What Are The Similarities Between The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter

There are many different texts in the modern world of literature. From poems to novels, and plays to movies, people have been recording stories for many years. When reading these different texts, readers begin to make comparisons and find differences among the many texts they have read. Two texts that are commonly used for this purpose are Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Many things about these two texts are very similar and also very different. Some similarities and differences between these texts are, setting, general lifestyle, adultery, major conflict, moral of main woman character, and internal conflicts of religious leaders.

One of the more obvious similarities amidst the two texts, The

At the time in which these two texts take place, adultery, especially for women, resulted in terrible punishments. As stated by Janet Clark, “Any woman who cheated on her husband would be punished by the community; the punishment would be swift, harsh and sometimes deadly.” Arthur Miller also addresses the severity of the punishment of the crime of adultery, “a penalty, which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punishment of death itself”(page 42). Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, wasn’t punished by death, or even too severely, but her reputation was ruined. Similarly, John Proctor ruined his reputation in Act III by admitting to Mr. Danforth, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” Through these quotes, it is not only obvious that adultery was a horrible crime to admit, but that it also played a major role in both

In The Crucible, the major conflict was witchcraft. The conflict arises at the beginning when Abigail is talking to Mr. Parris, “Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about”(page 1130 Act I). This is an adequate conflict for it is set in the time of the Salem witch trials. “The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft”(History.com Staff). Yet while The Crucible was based primarily around witchcraft, The Scarlet Letter focused mainly on the crime of Hester Prynne, adultery, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead.” Clearly, despite the many similarities, the major conflict of the two texts is very