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6 word summary of the crucible
The deeper meaning of the crucible
The crucible themes salem witch hunt
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More handpicked essays just for you.
6 word summary of the crucible
The deeper meaning of the crucible
The crucible themes salem witch hunt
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.
People were being hanged in front of the town, and as those accused did not want to meet the same fate, they confessed because they were in fear. This was very effective in the Crucible as it was able to create tension among the town of Salem. It caused people to fear, and turn against each other and create mass tension. Fear was a very important type of propaganda in the Crucible, but there is one more very important
In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.
The Proctors are known and loved by almost everyone one in the town, and they know that they are honest people and pure of heart. However, what they do not know is the fact that John had an affair with Abigail, the leader of the afflicted girls. Abigail then accuses Elizabeth of sending her spirit and stabbing her with a sewing needle. The court's proof was the fact that Elizabeth had a poppet with a sewing needle still inside of it.
Author Arhtur Miller, explores the theme of dishonesty as well as honesty in The Crucible, which takes place in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Where the townspeople and others are accused by others of witchcraft and being taken to court where the victim has more power and truth of JUdge Danforth. Dishonesty is motivated by people trying to save themselves by not being hanged or killed, on the other hand others are dishonest to save others. WHile Honesty has been shown to keep pride and not be shamed by others. Honesty is always the best policy in reality today, but as of the Salem Trials, although if you were honest and didn’t participate in witchcraft but were accused, and didn’t confess, they would be hanged.
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.
People tend to believe what they want to believe. Whether the information is presented by celebrities or politicians or through paid advertisements on social media, it can be misinterpreted as true, even when it has been proven false. Misinformation causes people to make reckless decisions based on what they have heard or seen. False information has led to unfortunate events, such as the Salem Witch Trials and prejudice-based violence. False information connects events in both Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and current society, shaping the opinions of the public and allowing authorities to stay in power despite false evidence against them.
False witnesses have been a problem for as long as humans have been around, from the Salem Witch Trials to the Mccarthyism times. False witnesses mess with people's lives and are a nuisance to the judicial system. They can turn a guilty verdict to a not guilty, or vise versa. It is an issue we have in the world and is something that has to be dealt with and correct to make our court system fair to the people of this world. False witnesses are not good, they are a problem is around, and they can be stopped.
Abigail’s secret of faking being bewitched in court was finally about to come out. So, in a last second frenzy, she had started to attack Mary Warren to save herself, to which Mary turned on Proctor to save herself. After attempts to save themselves from damnation, characters of the Crucible started acting hysterically as well as pointing fingers at anyone they could, creating a stampede of frenzy and agitation, stomping cold-footed through the pages of the play. Every single character in the play had been affected by the mass hysteria that crept through Salem like a thick fog. Many people - Reverend Parris being a good example - were worried about their reputations, how they would look to the mass’s judging and unforgiving eye.
“Lies and secrets, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind” (Cassandra Claire). This is exactly what happened in the hearts and souls of people in salem with the mass hysteria of witches inhabiting the area. Throughout The Crucible, many characters lied for a number of reasons. It has become common to dismiss little white lies because they usually don’t seem to have a great effect on people.
For example, Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor who was married to Elizabeth Proctor at the time and got discovered. However, Abigail Williams still “loved” John Proctor and was rejected. Later, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft, an action she uses as her revenge. These acts of cruelty ultimately affect all the victims and their families in this play as their consequence is to be hung. The vulnerability and sense of helplessness are all revealed in the victims as they are facing their
Power in our society nowadays is very misgiven and abused. When people have power they tend to use it for their own benefit and to manipulate people into believing them. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller dramatizes the Salem witch trials of 1692 in order to show his audience how easy it was to be accused and hung for witchcraft. In the Crucible a group of young girls were caught dancing in the woods and in order to not receive a punishment they lied saying they got witched. The girls blamed many people of the town of being witches and caused conflict all over the village.
A major theme in The Crucible is the deception of falsehood and honesty. A character that is a prime example is Abigail Williams. Through the book Abigail shows several layers of lies and deception to protect herself. Abigail has a rather tough life because both of her parents died when she was young and ever since she has worked as a servant in several households. Abigail has a strong hold on several people throughout the story which is why she has so much power over the town of Salem.
We all know peer pressure can make you do things, But Arthur Miller’s The Crucible shows us the extremes of social pressure and how it can make us do things we would never have thought of doing. One of the major themes in The Crucible is that popular belief causes you to act and operate differently than you would normally. Some examples of this is Mary’s behavior, the girls fainting, and Proctors struggle to not confess. One of the main examples of someone giving in to social pressure is when Mary Warren decides to convict Proctor and say he is working with the devil.
People lie for many reasons. Sometimes it’s to themselves, sometimes it’s to others. No matter who they are lying to, it always affects others around you. In the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, lying is a very common theme. Many characters lie, which include John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and many others.