The movie, “The Crucible”, published in 1996 is a drama film that sets in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 and tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials. The film documents a group of teenage girls, who are caught dancing in the woods conjuring love spells and are forced to lie that Satan had “conquered” them, shortly after, they begin to accuse several innocent individuals in the community of witchcraft. As the allegations spread, the community became increasingly paranoid as well as divided, additionally, many innocent people were prosecuted and put on trial. Remarkably, throughout the play Arthur Miller portrays the influence of groupthink, to demonstrate how a character can easily be influenced by society and changes one’s perspective on life. …show more content…
At the beginning of the play, Mary is one of the girls who is caught dancing in the woods, and she is afraid of being accused of witchcraft. When the other girls begin to blame people for witchcraft, Mary goes along with them, even though she knows that the accusations are false. This is an example of groupthink, as Mary is influenced by the opinions of the other girls and is afraid to speak out against them. Later in the play, when Mary tries to retract her allegations and tell the truth, she is met with resistance from the other girls, who pressure her to continue lying. This is another example of groupthink, as the other girls are more concerned with maintaining their story than with seeking the truth. The girls, led by Abigail Williams, continue to accuse others of witchcraft, even though they have been warned about the sin of lying under oath. When Marry Warren threatens to expose the group's lies, Abigail pressures her back into the group by accusing Mary of witchcraft (The
In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. In this story one of the main characters Abigail Williams is shown as an evil girl who dances for the devil and does witchcraft. This all takes place in the woods the person to witness this is Reverend Parris he then tells the judge and the girls are then put on trial and ask them to confess.they then blame a slave that goes by the name of Tituba Abigail and all of the other girls in the woods also blame her for making them go and do witchcraft. All of these girls are lying especially Abigail these girls being to blame others instead of confessing so that they will not be hung for witchcraft. They then start little by little tell the court who is working for the devil which nobody has talked or seen the devil.
Led by the fierce and lovestruck Abigail Williams, the girls of Salem start the trend of accusing their oppressors and enemies of witchcraft, leading to the persecution and condemnation of many innocents. As the play unravels, John Proctor
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible fear and hysteria are the foundation of the book and interesting and conflicting events that take place in the community of Salem. It is the answer to results in the process of the community. It is fear and hysteria that urge the Salem Witch. Arthur Miller creates a great example of how people can easily turn against each other in times of a violent and bad situation, including the waste and the power of the lives of others in reality and in doing so.
However, these alliances are not as stable as they may seem, and some characters shift their allegiances. As the play continues, the reader gains more insight about the characters and their intentions as they decide where their true loyalties lie. While most of the teenage girls accusing people of witchcraft seem to be pretty evil, if not insane. Mary
In the background of the Salem witch trials, Arthur Miller's timeless masterpiece "The Crucible" explores the themes of hysteria, power, and truth. The play, which is a metaphor for the McCarthy era of the 1950s and is set in the puritanical culture of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, was written by Arthur Miller. " The Crucible" investigates how fear may proliferate like wildfire and result in devastating conduct, especially toward helpless people. Miller makes a statement in his writing on the perils of groupthink and the necessity of maintaining personal integrity in the face of peer pressure. The characters are captivated by their fear of the devil and the presence of evil throughout the entire play.
The girls did not want to be punished for allegedly practicing the devils work with Tituba so they said they were free of the devil and wanted the lord only. As the public began to believe them they realized they had a voice in the community which was never an opportunity for them due to their status. They accused many people of witchcraft who were sentenced to death. Mary Warren who was servant to the Proctor family told Jon Proctor “I cannot charge murder on Abigail…” after realizing Abigail purposely stuck a needle in her own stomach, just like Mary Warren did to the doll she gave Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor wants Mary to confess to making the doll for Mrs. Proctor, so Mrs. Proctor will not go down for witchery and attempt of murder.
The never-ending sway of human nature Bloody cheers fill the street, glazing the air with a fervor rarely seen: the witch hunt has begun. In Arthur Miller’s gripping tale titled The Crucible, he retells the story of the Salem witch trials - all while twisting truths to make the events fit into what was occurring in the present. But what he had written as a showcase of the madness ensuing at the time of writing, the themes present within still hold a flame within events happening today. In short, the Crucible details the events of the trials held for the 'witches' – beginning with the girls who got caught dancing in the woods.
There were people being accused that everyone would not have suspected. Abigail and all the other girls over exaggerate about all the witchery. When they go to the court they always lose ones mind and do anything extra while the "witch" is in front of the court. While Mary Warren was in court confessing they pretended there
Their allegiance to Abigail made the staging of the attacking spirits much more believable. Therefore, when Abigail began accusing people, the rest of the girls jumped in and did the same. Judges were called to the town to hold a hearings for the accused witches. Abigail and her friends were the accusers and were there to testify. As soon as Abigail began acting like she was being attacked, all the girls immediately joined her.
The way groupthink is portrayed in “The Crucible” changes our interpretations of how a character is influenced by society, and changes one’s views on life. Groupthink is a major theme that comes up frequently in the play through the work of Salem’s society. A character who is persistently a victim of groupthink is Mary Warren. Mary Warren is a seventeen year old girl who is the servant of the Proctor’s house, and is influenced by groupthink by Abby’s group.
During the seventeenth century, there was a series of court hearings and prosecutions of people who happened to be accused of practicing witchcraft in Massachusetts. These events would later be called the Salem witch trials. In the book titled The Crucible by author Arthur Miller, it is written in the form of a play that has a central idea that explores the Salem witch trials in seventeenth - century Salem, Massachusetts. The main theme that is seen throughout the play is cruelty which can be seen in the way each individual is treated by their peers. The first significant event of cruelty that is seen is within society itself.
Society as a whole seeks to satisfy themselves. This may be at the expense of their peers or individuals they are associated with. Arthur Miller brilliantly displays this dark side of humanity’s side in his play The Crucible. This play is based on the Salem witch trials in the early 1690s. During the Salem witch trials over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed.
In the blink of an eye, an entire society can be gripped by fear and hysteria. In the play, The Crucible, the author, Arthur Miller depicts the town of Salem, Massachusetts in which the public is riveted by a whirlwind of witchcraft controversies. During this time, even the smallest actions or remarks are blown out of proportion. Being renowned for his extensive knowledge in dealing with witchcraft, Reverend John Hale from nearby Beverly is called in to “cure” those possessed by the Devil. Hale’s transformation demonstrates the shift from hysteria and narrow-mindedness to rationality and open-mindedness, which emphasizes the development of Miller’s message, which states that nothing in the world is as black and white as it seems.
Mary desperately wants to tell the truth because she believes their punishment will be less severe if they are truthful. Because of this Abigail threatened her and the other girls, saying they will not tell the truth, so the girls decide to use the two afflicted girls to their advantage and claim witchcraft. Their claim of witchcraft leads to an entire mess of people being falsely accused. John Proctor knows that the girls are lying but doesn't do anything about it until his wife is arrested. Whereupon he forces Mary Warren to tell him the truth and say that she will tell the truth to the court to save all of the innocent people.
When the girls are found dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris, Abigail starts accusing others in the town to turn the suspicion from her and the girls. The girls realize that Abigail is willing to accuse anyone to keep herself safe and they join in on the accusations to keep Abigail happy. “Now look you. All of you. We danced.