Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay - 3348 Words

Arthur Millers The Crucible The Crucible was written in 1952 by the twentieth century American playwright Arthur Miller (1915-.) Miller was born in New York and educated at the University of Michigan where he began to write plays. Most of Millers plays are set in contemporary America and on the whole offer a realistic portrayal of life and society and the theme of self-realization is re-current e.g. John Proctor in The Crucible. The Crucible was the third play Miller wrote. It is a play about the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. It was used as a parable for McCarthyism in America in the 1950s. Millers play The Crucible has recently been made into a hugely successful film that stars†¦show more content†¦The play explores the themes of witchcraft, the struggle between good and evil and a fear of individuality. At the end of Act One Reverend Hale of Beverly, an authorative on witchcraft arrives at Reverend Parriss house. He is trying to awaken Betty from her bed, as she has not woken since Parris caught Betty and some other girls from the wood with Tituba, Parriss Negro slave. The atmosphere is tense due to the fact the scene is taking place in the dark, upstairs room of Bettys bedroom. Its homely state and the close proximity of the characters add suspense and tension. The locals have no explanation for Bettys behaviour other than that she is bewitched. More local disturbances were likely to be blamed on witchcraft, and the hunt for witches began. The community in Salem was all Puritan settlers who had fled from persecution in England and hoped to have found a city of souls. The town was deeply religious as a result of a close relationship between the church and the law, it was, in fact a theocracy. Bettys supposed bewitching would have become very prominent within the village and struck terror into the very core of such a community. Hale begins the scene with suspense. His persona is re-iterated as a brave and fearless man when he alarms the audience with the words, if the Devil is in her you will witness frightful wonders in this room. He scares Mr. Putnam and asks him to stand close in caseShow MoreRelatedArthur Millers The Crucible1002 Words   |  4 Pagesreligious authority; this is now deemed unconstitutional in America. A community run by Puritans, Salem, Massachusetts, became so far corrupted in 1692 that a heinous witch-hunt resulted. In response to these events, Arthur Miller wrote a play called The Crucible. Shaped by Miller’s experience of being tried before the congressional committee during the hunt for communists in the 1950s, his writing directly paralleled Salem’s witch-hunts to the McCarthy hearings. In his play, Abigail Williams wasRead More Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay2614 Words   |  11 PagesArthur Millers The Crucible Arthur Miller demonstrates the familiarities of the life he lived in the 1950s and of everyday life we live in through his plays. He communicates through his work to the way people are in society. The extreme witch hysteria deteriorated the rational and emotional stability of its citizens. This exploited the populations weakest qualities, and insecurities. The obvious breakdown in social order led to the tragedy that saw innocent souls hang on the accusationRead More Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay1231 Words   |  5 PagesArthur Millers The Crucible The Crucible is based on the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. In act 1 the audience find out that John Procter had an affair with Abigail Williams, who was dancing in the woods, and that she still has feelings for him. When John denies their love Abigail starts accusing people of witchcraft. Act 2 is when we meet Elizabeth Procter who gets arrested on suspicion of witchcraft. In act 3 John goes to court trying to free his wife and the others but without much luckRead More Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay947 Words   |  4 PagesArthur Millers The Crucible The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was brought before a committee in 1956 to answer charges of communist sympathy and to name the people he had had meetings with up to twenty years before. Liberal writer, film directors, actors and actresses were all called before the committee. The committee often had lists of names of people who had attended meetings yet they still forced witnesses to recite names, to see if they would comply andRead MoreArthur Millers The Crucible Essay1404 Words   |  6 PagesArthur Millers The Crucible During The Crucible Proctor is easily cast as a villain and other characters clearly see this side of him. This is evident when Abigail shows her attraction for Proctor and her flirtatiousness is obvious to the audience as she talks to Proctor, she moves closer to Proctor and the stage directions suggest that there is a Faint smile Upon Proctors face, this smile widens as Abigail truthfully explains what happened the night beforeRead MoreArthur Millers The Crucible : An Allegory For Mccarthyism750 Words   |  3 Pagesworks and is paid according to their abilities and needs.† Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† is an allegory for McCarthyism during the red scare due to the identical proceeds that divulge within not only The Crucible’s plot but also history, such as the accused confessing to a crime they did not commit to save their life, people rising to power by taking advantage of others, and accusations having credibility with no affirmation. â€Å"The Crucible† was published in 1952 just two years after the start of theRead MoreEssay on Language in Arthur Millers The Crucible525 Words   |  3 PagesLanguage in Arthur Millers The Crucible One aspect of The Crucible that is really Important is the way that Arthur Miller writes, and the language that he has used. His style is rather simple, with simple sentence structure on the whole, and quite simple vocabulary, he wanted to keep everything simple in this way in The Crucible, to prevent focus being taken away from the plot and the problems that the characters were facing with each other. So Miller doesRead MorePuritan Intolerance In Arthur Millers The Crucible808 Words   |  4 PagesMcCarthyism is well-known and embraced by Arthur Miller. His 1953 play on the Salem witch trials act as an allegory to Joseph McCarthy’s scandal, comparing them to a â€Å"witch hunt†, thus an allusion to the Salem tragedies. Miller uses his characters in a strict way to develop his allegory of the Puritan intolerance. Strongly implanted by Miller, his theme of intolerance demonstrates what thoughts spring to life and what he is trying to put forth. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Miller uses his characters ofRead MoreAllegory For Mccarthyism In Arthur Millers The Crucible767 Words   |  4 Pagesto no evidence, but people were forced to confess or they would be prosecuted. Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† is an allegory for McCarthyism during the red scare due to the near parallel events that confide in the plot and history such the accused confe ssing to a crime they did not commit to save their life, people rising to power by taking advantage of others, anda accusations having merit with no evidence. â€Å"The Crucible† was written in 1952 just two years after the start of the McCarthy era. WithRead MoreCommunism And Communism In Arthur Millers The Crucible711 Words   |  3 PagesSimilar to, in 1953, Arthur Miller an American playwright, scripted the play titled â€Å"The Crucible†. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s inspired the notable play. Consequently, after the hearing, McCarthyism became a vociferous campaign carried out by Senator Joseph McCarthy, which accused people of communism. To declare, Miller uses an analogy using the events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1693 to expose the ugly truth behind communism and McCarthyism. To begin, the word crucible derived from the