The Crucible Symbolism Essay
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, just when the Second World War had ended. But still there was a battle between the capitalists and the communists. Arthur Miller wrote this book because of the incidents that occurred during the 1950’s. Senator Joseph McCarthy had a feeling of communism in the United States. So he starts a witch hunt to find the communists in the United States and he targeted celebrities of Hollywood such as Helen Keller, Langston Hughes and Charlie Chaplin put them all on trial for been associated with the Communist Party. This also parallels into Arthur Miller’s Crucible where people were put on trial based on supernatural evidence such as the Red Scare when McCarthy accused people with little to no real evidence.
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Salem well-known for its religious belief .The people of Salem sees the forest the territory of the devil. Salem was surrounded by forest. The forest is probably the biggest symbol in the novel. This symbol also parallels McCarthy’s unproven claims that more than 200 are a part of the Communist party that has penetrated the United States government. The claims by McCarthy parallels the ones girls of Salem makes. The young girls claims ruin lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem. There are other symbols such as the doll, Elizabeth Proctor’s pregnancy, the stones, the forest and the witch trials. The doll found on Elizabeth is a symbol of witchcraft. In The Crucible, the doll symbolizes the change from good to evil. A doll in a regular society represents childhood innocence and brings happiness. In Salem, the dolls represent evil spirit. This spreads to the Puritan government and the church. Giles Corey refuses to make a plea in court. In order to persuade him to make an official plea, the officials of the court pile heavy stones on him and crush him. The stones symbolize the burden of Salem's sins that are destroying the good in its society. How sad the Puritan society is based on discipline and devotion to God. Miller writes this novel to parallel what was going on during this time in the United
Salem well-known for its religious belief .The people of Salem sees the forest the territory of the devil. Salem was surrounded by forest. The forest is probably the biggest symbol in the novel. This symbol also parallels McCarthy’s unproven claims that more than 200 are a part of the Communist party that has penetrated the United States government. The claims by McCarthy parallels the ones girls of Salem makes. The young girls claims ruin lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem. There are other symbols such as the doll, Elizabeth Proctor’s pregnancy, the stones, the forest and the witch trials. The doll found on Elizabeth is a symbol of witchcraft. In The Crucible, the doll symbolizes the change from good to evil. A doll in a regular society represents childhood innocence and brings happiness. In Salem, the dolls represent evil spirit. This spreads to the Puritan government and the church. Giles Corey refuses to make a plea in court. In order to persuade him to make an official plea, the officials of the court pile heavy stones on him and crush him. The stones symbolize the burden of Salem's sins that are destroying the good in its society. How sad the Puritan society is based on discipline and devotion to God. Miller writes this novel to parallel what was going on during this time in the United