The Crucible - Essay
The Crucible
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953 recalls the hysteria and madness of the Salem Witch trials of 1692. Miller incorporated many themes in his play. These themes highlight other factors in The Crucible. This essay will look at a theme which is effectively highlighted by a scene and it will explain how the theme is explored in the play as a whole. It will also show how this scene effectively highlights the theme.
Puritanism controls life in the town of Salem as a number of people believed in “The Elect”. Which were certain people who seemed holy enough to be allowed entry into the Lord’s domain in the afterlife. However Puritanism was a strict regime during their time as they believed in strict rules which determined the goodness of a person. As a result anybody who acts independently or seems slightly out of the ordinary are considered a threat to the Puritan belief. Due to the fact that the Puritans liked a close knit community, people were not allowed to act as if they had freedom otherwise they would be persecuted. A strict regime for the lord’s people, one might think that it is rather inconvenient because this lack of freedom created unvoiced resentments amongst the people of Salem. These resentments build up and are primed to explode. The Witch Trials in “The Crucible” can be considered to be an attack against individuality: the people that were accused and convicted of witchcraft were mostly people who prioritized their private thoughts and honesty above the will of the community. The trials provided a legally authorized forum for which people could express their anger and grievances. The trials gave people power as it allowed them to voice their festering bitterness by accusing people whom they had quietly begrudged for years. An example being the Putnams, the Putnams used the trials to gain revenge on the Nurses. Thomas Putnam got Rebecca, Francis Nurse’s honourable wife, convicted of the supernatural murder of Ann Putnam’s
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953 recalls the hysteria and madness of the Salem Witch trials of 1692. Miller incorporated many themes in his play. These themes highlight other factors in The Crucible. This essay will look at a theme which is effectively highlighted by a scene and it will explain how the theme is explored in the play as a whole. It will also show how this scene effectively highlights the theme.
Puritanism controls life in the town of Salem as a number of people believed in “The Elect”. Which were certain people who seemed holy enough to be allowed entry into the Lord’s domain in the afterlife. However Puritanism was a strict regime during their time as they believed in strict rules which determined the goodness of a person. As a result anybody who acts independently or seems slightly out of the ordinary are considered a threat to the Puritan belief. Due to the fact that the Puritans liked a close knit community, people were not allowed to act as if they had freedom otherwise they would be persecuted. A strict regime for the lord’s people, one might think that it is rather inconvenient because this lack of freedom created unvoiced resentments amongst the people of Salem. These resentments build up and are primed to explode. The Witch Trials in “The Crucible” can be considered to be an attack against individuality: the people that were accused and convicted of witchcraft were mostly people who prioritized their private thoughts and honesty above the will of the community. The trials provided a legally authorized forum for which people could express their anger and grievances. The trials gave people power as it allowed them to voice their festering bitterness by accusing people whom they had quietly begrudged for years. An example being the Putnams, the Putnams used the trials to gain revenge on the Nurses. Thomas Putnam got Rebecca, Francis Nurse’s honourable wife, convicted of the supernatural murder of Ann Putnam’s