weight," he says. And died.”- Giles Corey (Miller 135) This quote from The Crucible,by Arthur Miller, displays an act of authentic valor by a man accused of witchcraft. While the play is a heart-rending, emotional performance, it’s purpose in the world is greatly controversial. Two articles providing information on this controversy are, “The Crucible” by Brooks Atkinson and, “ The 21st Century Crucible: Why ‘The Crucible’ is Still Relevant” by Emily Rose Lathrop. Although many individuals view the…
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Reputation Rip-Off? A concealed theme of reputation is exposed in “The Crucible”, writes Gemma Galovic A symbol of “The Crucible” The preservation of one’s reputation in today’s modern world immensely contributes to the struggle for identifying one’s true being. In “The Crucible”, Miller explores what transpires when people allow others to be the judge of their conscience, which has been stressed in Hytner’s film adaptation. The events take place in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, which is a Puritan…
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Reputation in The Crucible Reputation is very protruding , and or considered the most important theme in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The villagers of Salem are consumed by greed and fear. They are losing their belief in their religion and the power it holds over them. Some of the characters are completely self aware and know that a good name is better than lying, and would even consider dying before ruining their names with lies. Reverend Parris, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth all value their…
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Arthur Miller’s The Crucible should be read by not only teenagers, but by everyone. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, the play begins in 1692 with the Reverend Parris discussing the rituals his niece and daughter performed in the woods with his servant, Tituba. As the prominent figure in the Puritan community, Parris was worried about his reputation if his family was associated with witchcraft. Quickly, Abigail Williams gains an extreme amount of power even though she’s both unmarried and a woman; previously…
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More Americans fear public speaking than anything else, yet other types of fears have a much more profound impact. Ralph Waldo Emerson strongly believed that fear kept people from achieving success. In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, fear of the unknown leads to many tragic events and a failure of society. People often respond to the fear of the unknown by placing the blame on others or refusing to be accountable for their actions; this can be seen in real life, and also with Abigail and Mary…
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In The Crucible, Miller twists our view on Mary Warren’s innocence but, using the Puritan times as a foundation symbolized the times of the Red Scare during 1917-1920. Yet, both the film and play contains the hysteria and misdemeanor of the Puritan people. In the film, the acting enhanced the chaos in its visual depiction while in the play it’s just about how the reader views it. Both The Crucible Play and film sets the grounds for Mary Warrens “innocence” where she played a key role. However…
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UNDERSTANDING THE CRUCIBLE: Understanding The crucible within the context of the Area of Study: Belonging Arthur Miller’s play, The crucible, was initially conceived as a response to the ‘hysteria’ generated by McCarthy’s communist witch hunts. Many professional and personal lives were ruined by the hysteria, fear and suspicion generated by McCarthy’s accusations based on little or no hard evidence. However, like all enduring and greatly valued texts, the themes and characterisations transcend…
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One of the essential questions today is regarding how fear, suspicion, and ignorance cause changes in behavior. In The Crucible, fear played a key role in the witch trials. This is true for all sides in this situation. The judges were afraid to be wrong and allow a witch to be loose in the village. The citizens of Salem were scared of witches, or being accused as one. This mass fear and hysteria led to the horrific trials where people were hanged based upon little to no evidence. This isn’t the…
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Why The Crucible' Remains Important Today For a story of any kind to have any relevance or meaning some 50 years after being written and indeed almost 400 years after it was set, it needs to contain themes and ideas that have been uniformly felt and experienced by people from all walks of life as well as continuing to speak to and have meaning to new and changed generations of people. Years after being written, Arthur Miller's The Crucible', still successfully speaks to numerous generations…
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In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes about the chilling story of the Salem Witch Trials. He portrays what happened during that time and how it affected the people living there. Though Miller has many messages within the play, one of the main themes is “hysteria”. Hysteria is exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion among a group of people. . The play shows how hysteria can tear a community apart and completely replace logic. In The Crucible this message of hysteria is clearly seen through…
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