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The Crucible Theme Analysis

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Of the themes propagating The Crucible, three are prevalent among others. These are Authority vs. Individual Freedom, Abuse of Power, and the Search for self, or internal struggle. Abuse of power is probably the most extensively used theme amongst those three mentioned.
Take for example a rather simple conversation between Proctor and Parris, where Proctor implores Parris, “Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!” to which Parris promptly replies, “It is not for you to say what is good for you to hear” (Miller 17). It is clear that Parris is the leader of the conversation, since Proctor is asking for him to change the conversation, and since Parris refuses him bluntly and rudely. Though that dialogue …show more content…

He is known for the quote, “Do you know who I am, Mr. Nurse,” (49) and, “[do] you doubt my authority?” (55). Danforth represents the the archetypal character type who will rely on his power to gain what he desires, simply through giving others fear that he will use his power to hurt them. He is rather paradoxical given the fact that he is a reverend, but at several times during the play it appears as if he is attempting to use the court as a launchpad for his own career. In fact, when he is faced with the possibility of the masses losing faith in the court system, he and Parris seem to be scared for the court as if it were their life in jeopardy. Danforth is cold and efficient in his calculated offering of a public confession to Proctor, but Parris offers the audience more insight into his feelings. Take for instance the scene direction that describes Parris screaming at Proctor to sign the paper “hysterically, as though the tearing paper were his life” (75). He knows that he is losing his abusive power over the people, and he is terrified of what the mob’s mentality might be once they were conned by Parris and Danforth into believing a lie. Even the actions of Danforth in putting Proctor into a situation where he has to lose his honor and live or die is an ample evidence of their abuse of

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Parris is dynamic like John, but for the majority of the story he sacrifices his integrity like his niece Abigail. Not is it until the end of the story Reverend Parris realizes what he has done was wrong. " Go to him! He rushes out the door, as though to hold back his fate. Proctor!

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The Crucible Rough Draft Have you ever felt guilt? Guilt can control a lot of people. Guilt did control some of the characters in the Crucible. John Proctor had a lot of guilt thought out the Crucible for having an affair with Abigail and hurting his wife Elizabeth because of having the affair with Abigail.

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In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.

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It is well known that John Proctor does not see Parris to be a godly man. He disagrees with his teachings and his candlesticks and is not shy in admitting that he possesses “no love for Mr. Parris”(90). Parris no doubt sees this and relishes in the idea that he can use witchcraft to discredit Proctor so that there will be no displeasure from anyone in the town toward him and his teachings. In the court, he does everything possible to discredit John Proctor’s argument by influencing Danforth’s view of him in a negative manner. The reverend argues that Proctor is “such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month” (90).

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John Proctor is an honest man, by telling the truth for the greater good no matter what position he is

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He is the protagonist whom makes a mistake before the play begins. At the end of the play, Proctor confesses his sins and mends his marriage. On the other hand, Danforth is honest in his own mind and questions Proctor about his actions. Danforth is a judge during the Salem Witch trials and only

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1. Miller, Arther. The Crucible. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.

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Secondly, Judge Danforth’s irrationality and ignorance brings about poor decisions on his part. One of the instances where Danforth reveals his following attitude is when he denies to even look at a deposition presented by John Proctor as described by his words “ No, no, I accept no depositions” (Miller 88). John Proctor hands him a deposition signed by Mary warren, stating that the accusations made by Abigail and the girls are false. In this regard Judge Danforth replies to John Proctor by repetitively says “No” thereby emphasizing his adamant view on this subject.

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Parris says,”’ He’s come to overthrow this court, your Honor”’ (Miller 185). Reverend Parris is convincing Judge Danforth, that John Proctor is trying to dismantle the court, but John is only there to save the lives of those on trial. Marlow wrote, “Parris is evident in the stage directions where we first see Parris encounter his niece and are directly informed that she is glamorous and a compulsive liar” (1). Marlow is saying how Reverend Parris knows Abigail is a compulsive liar, but he believes her anyway.

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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.

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The Crucible is a story by Arthur Miller this story was released during the Mccarthyism era and is written to relate what is going on during Mccarthyism time and compared to what had happened during the time of the Salem witch trials. The setting or the crucible will impact the characters, the plot and the tone of the story. The setting of The Crucible affected the characters because during this period of time Salem Massachusetts was a Puritan colony. The Puritans were very strict people, for example on page 1154 of Arthur Miller's The Crucible Paris the town's Minister threatens to beat his slave Tituba “ You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to death Tituba” that statement says that the fact that Parris is going to whip Tituba to death if she doesn't do what he says and confess that he is willing to kill anyone who does not follow the rules. Another

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Published in 1952, during a period of cold war tensions, which culminated in the ideological witch trials of the mcarthy era in America; The crucible by Arthure miller is set in 1692 during the witch trials in salem massachusetts. The author has used allegory to position the reader to draw parrelels betweeen the to time periods and critisize the persecution that occured in both eras. One of the main themes that Miller has used to portray this viewpoint is the representation of personal integrity. Integrity is the quality of having strong moral pronciples. This is acheived through strongly contrasted characterisation of characters such as Abigail williams and and Rebecca Nurse, aswell as the inclusion of textual features such as irony, symbolism

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