The Crucible was about the Salem Witch Trials. The duration of these “trials” were a time of general revenge based on jealousy, lust, and possibly the effects of ergot poisoning. More than two hundred men and women were accused of witchcraft. Twenty of which were executed, along with one man being brutally pressed to death for not admitting to witchcraft. These “trials” could very well have been started because of jealousy.
In the play the accused people get examined and the judges are trying to find out whether or not they are bewitched. The definition is really simple but crucible can also be described as kind of a melting pot and that fits really well (because?). People get accused of things and then judged by others. Based on that decision the society has a certain perception of them and it makes people act differently. In the play almost everybody acts a certain way to make a good impression.
The meaning of a Crucible is "a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new." This idea of a severe test and/or a "trial by fire" is seen throughout the play and its characters. I believe that it is mostly seen in John Proctor and Reverend Hale. John Proctor's crucible is how he must stand for something in the world where everyone is against him, and where few people stand with him. This forces proctor to speak up once he realizes he can no longer be silent, as remaining silent was only encouraging those who were in authority to continue to beguile the town.
Crucible also means a heat resistant container in which metals are melted or fused at very high melting points. This can be used as an analogy to the tension that was rising in the courtroom during the trials. Abigail can be described as an envious, corruptive
A crucible is defined as a severe trial. The title, The Crucible, refers to the many moral tests shown throughout the book. Many accused witches underwent tests of moral strength and truthfulness via the trials. Elizabeth was tested of her truthfulness in court, the girls being tested of their loyalty and truthfulness during the trials of the accused, and Proctor being tested by his lust for Abigail and his desire to live during the trials.
The dictionary defines a crucible as a place or occasion of severe tests or trials. During the late seventeenth century, many places around the world began to have an increased fear of the supernatural. Witch trials sparked by these fears brought great pressure upon all involved. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the people of Salem were placed under a lot of pressure as the witch trials were occurring. With pressure mounting, three men from the story each struggled in a different manner; Parris becoming fearful and cowardly, Hale undergoing a change in character, and Proctor taking a stand for what he believed to be right.
The Crucible metaphor also shines bright when Judge Danforth says to Proctor,‘We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment’. The court scenes always portrayed a feeling of fear, tension and conflicts between the hands that wield power. Proctor later speaks out one of his most rageful dialogues ‘A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! …. And we will burn, we will burn together!’Here Miller makes one of the most important connection between the play’s title The Crucible and the society that he wishes to portray.
The “crucible” by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has three definitions, but only two out of the three pertain to the play; the first being “a difficult test or challenge” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary) and the second being “a place or situation that forces people to change or make difficult decisions” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary). The first character that the crucible’s definitions apply to is John Procter. John Procter is a much respected man in his village; however he has a secret that would ruin him. He had an affair with his old house maid Abigail Williams who is still in love with him. Abigail attempts to break Procter and his wife up by accusing his wife that she has an affiliation with witchcraft, he tells everyone about his affair to
It is ironic that the innocent people such as Nurse are punished, while the wicked go unpunished. The Salem witch trials can be compared to a crucible. A crucible is a pot used to melt metals and other substances. However, a crucible also symbolises a difficult test or trial. In the context of the play,
A crucible is a metal container with a high temperature known to melt substances, but it is also defined as a severe test or trial. The Salem witch trials took place between 1692 and 1693, during this time a tremendous amount of people had been accused, executed, and prosecuted. The reason for these prosecutions was witchcraft. Many had been convicted of practicing the Devil’s magic. Young girls had been screaming, barking like animals, and dancing in the woods.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the play conveys the hysteria that took place in Salem in 1692. Although the play is fiction, Miller based the plot of his play on historical events and his characters show how paranoia and fear can escalate. There are many references to chronicle how the setting, Salem, is like a crucible. A crucible as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a pot in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted, a difficult test or challenge and a place or as a situation that forces people to change or make difficult decisions. Appears akin to an authentically decent illustration for the bellicose hysteria that the little village of Salem contained amid the witch trials.
The quote above shows how during the witch trials, it was close to impossible to give proof of someone being a witch. That you could not show the court hard evidence of the “supernatural occurrences” of the devil’s doing to support your side of the story in court. Which relates to the definition of the word “crucible” by showing that there were severe trials going on in the play which relates to the meaning of the title. To help better explain how the title relates to the play, the text includes trials which characters are put through to prove their innocence of not signing their name to the devil.
In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.
In the play " The Crucible " by Arthur Miller the term or idea of a crucible is not just used in the title, it is also used in the plot and in the dialogue of the character 's their self. A crucible is a severe test or trial in a place or of an occasion. This term relates to the title because in this play many characters are tested with regards to their faith and are put on trial for witchcraft. Another meaning of the term "crucible" is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. This term relates to the title because all throughout the play people are being accused of witchcraft and being sentenced to death or thrown in jail.
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.
