The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Salem, in the 1600’s was the town of the Puritans. Puritanism is a sect of Christianity that is extremely strict and set in its way. Due to the town being a theocracy of puritanism, it adopted a certain intolerance to anything that went against their beliefs. The puritan ideology was that everyone must completely devout their lives to their faith and nothing else.

The stage is set, the French and Indian War has recently ended and tensions between the colonists and the British are only just beginning. However, despite all these influential happenings the people of Salem are focused on something totally different. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible these colonists in Salem are focused on something never seen or thought of before, witchcraft. This word and thought throw this small town into a frenzy and even some of the surrounding towns are caught up in this. The suspected witchcraft tests the colonists spiritually, emotionally, and politically.

Although Salem, Massachusetts was founded on religiously centered morals, nevertheless it turned to sinful behaviors because Arthur Miller wants to demonstrate that community can be shaped by social pressures. Arthur Miller portrays the detriments of a close-knit community and illustrates how small Salem truly is through everyone knew each other's business. One night, John and Elizabeth Proctor had an argument over Abigail Williams. Elizabeth accused John of cheating with Abigail and told him “if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not” (Miller 52) Elizabeth Proctor supports her accusation of adultery with this statement.

During the Salem Witch Trials, many people were accused of dealing with the devil and causing mischief among their neighbors and fellow citizens. These allegations caused rifts in the community and isolated nearly everyone from fear of being affected or accused themselves. Although it seems that they handled it as they saw fit, there are several ways that the community could’ve been a little more lenient. There are several courses of action that the Crucible should’ve taken that might have saved lives or more effectively condemned the accused: hold all court proceedings in private with an unbiased jury and judge, make sure all evidence was absolutely irrefutable in every aspect, also be sure to not to hold the accusers above the rest. Several people could’ve been spared and their personal standings upheld in Crucible, by Arthur Miller, if the trials would have been held in

The Sins of Salem In society, people quickly jump on the bandwagon with little to no hesitation; the villagers involved in the Salem Witch Trials were no different. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller effectively portrays the pandemonium that the villagers dealt with as the witch hunt went on. Salem harbored a mess of lies and deceit in order for many of the characters to get what they wished.

Arthur Miller wrote the play called The Crucible around 1953. Crucible is defined in 2 main ways: a vessel of metal or other material used for heating substances to high temperatures; any severe, difficult or searching test. Which one did he use for inspiration you might ask? Multiple pieces of evidence show that Miller wanted people to understand that he used both definitions. Salem was the vessel, the substances are the people, and the emotions and feelings of the people are what were heated to high temperatures and therefore changed.

The Salem Witch Trials were blamed on mental illness and superstitions. Some people even said they were poisoned by contamination of their wheat supply. Arthur Miller writes a fictional play about what happened in Salem, where Abigail accuses more than 200 people and 20 were executed. She faked seeing the devil to call witchcraft on the people that have done wrong to her and to save herself. In the crucible, Arthur Miller shows that distrust can ruin relationships.

“The edge of the wilderness was close by. The American continent stretched endlessly West, and it was full of mystery for them. It stood dark and threatening, over their shoulders night and day, for out in Indian tribes marauded from time to time, and Reverend Parris had parishioners who had lost relatives to these heathen” (Miller,5). In the beginning of the book, Reverend Paris one night found his niece and all her friends dancing (which is forbidden in this time period) in the woods, which is known to be the Devil’s playground.

In the spring of 1692 an outbreak of which craft shadowed over the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Although which craft is non-existent it didn't stop these crazed occult activists from pointing fingers at people they have known there whole life. The Crucibles is a tragedy driven story based on the horrific events that took place in Salem. Nevertheless, all this talk of witches had to come from somewhere; surprisingly, it came from a group of girls dancing naked in the forest and drinking the blood of a chicken.

Many novels, plays, and motion pictures revolve around one or more common reoccurring subject matters, which are often not spoken aloud. This is known as a theme. It represents a subject of talk, or a person’s thought. The drama, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a perfect example of a piece of literature with unspoken thought. The themes are displayed by character emotion, actions, and speeches.

“Do not tell lies about your neighbor, betray him, or give him a bad name.” This commandment is one among several others the Puritans held themselves accountable to. Unfortunately, the breaking of one commandment by a young girl affected the lives of many. In his short story, The Crucible, Arthur Miller illustrates to his readers the events surrounding the witch trials in Salem. Some people believe that this event was too drastic and could not be stopped; however, though many were at fault, Abigail Williams and Reverend Hale had the choice to end the witch hunt altogether.

The events that partake in the Salem Witch Trials turned the simple Puritan village into the dark, twisted society that was portrayed in The Crucible. These Puritans’ disciplined religious values were practiced to create a better, holier world. In irony, it was these beliefs that pushed the people in Salem to bring about the paranoia and destruction of the Trials. The characters that are the most responsible for the Salem Witch Trials are Reverend Parris, Reverend Hale, Abigail Wilson, and Judge Danforth.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller follows the story of Salem as they battle the devil and witchcraft. This story goes through the many unfortunate deaths and sacrifices that occurred in the 1690s. Murderers follow these deaths. Many people in the town are wrongfully accused and convicted without any evidence. Those innocent people who were murdered died because of the lies of their peers, so now the liars have become the murderers.

In history there have been many major events that have shaped the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the "witchunts" of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a drama and fictional story of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-1693. Miller wrote the play as a parable for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.

Imagine waking up to banging on the door and shouting from a large crowd. It’s still dark outside and everyone is holding pitch forks and torches, staring at the door and waiting for an appearance. All these people are at the door accusing innocent good people of witchcraft. In the 1690s, many people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft and that turned into the Salem witch trials. History repeats itself because in the 1950s, just like the Salem witch trials, many people were accused of communism, a period known as the Red Scare.