...The Impact of Power in The Crucible Power can be influential and critical to society, but when people have too much power they have a sense of determination and fearlessness. When their power is threatened, it enables them to do anything and everything to maintain it. The Crucible by Arthur Miller describes the Salem witch trials. The play begins with Abigail Williams and her friends dancing in the woods. In an attempt to get John Proctor, after he ended their affair, Abigail curses his wife Elizabeth. The rumor of witchcraft is triggered when Abigail’s friends, Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are both unable to move or talk when they became frightened when Reverend Parris found the group in the woods. Reverend Hale, a believed expert in witchcraft...
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...Power is exceedingly important; not only in Salem but to the whole world. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many characters had the chance to have power and could have ended it right there and then, but did the wrong move and made it worse not only for them but for everyone. One of the theme of this play is power; most of the main character of the play gained power and didn’t use it for good. Power can mean a lot of things over the lives in Salem, over the lives in Arthur Miller’s time, and over the lives of people today. Many characters in the play had their chance of great power. For example Abigail, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth. Even John Proctor had a chance of his own; when he admitted that he and Abby had an affair. The first one who gains,...
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...In the beginning Abigail was intimidating and believable. She was the leader of the girls and they did anything she told them to do. They only went along with the lies because Abigail told them to. She threatened to kill them if they said anything other than what she had told them to say. At the beginning of the play and story she was believable, throughout the movie everyone believed even though some knew she was lying. They didn’t want to say anything because they knew she was going to accuse them of witchcraft. Abigail started to deteriorate when she accuses Tituba for witchcraft. She knew that if put the blame on Tituba she wouldn’t get in trouble for dancing in the woods. She finally realized how much power she had when...
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...The girls were unintelligible. For several motivations, Abigail Williams used the power through false witchcraft accusations to feed her infatuation for John Proctor. Abigail and her friends were dancing in the woods. Dancing is forbidden in their village and Mr. Parris found the girls. While he tried to get his daughter to wake up the day after he found them, she would not. He called the doctor and there was another girl who would not wake up. He blamed Abigail for doing witchcraft because he saw a pot and something inside it move. She told him that it was not that and they were just dancing in the woods. She did not want anything bad with her name. “You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” (Applebee et al. 175). “John, have you ever shown her somewhat of contempt? She cannot pass you in the church but you will blush-.” (Applebee et al. 197). Abigail did not have a good word in the community. There was word around the village...
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...Emotions control people more than they believe. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is an orphan, young and Christian girl living in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail falls in love and can not fall out, causing a chain of events guided by jealousy, power, manipulation and determination making her a more selfish person than before. Abigail Williams’ love for John Proctor controls her in the beginning of the play. Abigails says, “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John pity me, pity me!” (Miller 45) She is so in love with John Proctor and it scares her that she is going to lose him. She is so afraid, Abigail is willing to manipulate John to stay with her by saying,“I have a sense, for heat, John, and yours has drawn me to...
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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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...The Crucible Vs Harry Potter In Arthur Millers The Crucible there are many similar things to Jk Rowling’s Harry Potter story. Really I think its many similar things because of both the writers they have similar interests and that one main thing is magic and witchcraft. Though both of the stories are from different times you have The Crucible basically written in the 1960s and then you have the Harry Potter story taking place in the 90s. That’s when Harry basically entered the whole magic school and basically learned out about a lot of things he didn’t know before. This is a big disadvantage for The Crucible story because it was taking place along time ago though both the stories are still similar. The main similar things you would notice...
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...Relations Between The Crucible and The Red Scare Ever experience the feeling of being falsely accused? This was exactly the feeling many people felt, during the times of witchery and communism. In, “The Crucible”, many people were being accused of witchery, and would only remain alive, if they confessed. During the times of communism “The Red Scare” showed the increase of fear, involving going against the leaders and speaking up for what was right. Both the play and the article are similar in many ways. While Arthur Miller clearly wrote the play “The Crucible” to demonstrate his belief that an individual should never give up the power to think for him or herself, he also intended it to be an allegory for “The Red Scare”. Being punished for...
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...Innocent people die everyday. Some may have died because of violent actions, but some are killed because of a much more frightening reason: A corrupt court system. Courts are put in place to protect us, and when their justice has rotted from the inside, it leads to chaotic and brutal societies. One of these societies, Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, is described in the play, “The Crucible.” Written in the McCarthy era, this play highlights the injustices during the Red Scare in America. As history continues to unfold, more links can be drawn between the message of “The Crucible” and today’s discrimination. The allegorical qualities of Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” relate strongly to McCarthyism, but still have relevant connections to...
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...Since the 15th century, people have been calling “Witch-hunts” to the search of people that are labeled as “witches” because of their unpopular or unorthodox views. In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, specifically talks about Witch-hunts where power, profit, and fear lead to accusations of witchcraft that spread like wildfire, resulting in the execution of 18 innocent people. Nowadays mental illness is the scapegoat to blame for mass shootings and gun violence, fueled by corrupt politicians whose goals are profit and power, as well as creating fear in the minds of citizens across the nation. In this essay we will compare the similarities in profit, power, and fear between “The Crucible” based on the Salem Witch Trials from the 1500’s and the stigma surrounding Mental Illness in today's society. Power: In the book The Crucible, the judge maintains power by telling people what they believe the people want hear regardless if eighteen innocent people would lose their lives. Nowadays mental illness is blamed for mass shootings and gun violence by...
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...The crucible would be against the book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Bolt Thief due to the fact it involves law abiding citizens, no respect for authority, and involves the supernatural. The crucible would not be for the book Percy Jackson because of the fact it involves law abiding citizens. In the crucible it's all about following the rules.If someone were to break the rules there would be consequences. Children were not allowed to look at adults unless they were being talked to. Kids had to act mature, couldn’t mess around with adults or else they would be punished. There discipline involved being whipped, beat, or they would get grounded. In Percy Jackson, it involves nothing but law abiding citizens. Percy ran away from Camp Halfblood to find his Mom, in which Hades took from him. He ran away from the authority at Camp Halfblood even when they told Percy not to go after Hades. Throughout Percy’s journey he ends up breaking into a museum. In which he steals a blue marble from, he needs three blue marbles in order to save his mom. He also steals a car from a casino in order to get away with another marble, to continue his journey....
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...Animal Farm Comparative Essay Rebellion, gluttony, and manipulation are all common themes when it comes to the struggle for power. Animal farm by George Orwell, a book which all of these take place is remarkably similar to the Crucible by Arthur Miller and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Animal farm, The Crucible, and Macbeth are all written similarly and revolve around the same themes, such that many characters in Animal Farm and Macbeth portray similar characteristics. Animal Farm and The Crucible share common themes and conflicts. In all three books the structure of peoples values change drastically for a turn for the worst. These novels and play all follow popular foundations of literature which revolve around inner evil, the addiction to power, and the loss and regaining of self-identity. Animal farm and Macbeth’s antagonists, Napoleon and Macbeth portray similar characteristics. Napoleon and Macbeth both share important roles in their respective books in that they directly influence and change the fate of many. The two power hungry tyrants go to an extreme to achieve their goals but in two very different ways. Napoleon a more cunning character abuses his superior intellect to deceive the other ignorant farm animals in order to gain power. Through Machiavellian methods he slowly begins to take over the farm by convincing the animals to be more reliant on him, ultimately making his self-proclamation of leader a reality “No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon...
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...The Crucible Essay The play, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are started by a group of girls who do not want to get in trouble for dancing and conjuring up spirits in the forest. The theme that is brought about in this play is the nature of authority. In The Crucible, many characters present various views of the nature of authority. There are three examples of this theme: The authority of the church over the lives of the villagers, the control Abigail has over the people who are accused of witchcraft and her friends in the trial, and the power of the judge over the trials. The first example of the nature of authority is the church’s power over the villagers’ lives. The church and the everyday lives of its members are controlled by the preachers. Puritans were highly religious people. They had to live under a set of strict religious policies set forth by the church. The Puritans were governed by a theocracy, which is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler. The Puritans in the late 1600’s believed that the preachers were the purest men on the face of the earth. Unfortunately, that is not so. As evident in the novel, even preachers can become corrupted. John Proctor puts it as “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.” (856). Miller proves that this is so with his depiction of Reverend Parris’s...
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...The Crucible Essay The play, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are started by a group of girls who do not want to get in trouble for dancing and conjuring up spirits in the forest. The theme that is brought about in this play is the nature of authority. In The Crucible, many characters present various views of the nature of authority. There are three examples of this theme: The authority of the church over the lives of the villagers, the control Abigail has over the people who are accused of witchcraft and her friends in the trial, and the power of the judge over the trials. The first example of the nature of authority is the church’s power over the villagers’ lives. The church and the everyday lives of its members are controlled by the preachers. Puritans were highly religious people. They had to live under a set of strict religious policies set forth by the church. The Puritans were governed by a theocracy, which is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler. The Puritans in the late 1600’s believed that the preachers were the purest men on the face of the earth. Unfortunately, that is not so. As evident in the novel, even preachers can become corrupted. John Proctor puts it as “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.” (856). Miller proves that this is so with his depiction of Reverend Parris’s...
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...giving or obtaining advantage through means which are illegitimate, immoral, and/or inconsistent with ones duty or the rights of others. In fact, it is one of the main issues in the world today, alongside poverty, world hunger, and global warming. Despite this, corruption has given many opportunities to people across the globe. Although corruption is highly looked down upon, it is certain that corruption benefits individuals. The idea of corruption benefiting individuals is clearly seen in Arthur Millers, The Crucible. In the play, the Putnam's are known for their manipulative personalities and corrupted behavior. For example, Mrs. Putnam states “And so I thought to send her to your Tituba...Tituba knows how to speak to the...
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