Religion is a huge aspect within both Salem and Eyam as both communities abide by puritan’s strict laws. However
Religion is a huge aspect within both Salem and Eyam as both communities abide by puritan’s strict laws. However
This creative writing piece is in the form of an additional scene to Arthur Millers The Crucible. This scene takes place two months after the end of the Salem witch trials. It is a conversation between Mr Hale and Elizabeth Proctor. It explores and evaluates the long term devastation caused by greed and self-interest. This piece displays how dramatic the effects of greed and selfishness can be. Mr Hale reveals his own inner turmoil since the trials, and how his own pride and arrogance contributed to the hangings. Elizabeth reinforces the idea of morality, mainly in defence of her late husband. This piece is written to serve as an example of how greed can corrupt and destroy everything. It is directed to western society presently as greed is becoming a greater issue in all facets of people’s lives. Taking place in a time where many customs and ideas seem idiotic to the modern world helps provide a sense of irony because as it seems people have evolved and gained more knowledge since then greed is still as devastating regardless of time period.…
Hysteria replaces common sense and allows the people to believe that their neighbors, whom they have always considered respectable people, are committing illogical and unbelievable crimes-- communicating with the devil, killing babies, and more.…
Unfortuneately times of crisis can bring out the most in people, which we see in the characters of Thomas Putnam in “ the crucible “ and Josiah Bont in “ year of wonders “ Thomas Putnam allows his anger to drive him, and pushes people like Paris to encourage violence and death. He says to Paris ‘ let you strike out against the devil, and the village will blame you for it ‘ meaning that all those accused of witchcraft must be executed moreover, Josiah Bont, a physically abusive drunk becomes even worse when the town of Eyam is struck by the…
Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is based upon the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in the year 1692. The text also serves as an allegorical warning about much more recent events, in particular the McCarthy Trials of 1953. The McCarthy Trials were exploring communism. ‘The Crucible’ was written to highlight the similarities between McCarthyism and communism in the 1950’s in the United States of America and the witch hunts of Europe in the 17th century. The play is literally written about the witch trials but it is figuratively about the society Miller lived in, in 1953. Thousands of Americans were accused of being communists like in ‘The Crucible’; hundreds of the town’s people were accused of being witches. Three major ideologies that are still relevant in society today are evident in the play, intolerance, mass hysteria and reputation.…
The Crucible, a play written to criticize the Red Scare, involves a theme which focuses on how the characters change as an effect of the intensity and hysteria of the town’s witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale, two major characters in the play, experience internal changes as the play progresses due to the individual pressures of the witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor faces the test of having been accused as a witch, having her husband be accused and condemned as a witch, and trying to move past her husband’s affair with a local girl. Reverend Hale was challenged by the corruption of the ministry in Salem and encountered much adversity while doing his job, seeking out witchcraft. Both of these characters come to realize the witch trials only result in death and lies, which causes these characters to evolve.…
Year of Wonders, a novel written by Geraldine Brooks provides the reader with a true insight into the fabric of human nature and demonstrates how crisis can expose many new characteristics about the people we think we have formed close bonds with. After discovering Elinor’s past sins in the ‘Poppies of Lethe’, Anna comments on how oblivious of people’s true attributes and past experiences we can be, which reveals ‘how little we know… of the people we live amongst’. This revelation suggests that throughout times of crisis the way people respond and react will differ between individuals and possibly reveal an incident from their past which has resulted in a person’s personality and characteristics. This is evident in the narrative as Elinor’s ‘gentlewomen’ façade is revealed to be exactly that. It is also illustrated by John Gordon who turned into a self-harming, flagellant in an attempt to cope with the catastrophic effects of the plague. In the case of the Bont clan, their already horrid nature is amplified even more so, to an…
The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, shows how intolerance can corrupt a theocratic society. In The Crucible, this is achieved by a combination of three chief contributors. The paradox mentioned in his introduction to Act I, was and is entirely true in regard to the conflicting nature of the theocratic system and the human condition. First and foremost, conformity and forced control destroy the sense of trust between villagers. Secondly, intolerant attitudes ruin all creative thought and new ideas, which could have possibly freed Salem from its twisted thinking. Finally the Puritans created the same form of oppressive government they ran away from England during the 1620s.…
One of the most prominent themes in the play The Crucible is how hysteria can tear apart society and is impossible to think through with logic. There are many examples in the play were the witch hysteria caused for many decisions to be made out of paranoia rather than logically thinking which lead to the collapse of the salem society.…
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, various people had been accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. This leads to a hysteria of fear of the devil and witches. Hysteria is often an outcome of jealousy, revenge, and greed. The characters in the play all contributes to the paranoia occurring in the town.…
In The Crucible, the author, Arthur Miller, demonstrates many examples of the complexity of “good” and “evil” in his characters. He does this through many characters, seen and unseen. Perhaps the most lucid representations of these two ideas are achieved through the acts of manipulation, anger, hate, and pureness that a few characters consistently provide.…
All of these components and the unfortunate things they bred added up to one of the most hysterical events to be told through a play. The Crucible was the perfect melting pot to create mass hysteria and the awful things that come along with it. The play also showed us the people behind the panic that either helped to stop it or urged it on. It is also a warning to never let people manipulate others to create panic, state and religion be one to move that panic on to mass hysteria, or to let good, decent people die so that the mass hysteria can be…
Cited: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Eds. Kylene Beers and Lee Odell. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007.…
Have you ever wondered if witches were actually real? In the play “The Crucible,” people thought they were real. In this story the mass hysteria that ensues is comparable to the Red Scare of the 1950s. In these similar conflicts people were scared of one another and falsely accused innocent people. We can learn something from these conflicts though. “The Crucible” has many events and themes that can apply to real life.…
Society’s need for individuals to conform to the wider society has led to a lack in understanding of differences, consequently preventing an individual’s sense of belonging. “The Crucible”, set in Salem 1692, in a society which is strictly theocratic and where individuality is to be hidden from the public. The religious dogma that “A person is either with this court of he must be counted against it, there be no road between” is deeply rooted throughout the play and metaphorically underpins the social cohesion and necessity of an individual to conform to the rigid enforcement of religious customs. Rebecca Nurse’s views in regards to the girls having a “silly season” oppose what the authorities in Salem society believe. This difference in view results in the witch-cry against Rebecca, which thus results in her loss of belonging within the community. This therefore clearly depicts the lack of understanding within Salem…
Everyone has a part to play in story, even it's a small action, it will have a big effect in the future. In the play of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, there is a group of young girls, in their teens, crying witchery. After being caught dancing in the forest, they are called witches. Trying to become innocent they throw others into the fire who have nothing to do with the problem they began. While the girls took this action some people would take advantage of this and have their daughter blame someone they are jealous of. The people blamed would have two options, to confess their actions and be free of their sins or to not confess and be hanged for the sin they have committed. In the end innocent people were hung, for a crime they did not commit.…