The meaning of the word “Crucible” has a huge role in the personality of the characters in the story. A crucible is defined as a severe test or trial. It applies to each character throughout the story, but mostly to John Proctor.. In many ways, the crucible that John faces change his character enormously.…
The character John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s famous play about the Salem witchcraft; The Crucible is a member of the Puritan religion. This is a culture established in the values of Christian faith, hard work, selflessness, and manageable living. Proctor is a main character that has committed the sinful crime of adultery and is struggling to repair his trustworthiness in himself and his wife. The audience first see John Proctor as a man of great value that has committed a disgraceful act, which now makes him frail in personality and filled with guilt. As The Crucible progresses a great development in John Proctor occurs, making the audience ache with him when his destruction occurs. John Proctor is the most dynamic character as he values…
Crucible can be defined as a test or trial. Many folks in Salem are filled with hysteria when a group of young girls falsely accuse them of witchcraft. John Proctor is one of the folks falsely accused and he must decide his fate through his strong beliefs. John Proctor is justified with his decision of not falsely confessing to the court because by saving his name and reputation it did more good than bad.…
The word Crucible can mean couple of things, however the definition that stands out the most is ' A place or occasion of severe test or trial '. Just reading it, it could mean numerous things, however after reading the play, The Crucible, it makes a little more sense. In this play, test and trial is exactly what goes on. Women were being accused of performing witchcraft and being witches, which meant they would go to trial where they would either accept or deny this accusation and based on what they said, they could be put to death. This changed many of the characters. The 3 main characters i will discuss which underwent change are Mr. Proctor, who changed quite a bit, Abigail, who did not change at all, and Mary Warren, who changed because of John Proctor.…
The definition of crucible is a severe test or trial. Arthur Miller skillfully uses this word to describe the 16th century, Salem inspired, witch trial based play, The Crucible. Handling the chaos of the courts in Salem became an accomplishment in its self. The characters also endured a test of strength by deciphering between what is best for themselves or their friends. Three characters that undergo many tests of emotional strength and stability in this play are John Proctor, the protagonist, Elizabeth whom is John’s upright and composed wife, and Reverend Hale the supernatural expert with a vendetta against witches.…
The definition of a crucible is a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development. This applies to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in the fact that the small town of Salem, Massachusetts is changed dramatically when a girl and her friends make accusations against people for practicing witchcraft. Many individuals such as Reverend Hale, Mary Warren, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor were also changed through a series of events. Yet there were some people who did not change, even after what they went through. Examples of these people are: Parris, Abigail, Deputy Governor Dansforth, and Judge Hathorne. Of all these characters, the individuals that should definitely be examined in deeper detail as to whether or not they changed are Abigail Williams, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor.…
In the play Anne Pedersdotter the author describes the Middle Ages period where the witchcraft is severely punished by inquisition and there is belief that the evil forces in the face of Satan and his powers are present. The play presents a very exciting and tragic fate of the priest Absalon who is widower and takes young beautiful woman called Anne as a wife. He also has a son called Martin who is in love with his young wife. Being a very honest, deliberate and honorable man, the Priest makes a big mistake by saving the life of Anne’s mother who was convicted to death for witchcraft. He puts his personal motives and interests first instead of punishing the mother of Anne and marrying young lady while being blinded by her beauty. At the end of the play Absalon finds out that Martin and his young wife are both in love with each other. In a short dialogue, his wife tells him that she never loved the Priest and he dies. After that, Anne is convicted of summoning the dark forces and thus killing the father of Martin. Absolon creates such circumstances that result in the terrible and tragic fate of Anne Pedersdotter. Above and beyond that, Martin is loved by the young lady and they have a very strong love affair where Absolon is complication. Finally, Merete dislikes Absalon’s wife and creates…
It has been said many times that if people don't learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them, such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one example is the blatant similarities between the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When considering the nature of these events, it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not would only once, but twice. If one would take the time to compare these events he or she will be able to see numerous similarities between them. In The Crucible Miller relates an analogy of the witch trials in Salem to the investigation of communists by Joseph McCarthy. There are many similarities between these two events in history.…
A crucible is a severe test as of patience or belief, a trial. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by suspicions of witchcraft. As the story progresses, people’s words and actions cause Reverend John Hale to change his views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. As numerous events and their consequences unfold, they cause Hale to rethink his initial views on witchcraft and to be persuaded of the innocence of those convicted in Salem.…
In the play, The Crucible, there are a variety of characters that serve various purposes, a primary one being a representative of the people that were actually present during the Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthyism era. Albeit different people, many of the people presented in both of these times had similar roles to play in the grand scheme of things, and thus, Arthur Miller created Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor to portray two kinds of people that were present. We are comparing Abigail and Elizabeth due to their stark differences in personality and character. In the play, Abigail serves an antagonist role, fully utilizing her devious nature to bring about chaos in the Salem village, and even more so, bring destruction in the Proctor house. Whereas, Elizabeth, with all her righteousness and chivalry, attempts to save her family, and also try to reason with the reverend to persuade them to use better judgment. They both play different roles in the play, and it naturally the consequences of their actions are remotely different.…
In the third act of “The Crucible,” Elizabeth Proctor makes a choice where she lies in order to save her husbands reputation. As this affects both her and her husband, it also affects the rest of the play. In order to save her husband, John Proctor, from lechery she lies to the court. Elizabeth didn’t know what was at risk; she also didn’t know what there was at risk. She didn’t know what there was to come with her words, in which she believed were the right things to say at that time and place. Because of the fact that Elizabeth was unaware of what was happening, she started going helpless when the situation got serious and she couldn’t look to her husband for help. Soon enough, though, she states that her husband is a good man. Although before she spoke, Proctor confessed his sins. Consequently, her actions created anarchy in the court. Sure enough, both she and Proctor get sent to jail. Abby doesn’t want Proctor as much as she did before. Now she wants to get even. Abby and the girls say they see a bird, accusing Mary Warren of witchcraft. This leads to Hale leaving the court and Parris winning the trial. Due to this, the Proctors are taken away and anything could happen to their children, and pregnant Elizabeth. This is all because Proctor said his wife had never told a lie, but she does. Its looked at as the truth when she confessed it to the men. But because Proctor had stated that his wife had never lied in her life, it made it look like he was the liar in the end.…
Throughout the Crucible, there were many brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for a greater cause. When being accused of witchcraft, many of them denied these accusations because they were not true causing them to be put to death. They all tried to bring light to the fact that they were innocent, with no avail. Therefore, it is admirable to sacrifice oneself and spare the innocent, rather than sacrifice others in order to save yourself.…
Having a good reputation is a goal that every human being wants accomplished during his or her life, but only to a certain extent. Having a reputation, the basic theme of this book, has a great amount of importance in The Crucible. This theme plays a tremendous role in what the basis of this book is. Arthur miller developed this theme throughout the book by accumulating characters with this quality. There are many characters in this book, but the ones that convey these qualities are, Reverend Parris, Abigail along with John Proctor. Miller uses Parris, in the first act, to demonstrate the theme of having great reputation and integrity.…
‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a relationship between a male and female character that changes throughout the course of the play. This relationship would be the relationship of John and Elizabeth Procter. This relationship changes from being hostile and awkward at the start and changes to a loving and caring one by the end of the play. This illuminates the central idea in the play of forgiveness.…
“Fear is simply the consequence of every lie”~Fyodor Dostoyevski. Dostoyevski explains that fear and lying come hand to hand. Telling lies creates a fear of being discovered having told a lie. In addition, one only conjures a lie if there is something to hide. Therefore the discovery of secrets also induces fear. Fear, whether it be fear of life, or reputation, can heavily influence the actions of society. It possess the ability to impair the judgement and actions of people. Similarly, in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the townspeople are completely ruled by fear. This fear is mainly caused by the strict punishments given to those who violate Puritan morals. It also brings along a sense that one must protect his own life and interests. This need for self-preservation leads to widespread denial and in some cases, even the accusation of others. Governed by the terror of Puritanical law, the townspeople learn to fear its consequences and become quick to deny and accuse others of witchcraft to save themselves, which ultimately leads to the tragic death of innocent citizens…