Manipulation And Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Keira Hine Mr. Christensen English III 01 May 2023 Throughout history, humans have always used the supernatural to explain things they could not understand: The seasons were explained by the corruption of Persephone, famine and plague by sin, and misfortune and success with karma. Just as these ideas were used to make sense of the world, they were also used to fearmonger groups of people and give power to a select few. These few elites will often do anything to maintain their power including destroying those in their communities. Arthur Miller uses The Crucible as an instrument to expose humanity's tendency to prosecute those who threaten the ones in powers narrative.

“The Crucible'' is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 depicting the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. One of the key themes in “The Crucible” is the abuse of power. Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth are just two main characters of the story who use their power and authority in varying yet destructive forms. While Danforth is a stern judge who upholds the law and attempts to maintain order during the Salem witch trials, Abigail is a cunning and deceptive young woman who uses her influence to cause chaos and manipulate others. The results of their actions only create more issues instead of fixing pre-existing ones.

People tend to force the ideas of morals to be more black-and-white than they are. It is easier for people to pick out “good and bad guys” for the sake of simplicity, even with situations that call for otherwise. A great example of complex and conflicting morals in a story can be found in Arthur Miller’s historical fiction play, The Crucible. The situations and conflicts in the play can often be misinterpreted, leading to the readers’ misconceptions about how the hysteria should have been handled throughout the story. In the play, the character Reverend Hale, while thought of as a leading instigator of the chaos in Salem, actually does not have the power to change what happens.

The reputation of an individual affects the way one is seen in a community and can negatively affect one’s life, which can result in difficult decisions that can define a person’s life. In the town of Salem, reputation and integrity defined who and what a person will be in the given future. The integrity of a person refers more to the moral side of one’s life, whereas the reputation is the physical side of one’s life. Both determine who an individual is going to be, not who they actually are, which refers to one’s integrity. There are not a lot of specific events concerning the reputation and integrity of someone in modern times, but a good reputation in today’s times is how you communicate and thrive within a community; whether that be in

Dorothy Good, the 4 year old daughter of previously accused Sarah Good, was the youngest to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. The people that obtained any sort of power during these trials had no mercy whatsoever on anyone. The accusing girls such as Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam, and many others displayed that as long as their high position in the village was kept to themselves, they did not care who was accused or killed. The concern of having power and authority is the factor that caused the most destruction in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller.

Daisy Guzman Mr.Glorfield English 11A 16 December 2022 Changes The crucible by playwright Arthur Miller had many changes added, however were these changes necessary? They absolutely were necessary because they captivated the reader by making things more interesting. Related to events occurring at the time that were important. And helped form a tellable story.

“The Crucible” is a timeless play whose ideas can be applied to nearly every time period in history. Arthur Miller’s writing contained insights into human nature and displayed the dangers of hearsay and abuses of power. Those dangers were very present in Arthur Miller’s depiction of the Salem Witch Trials and even in more modern times. Through his fictionalized depiction of the events of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials Miller painted a vivid picture that’s allegories can be compared to even modern events. The events of “The Crucible” are comparable to both the Red Scare and the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The stage is set, 1953, the second red scare provoked mass hysteria through the country. Friends turned to enemies, neighbors turned to strangers, and people couldn’t even trust those in their own government. Panic ensued and at the center was Joseph McCarthy with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Arthur Miller was a popular writer who found himself among the accused during this time. Through his own experience he used The Crucible to connect parallels of the injustice created through the trials, the abuse of power that is created by Joseph McCarthy, and Arthur Miller’s own experience.

Composers utilise political and personal motives to assist in the formation of texts. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1953) utilises drama as an allegorical representation of the unjust corruption of the McCarthy Era. George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) draws an allegorical rejection towards the corruption of the Russian revolution. Both texts convey how the devious or contriving nature of politics ultimately causes people to manipulate or create situations for their own gain and personal agendas. Miller, through The Crucible, displays how composers manipulate their audience to favour their representation.

The Crucible Essay Characters were willing to do almost anything in order to protect their reputation. “And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out… why she done it herself (Miller 71.) People were prepared to commit many sins in order to keep theur reputation clean. If they were accused of witchcraft, their reputation would be destroyed. In effors to save their reputation, characters would go to great lengths to frame others.

The Salem Witch Trials forced townspeople to lie and possibly lead another to death or deny accusations and get hung as a result. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people with authority in Salem make unfair decisions in order to punish those that have been accused of witchcraft. Judges knew the hangings were wrong, but continued to hang innocent townspeople. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows hypocrisy,judgment, and abuse of power throughout the town of Salem by explaining people’s lies and accusations in the play. Authorities in Salem were not truthful, felt little sorrow for their wrongdoings, and used their power to their advantag,in a bad way.

To live or to die? Seems like an obvious question, right? When the weight of another factor clouds the seemingly no-brainer question is it really so obvious? Die for a lie or live with dishonor? It’s not anywhere as obvious now.

The Hidden Meaning “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in heaven,” quoted by Reverend Parris, in the novel, The Crucible. The Salem Witch Trials emphasized the evil in everyone. Whether you were affluent or insufficient, people still had the courage to throw one under the bus. Not only did the witch trials bring out the evil, it also exemplified the righteousness. As various people read about the trials, one may ask, what started the witch trials?

Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible," is an amazing work that examines the pressure and moral conflict experienced by the characters in the Salem witch trials. The title itself alludes to the container used for heating substances, symbolizing the emotional and psychological turmoil experienced by the characters. The play exposes the dangers of groupthink and blindly following authority. The people of Salem were in a state of panic, as accusations of witchcraft spread rapidly throughout the community.

Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.