...altered The Crucible, a historic play, by Arthur Miller to provoke the witch trials, to develop the protagonist, John Proctor, and to draw parallelism McCarthyism. Abigail, at the age of 17, who is 5 years older than the historical Abigail, was the main accuser in the witch trials. According to the Shmoop Editorial Team, “Abigail is vengeful, selfish, manipulative, and a magnificent liar...She has an eerie sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them”(n.p). In regards to their remark towards Abigail, we can infer that her personality caused the entire witch trials in the play. Arthur Miller also had to alter Abigail’s real age in order to match her nasty personality and to make her...
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...The Crucible This essay will discuss, explain and evaluate the main ideas, themes and interpretations of Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. It will also explain and evaluate the language Arthur Miller uses and how it contributed to the overall success of the play. The Crucible is set in 1692 in the puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, a theocratic society, where the laws of the land are laid down by the church. The main idea running throughout the play can be viewed as a direct comparison to McCarthyism which was happening in 1950’s America, in which members of the general public including public figures such as Arthur Miller were brought in and questioned over connections to communism. This can be seen as a direct comparison to people being brought into the Salem courts regarding connections with witchcraft. It was not until Miller saw this comparison that he then felt compelled to write The Crucible as he now felt he could get into the minds of those going through similar circumstances back in the Salem witch trials. Hysteria was the main cause of nineteen deaths in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, and countless ruined reputations on account of Joe McCarthy. Hysteria does not just appear out of nowhere though. There are driving forces such as revenge and abuse of power that bring about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is paralleled directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly...
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...Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible because he wanted everyone to be aware of what is going on with the government in the 1950’s. On how they were accusing people without concrete evidence. The Crucible made more people realize that McCarthy is a demagogue. Praying on their fears of communist so he could get more power. Arthur feared that everyone was going to lose their rights and America won't be the same anymore. People were also being thrown in jail from court hearings not from court trials. Arthur Miller had to write the Crucible in a different country because McCarthy was coming after him. Britain was happy to take him in. He wrote the Crucible out of desperation and it branched out from a typical depression era trauma. His marriage was teetering and he tied in his marriage to the story. He based most of his marriage on John Proctor and Abigail Williams. John kept cheating...
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..."Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?" This was a common question heard during the 1950s in the age of what is known as McCarthyism, the name given to the time in American history during which Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy searched in an effort to expose supposed communist takeover in various areas of the U.S. government. Arthur Miller and Edward Murrow, two very well known Americans at the time, were very outspoken about how McCarthyism was affecting the nation. Edward Murrow, a journalist, used his straight forward speech to expose Joseph McCarthy and his deceptive ways. In the same way, Arthur Miller, a playwright, used his play The Crucible to attempt to expose McCarthy, but was missing the focus he needed to get his point...
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...The Crucible The play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1952. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts when the witch trails started a paranoid frenzy. “The Crucible evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation.”(New Yorker). Arthur had inspiration from the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. He was also inspired because this was written on the tail end of the World War II. Arthur wanted the audience to see how similar the government was treating Americans. Compared to the 1692 paranoia of Salem witch craft era. How people was getting treating was inhuman respect and reputation goes a long way. Salem took this and Religion very seriously. “When in 1950 McCarthy addressed the Ohio Candy Women’s...
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...Witchcraft was a common but hated word in Salem. In the book The Crucible by ‘Arthur Miller, you either had two choices, you admit you have done witchcraft and you don’t get hung, but you wreck your reputation, or you say you didn’t do witchcraft and get hung for it. Since John Proctor’s motivation is keeping his family safe. his decision to admit adultery, establishes a twist by the end of the play. One of the few motivations that John Proctor was, protecting his family and keeping them safe. Elizebeth and there kids meant everything to them. “ My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me!” (1071) Proctor’s violent language shows the strength of his feeling for Elizabeth, and hs great deal of respect. John Proctor was eager to risk anything to save his family to keep them from getting harmed. They meant everything to him. John’s will to fight for his family’s safety was a struggle for him, but he risked his own life to keep them safe. John committed adultery with Abigail in the beginning. That choice effected him greatly by having to get involved in court. Also has to force being hung or not. All of this was mostly to protect Elizabeth. ‘..she’ll ruin you with it, I know she will’...
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