second Red Scare through the early 1950s (exactly when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible). In The Crucible, Miller juxtaposes the leaders, who rationally think for themselves, and the followers, who believe what everybody else believes, through irony, imagery, and denotation. The Crucible is riddled with irony, and Arthur Miller utilizes situational and dramatic irony to show the difference between followers and leaders.
Reasons Behind The Crucible 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.
One Choice Can Change Lives Who knew one seemingly innocent lie could cause 19 deaths and pit an entire town against itself? That’s exactly what happens in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Authors often use similar plot devices, and their favorite one is having their characters face a test. In a small town called Salem in early America, something terrible is happening.
Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Miller wrote his drama during the brief reign of the American senator Joseph McCarthy whose bitter criticized anti- communism sparkled the need for the United States to be a dramatic anti- communist society during the early tense years of the cold war. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. Convict communists were ordered to confess their crime and name others to avoid the retribution.
The Crucible Throughout Miller’s play, The Crucible, the characters are faced with many different trials when the suspicion of witchcraft enters their town. These trials have forced the characters to change their opinions and develop their own sense of personal integrity. The impact of pressure on people has forced some of the characters to further from their own morals. Reverend Hale, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor already had strong opinions on witchcraft before it became such a major issue in their society. When Reverend Hale was first asked to come investigate Salem he was determined to discover witchcraft.
Goodness and nobility is determined by an individual’s morality and their willingness to follow a virtuous path in their life. It is also determined by the ability of an individual to acknowledge their shortcomings and become more self-aware. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a good man as he showcases righteous morals and principles. This is shown, as he ends his affair with Abigail, protects his wife and his friends’ wives, and dies to preserve his integrity and honour. First, John Proctor shows his goodness, by refusing the physical advances of Abigail, who wishes to continue their love affair.
Everyone longs for success. They desire the acceptance and approval for following their moral compass, being rewarded, and being acknowledged. However, one cannot maintain success without a purposeful and achievable position of power. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the power of society is bound upon a pronounced hierarchy. Men naturally are deemed as having higher status than women in society.
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. Weakness is incorporated in the “The Crucible” many times throughout the whole play, but is strongly express in Act three, where Mary Warren’s weakness was overthrown by the truth. Mary’s weakness is Abigail, as in she is afraid of being against her in any such way. This had a huge impact on the play because her weakness ate her alive, causing her to lie along with all the other girls, giving John Proctor's life up to be hung.
The Tragic Hero, John Proctor The Crucible is a depiction of the hardships from the Puritan lifestyle. The story brought out the true characteristics of Puritan believers, shadowed by the evils in the world. During the Salem Witch Trials people were hysterical due to their dealings with the devil. Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Mercy Lewis started the accusations that would lead to the end of innocent men and women including John Proctor.
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay 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". One major theme that I have learned throughout this play is Intolerance. The society set in The Crucible is theocratic. That means that the church and the state are one.
Power is defined as “The ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as as a faculty or quality.” Throughout history, women have significantly lacked not only power but the ability to be recognized as equal to their male counterparts. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, women are somewhat able to successfully gain power from society due to the fact that they use manipulation, deceit and their sexual desire (especially the character of Abigail) to acquire positions of power in their largely patriarchal society. Women are able to attain this power through using their intellect to express manipulation, and lying in order to receive attention that translates into power.
Why Did Arthur Miller Write The Crucible? Fear very often leads to unexpected and unwanted results. Decisions made in fear are often more dangerous than the thing being feared. In the United States during the Cold War fear had been running rampant.
