The Crucible Play Analysis
This play is based on the Salem Witch Trails that took place in 1692. The Trials began because a group of girls in the village claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. Arthur Miller’s play has similarities with the historical background of the actual Witch Trails, but it can also affect our lives by teaching us various lessons. Hysteria is one of the universal themes in this play, along with Reputation.
Out of the three themes that will be interpreted in this essay, the one that stands out the most is hysteria. In opinion, hysteria occurs when someone believes that their friend does an action that they never would have imagined them doing. Usually, hysteria is only carried out because someone can …show more content…
The characters only made certain decisions or carried themselves certain ways because of their reputation in the small town. They wanted to have a “good name”. The first person to worry about his reputation is Reverend Parris, Betty’s father. When the idea that her sickness could be the result of witchcraft, he dismissed it immediately. He says, “I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character.” He didn’t want witchcraft attached to his name at all. He seemed to worry more about his reputation than the health of his child. Judge Danforth is another character that values his name. He wants to be known as the judge that makes the correct decisions. When put in tough decisions he would rather uphold his reputation by taking a lie than saving one.
Those two themes are extremely universal because it is something everyone has done. Everyone has done something to benefit themselves. Think about selling a pair of earphones that was purchased at the price of ten dollars. Now, even though they were bought at ten dollars they will probably be sold at fifteen simply because the seller wants a profit. Reputation and peer pressure are two things teenagers today encounter. What others think about us seems to be so important. We want to be associated with the ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ things and we don’t understand that none of that matters. Judge
Out of the three themes that will be interpreted in this essay, the one that stands out the most is hysteria. In opinion, hysteria occurs when someone believes that their friend does an action that they never would have imagined them doing. Usually, hysteria is only carried out because someone can …show more content…
The characters only made certain decisions or carried themselves certain ways because of their reputation in the small town. They wanted to have a “good name”. The first person to worry about his reputation is Reverend Parris, Betty’s father. When the idea that her sickness could be the result of witchcraft, he dismissed it immediately. He says, “I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character.” He didn’t want witchcraft attached to his name at all. He seemed to worry more about his reputation than the health of his child. Judge Danforth is another character that values his name. He wants to be known as the judge that makes the correct decisions. When put in tough decisions he would rather uphold his reputation by taking a lie than saving one.
Those two themes are extremely universal because it is something everyone has done. Everyone has done something to benefit themselves. Think about selling a pair of earphones that was purchased at the price of ten dollars. Now, even though they were bought at ten dollars they will probably be sold at fifteen simply because the seller wants a profit. Reputation and peer pressure are two things teenagers today encounter. What others think about us seems to be so important. We want to be associated with the ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ things and we don’t understand that none of that matters. Judge