The play is based on the events of 1692 in the town of Salem, where women were allegedly accused of witchcraft and relations with the devil, who allegedly sent damage to people and livestock. Women were found guilty and executed. Subsequently, of course, the church recognized such courts and executions as illegal and unjust. One of the plot lines just shows the development of the […]

When you’re scared, sometimes it’s hard to go with your gut feeling, right? It may be hard to stick up for yourself, or stand up for what is right. This is the feeling most of The Crucible characters probably felt. Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, and John Proctor are good examples of how fear and hysteria can destroy good judgment. Reverend Parris had one of the […]

Act III– Irony During Act III of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller; the central way that Miller depicts the corruption rooted within Salem is through the usage of the literary device, irony. The usage of personal pronouns within this work of literature seems to indicate a sense of power that the citizens have, versus the power found within the unknown. Parris says the following in […]

‘Here. Now. It’s all clear,’ whispered Abigail coarsely, choking back a cough. Mercy squeezed through the small gap in the fence to join Abigail the other side. Together, grasping each other’s hands for comfort, they darted through the trees, into the forest that served as a barrier between the sea and Salem. They ran along a faint path of trampled grass, till they arrived at […]

The Crucible The playwright, Arthur Miller, uses the character construction in the play to position the audience to accept the dominant reading of the play, which is the concern and dangers of religious fanaticism. The play, The Crucible, is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It is based upon the actual events which led to the ‘Salem witch trials’, a series of hearings to determine […]

?Ben O’Connor Mr. Richards English 10 January 11th, 2009 -Crucible Essay- The Crucible written by Arthur Miller was a story in which takes place in a town called Salem, Massachusets. This story was directed towards the topic of the witch trials of 1692 and how the people were effected by the deaths and horrific torture treatments. The Crucible portrayed the perfect description of how the […]

The Crucible: Elizabeth Proctor “Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls” (1353). This quote, spoken by John Proctor, in the Crucible represents what the Salem Witch Trials were about. The Crucible, written by Aurthur Miller, was a playwright based in the 1600’s of the Salem Witch Trials in Province, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were during the time of McCarthyism; McCarthyism […]

How and why does the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor change over the course of The Crucible? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, John and Elizabeth Proctor are introduced as a young, married couple whose relationship had a tense undercurrent. Their actions and reactions towards one another prove that they are at odds with each other. John and Elizabeth seem to be trying to […]

The edgy tale of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is comparable in many ways to Arthur Miller’s haunting play The Crucible. Both are set in Puritan New England in the 17th century and revolve around the harsh law enforcement of the time. However, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a woman as she deals with her heavy Puritan punishment, whereas The Crucible follows […]

Crucible Reading Response The Crucible is a play based on a society ruled by theocracy. Danforth ‘s statement of “–a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it , there be no road between” clearly demonstrates the Puritan’s prospective of seeing everything in black and white. Arthur Miller’s purpose of writing The Crucible was due to the close resemblance between […]