The Crucible Theme Essay

Themes

Quotations

religion

“The nearest approach to decoration was a number of wooden panels with sayings, mostly from Repentances, artistically burnt into them. The one on the left of the fireplace read: ONLY THE IMAGE OF GOD IS MAN.” (Wyndham 18). This quote goes along with the theme of religion because it informs the reader that the main character lives in a house with religious phrases all over the walls to remind him that god's way is the right way and anything unusual such as a mutation defies the way of god and should be burned.

“If his legs had been right, he would have stood no taller than my father’s five-feet-ten; but they were not: they were monstrously long and thin, and his arms were long and thin, too. It made him look half-man,

We'd be lost indeed if we didn't do that.” (wyndham 93). This proves that every character in the story follows their religion. Here uncle axel tells david that if everybody were to suddenly stop believing in their religion,they would all be lost.

2. Death

"If the worst comes to the worst, and you can't save Petra, it would be kinder to kill her than let her go to sterilization and banishment to the Fringes, a lot more merciful for a child." (wyndham 178) uncle Axel tells David in this quote that it would be better for his sister to die then to be with a human with abnormalities. Death would be less of a punishment.

"It wouldn't be just murder, Uncle Axel. It'd be something worse, as well; like violating part of ourselves forever... We couldn't do it..."

"The alternative is the sword over your heads," ( wyndham 179) david tells uncle axel that he can't kill anybody and Axel replies that if david doesn't kill them then they will kill him. Death will come to one or the

but to pretend that one can live without doing so is self-deception." (wyndham 210) Uncle Axel tells david that even though killing another creature is never fun to do it is inevitable. Species can not avoid killing one another because that's how we survive and adapt to our surroundings. Everyday humans kill animals for food, we fight in wars over land or political views, death is essential to development.

3. Isolation

“We had a gift, a sense which, Michael complained bitterly, should have been a blessing, but was a little better than a curse. The stupidest norm was happier; he could feel that he belonged.” (wyndham 120) this quote talks about how all the children with telepathic abilities are treated as outcasts because they aren’t normal. Thus isolation them from the rest of society.

“When I did succeed in getting the foot free, it looked queer: I mean it was all twisted and puffy, I didn't even notice then that it had more than the usual number of toes." (wyndham 11) sophie was born with 6 toes instead of the regular 5.This leads to her parents alienating her from everybody for most of her life because if someone were to find out about her toe she would be