Belonging In Arthur Miller's Movie 'Good Night And Good Luck'

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Belonging Essay

All individuals unmistakably experience a sense of belonging in a multifaceted and convoluted process. Arthur Miller's play “The Crucible” and George Clooney's film “Good Night and Good Luck” are both texts where acceptance into society is explored in characters through various and complex measures. While the play and film both illustrate the complexities of assimilation into society to an individual's identity the Crucible further presents this as an ironic situation as people are pressured into conforming to societal desires, where choosing to detach from community values leads to a detrimental fate.

The Crucible examines the exploitation of an individual by the power of coercion in society. The play is set in …show more content…
The script writer has also incorporated irony here as Shirley says, “Finally we can tell everyone the truth”, knowing well that everyone already does know. The effect this has is that it enables the audience to understand how it feels liberating for the couple that they don't have to keep this secret anymore, and that this secret was acting as a barrier for them to truly belong and by ridding themselves of this secret it allows them to feel a positive sense of self.

Arthur Miller's play ascertains that choosing to detach from societal pressures offers a way to nurture an individual's identity. Proctor is a character who is seen to be a strong family man, but behind the scenes he was having an affair with the young Abigail leading to him to have marital troubles. This gave rise to Proctor feeling a sense of alienation where he doesn't deserve the respect of his community or his wife's love. Whilst in court he makes a declaration to Danforth that they will both will burn in hell, which is an attack on Danforth and himself, “A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth!”. During the concluding scenes of the play Proctor has an epiphany when he is asked to sign the papers confessing his sins. He realises that his name is what defines his identity and that by signing it
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