...In the story, The Crucible, Abigail Williams accused many of the people in the town of being witches. Abigail Williams is not a victim of her society. People of Salem in the 1600’s believed anything they heard about someone being possessed by the devil. If someone accused you of being a witch, you would most likely be taken to trial and questioned. How it usually worked is if you admitted to being involved with the devil and told on someone else, you would not be hanged but your reputation is no longer any good. Other than the part of the court believing anything someone said, this situation was bad due to people making stories up and blaming other people. It was an endless cycle. Abigail Williams is in the wrong doing because she falsely accused many people, lied about being possessed by witches, and got innocent people killed. Abigail Williams falsely accused many people of practicing witchcraft in the town The Crucible took place in. The most important in the story though was Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctors wife. John had an affair on Elizebeth with Abigail, which was the motive behind the whole ordeal. Elizabeth fired Abigail from being their servant after she had figured out about the affair. She then wanted to get rid of Elizabeth so she accused...
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...In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller talks about history about the Salem witchcraft. “The Crucible” is a story in which they talk about Salem Witchcraft in the 1600s. In the story some girls got caught dancing in the woods and people stated that they were connected with witchcraft. The girls began to point fingers at others and blamed the innocent people of also being connected with witchcraft. Those innocent people that were accused of practicing witchcraft did not get along with the girls’ families. McCarthyism is a practice that unfair accusations are made. Mccarthyism was practiced in the 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the one who carried out Mccarthyism. During the period of McCarthyism, people were being indicted and they were either blacklisted or lost their jobs because of that. Throughout history, Salem and McCarthyism kept happening. A big similarity between the two is the Salem witchcraft trials. The Salem witch trials are when innocent people were accused of practicing...
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...In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the tone of irony boats from every corner you look, this story casts a mirror onto McCarthyism and reflects the outcomes of this ironic process. The Crucible depicts the reality of the Salem Witch Trials in a time of hysteria and fear. Miller uses a past event to emphasize the effects of unnecessary fear imposed by McCarthyism, indirectly relating to the Salem Witch Trials. Miller’s, The Crucible, is one of irony in which it obliquely equates to the consequences of fear and blaming others by relating the Salem Witch Trials to McCarthyism. Abigail’s intentions regarding John Proctor are nothing if not ironic, you can see this perfectly in which Abigail acted out in a complete façade so that she could be...
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...First, The Crucible Acts 1-2 will be summarized. People begin to talk about witches and the town becomes frightened. Because the “cursed” girls accused so many people, the court decided to hold trials. They began arresting people that looked guilty at first, because of who they are. After a while, innocent people who went to church were arrested. Since the court wanted to rid their world of evil, they began to hang and arrest innocent people. Next, the events in “The Birthmark” will be discussed. A male chemist was married to a beautiful lady. The lady had a red birthmark on one of her cheeks that looked like a hand. The husband despised this mark and wished to remove it. The wife was weary about this at first, but then she realized...
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...little white lie. In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible because of his experiences during the Red Scare of which many people were being accused of being communist. The Crucible is about trials for people who allegedly practiced witchcraft in the late 1600’s in Salem, Massachusetts. Herbert Lawrence Block was a cartoonist during the Red Scare period and was also impacted by the Red Scare. His cartoons had a similar theme as The Crucible. The Red Scare affected many people through false accusations; we see this in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Many of the characters in the Crucible were falsely accused of witchcraft. People would accuse others without having any actual evidence, by using what they called spectral evidence. “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil, I saw Goody Osborn with the devil, and I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil “(Miller 89). These were examples of accusations in which innocent people were implicated of witchcraft. The people that were accusing did not understand the harm they put on others until they were accused themselves and could not do anything to prevent it. Herb Block’s cartoon “It’s okay… We’re hunting Communists” was a cartoon for the Red Scare showing the harm the House Committee inflicted by hurting innocent people just for finding possible communists. In the cartoon Herb Block shows the reckless driver running over innocent people. This was similar to Salem because many innocent people such as Rebecca Nurse lost their life because...
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...search for Communists, Communist sympathizers, and even anyone who acted suspicious. There was no requirements for an accusation, which led it to become a modern day witch hunt. This idea of the McCarthy Era being a modern day witch hunt is what countless historians, authors, and poets have tried to relate. Which means there is no surprise that Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is an allegory for the Red Scare and the McCarthy Era as well. To start off, the background of The Crucible was awfully similar to that of the McCarthyism Era, making it viable grounds for creating an allegory....
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...In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, people who were innocent were accused of witchcraft. These people lived in a community that had high morals, and they stood up to their morals. In the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts people's pride and name meant a lot, so people did whatever they needed to in order to keep their reputation clean. In The Crucible John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey are amongst those who are accused of witchcraft even though they are innocent, and to keep their good name they do not admit to the crime that they didn't do, they condemn themselves to death. John Proctor is wrongfully accused of witchcraft in The Crucible, he did not confess to live, to keep his name and reputation clean and keep his pride, he condemned himself to death. In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Proctor is a well respected man in Salem. Towards the end, in Act IV of the play, he decides to sign a confession so he can live with his wife and children. Once he hands his confession takes it back and says, "I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!" Since he confessed, he only wants those who are present to know that he signed his name...
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...Thematic Questions 1. What is a crucible and how is it used? Justify Miller’s choice of title for his play. A crucible is a ceramic container that can withstand very high temperature and is used for metal, glass and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes. Miller’s choice of the title “The Crucible” is due to the same reason as the courtroom being referred to as a crucible: using the heat of questioning and scrutiny, they burned away all the impurities, i.e. lies and half-truths, to get the purified product the “truth”. 2. How do Hale’s preconceptions influence his interpretation of events? How does his interpretation change? What are the implications of his conversion? Hale’s preconceptions has influenced his interpretation of events in that he initially thought that he had the authority over the town due to his extensive knowledge of witchcraft. He expected to find witches, however his interpretation changes throughout the play as he realises that innocent townspeople are being falsely accused, such as John Proctor. The implications of his conversion are when he encourages the accused to confess, i.e. the good people to lie, even though he believes that he is doing the “Devil’s work”. 3. Proctor calls Hale “Pontius Pilate.” Explain the allusion. Do you agree or disagree? The allusion is that Pontius Pilate was the ruler in Bethlehem who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at the order of the Jewish leadership, despite the...
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...Crucible/Central park five In The Crucible and Central Park Five people are being wrongly accused to either death or life ruining situations. In the crucible there is a breakout of witchcraft and people are losing their lives. Also their is an affair between John Proctor and Abigail. In the Central Park five innocent boys and men are accused of rape and assault. In the play the crucible by Arthur Miller shows that a hero is based on bravery, courage, and being kind which John Proctor and Reverend Hale show throughout the story. A hero in the crucible is John Proctor although he is more of a tragic hero he is still a hero. “A man may think god sleeps, but god sees everything, I know it now. I beg you sir,I beg you see- her what she is… she thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave and well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance” (act 3). The character trait being shown is his honesty and bravery to tell the truth even though he did wrong. Saying this is heroic because he knows saying this is going to hurt him but it shows his bravery. This is a sign of bravery and shows his personality throughout the story. Another hero is Reverend Hale even though throughout the story...
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...During the Red Scare this is what was occurring all around. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was accused by Abigail William because of her hatred towards Elizabeth. In the Red Scare they targeted celebrities because they thought they were high targeted and could possibly be a communist. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the court of Salem, people who were accused and arrested for being a Communist, in addition to fear with how scare tactics impacted societies. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the Court of Salem. During the Red Scare, the United States government and the communist Soviet Union became engaged in a series of largely political problems with economic clashes. Both the Soviet Union and the United States’ intense rivalry caused tension between these two superpowers which raised concerns in the United States that communists were inside America might have been working as Soviet spies. These Soviet spies were said to perhaps, pose a threat to the U.S security. As for the Court of Salem, a group of young girls claimed to be...
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...The Crucible Act Four Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Where does Tituba think that the Devil is going to take her? 2. Give one example of how Abigail shows her dishonesty in this act. 3. What effect do the trials have on Salem? Use three details from the drama to support your answer. 4. When first arrives at the Salem jail, Danforth complains, “There is a prodigious stench in this place.” How might this line be read to mean something besides a comment on the smell? 5. How is Giles Corey’s character reflected in his death? Use one detail from the drama to support your response. 6. What qualities does Proctor find within himself that prevent him from at last saving himself and signing the confession? Use details from the text to support your response. 7. Explain how Proctor is right or wrong for refusing to sign the confession. Use details to support your response. 8. A tragic hero’s fate, according to Aristotle, inspires pity and horror. Name the tragic hero in The Crucible, and describe how his or her fate inspires both pity and horror. 9. People accused of being Communists had a difficult time getting jobs; some even moved out of the United States in order to try to resume normal lives. How is Proctor’s situation like that of the people accused of Communist activities? 10. Based on the conversation involving Tituba, Sarah...
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...others lives in danger. A time in history that is compared to the Salem witch trails is the red scare where the same incident happened but innocent civilians were accused of being Russian spy's because the United States was scared of communism at the time. Henry Popkin's article showed this relationship between the two famous events in American history that changed America forever. 2. Body "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller was very interesting,...
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...The Crucible Act Three Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Describe one piece of evidence that Giles, Francis, or Proctor bring before the court to show that the girls are lying. 2. What does Abigail do to distract Danforth from Hale’s accusations that she is lying? 3. How does Hale show that he believes that the court is not doing the right thing? Use three details from the text in your response. 4. Danforth explains that “. . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” What conclusion can you draw about Danforth’s character from this line? 5. How does Hale excuse Elizabeth’s lie about Abigail’s affair with Proctor? 6. Danforth explains that witchcraft is an invisible crime and that only the victims are reliable. How does his philosophy flame the hysteria? Use details from the drama to support your response. 7. How do Hale and Parris try to thwart each other, or act as foils, in regards to Danforth and the court? Use details from the drama to support your response. 8. Describe the point at which you think the plot reaches its highest intensity, or climax. 9. After the outbreak in court, Mr. Danforth makes the following short statement to Mr. Hale: I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale! In your own words, describe what Mr. Hale has said or done to instigate Mr. Danforth’s...
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...The protagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor, passes his extreme test because he is willing to put his life and reputation at risk to free Elizabeth from all of her troubles. John’s past affair with the jealous Abigail Williams is no secret to Elizabeth. Determined to do anything she can to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, Abigail makes up many lies about her like accusing her of implanting a needle in a doll. John finally sees that there is only one way to stop the hysteria in Salem: to admit his sin of adultery. “I have known her, sir. I have known her”(1145). Proctor faces one of his crucible moments in the play, when he tells the court he committed the crime of adultery, and he passes. He confesses in front of the court and the judges that he himself was an adulterer. Proctor feels he owed this to Elizabeth. He wants to make up for...
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...More than 200 people were accused of being One of the main things that connect The Crucible to The McCarthy Trials is fear. In the McCarthy Trials people were worried that their past would link them to Communism and they would be punished. Celebrities in Hollywood were targeted the most on the Hollywood Blacklist. In The Crucible many men thought it was absurd that a women would possess the power of witchcraft. When they were accused they could either confess and be put in prison or be hung. Since they fear being hung they would confess while innocent, as John Proctor believed.The primary connection in fear in people not wanting to be accused and punished for something they didn’t do. Along with fear connections, in both eras people...
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