Effects Of Puritan Society In The Crucible

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was a historical play written about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The Salem witch trials created mass hysteria throughout the entire village of Salem, which was also mainly inhabited by Puritans. Puritans had a set ideal of firm beliefs that managed how they lived. Essentially, they were living as an elect, which meant they (referring to the Puritans) had a place in heaven for the righteous acts they have done in the physical world. Meaning, any sinful acts could potentially hinder the chances of entering heaven as an elect. The Crucible, questioned everything the Puritans abided by. It questioned the basic morals of a pure lifestyle, adultery and

The Salem witch trials was a series of accusations upon men and women; these people could either plead guilty and survive or plead innocent and be put to death. If a person pleads guilty, their allegations with the devil would be broken. Arthur Miller noticed the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the red scare of the mid 1950’s. These events inspired Miller to write The Crucible. In the American playwright Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the characters lie to manipulate others in order to protect their reputation.

The Puritans were one of the first Europeans who settled in the North America. These settlers were influenced heavily by the church and Christian beliefs. Through “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, the readers could see how the Puritans reveal their strict beliefs in their lifestyle. Among those beliefs, the idea of unforgiven sins and the presence of the Devil in the community negatively affected the Puritans that caused the massacre at the Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692.

“As the most dangerous inmates, the witches were kept in the dungeons. These were perpetually dark, bitterly cold, and so damp that water ran down the walls” (Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials). Throughout the late 1600s, the accusations of witchcraft in Salem became a common thread. Over 200 people were accused and more than twenty were hanged. The idea of empowerment was altered when girls of Salem made profound accusations against well known people of the town. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, portrays the empowerment of characters that forever affected the lives of people in Salem through rhetorical questions, pathos, and imagery.

Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.

In The Crucible, people suddenly turn on each other and accuse people they have known for a long time of practicing witchcraft and worshiping the devil. The town of Salem falls into hysteria, a condition where the whole town can not trust anyone anymore. In order to explain why so many people are afraid, the community begins to believe that the fear must have a definite origin(s). Miller demonstrates persecution and grudges in a tense manner. He grabs the readers attention by these fast paced accusations and the emotions that the characters feel. Grudges and dissatisfaction lead to many hysterias of accusations and bewitching and they all are chaotic and crazy. Some lead to deaths and others lead to arguments and dissatisfaction. Either way nothing good has come from the grudges and accusations in this book.

In 1692, an outbreak of accusations of witchcraft broke out in Salem, Massachusetts. People in the community believed that young girls in Salem were practicing and performing witchcraft. The town deemed the punishment for performing witchcraft as death. Many different tactics were used to kill men or women who were believed to be involved in witchcraft. The way these townspeople were killed was very cruel. Not only was the death cruel, but the people of the town became cruel and people of the town changed. The Crucible by Arthur Miller not only contained accusations of witchcraft, but also destroys relationships between friends and family and breaks charity.

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials, written in 1953 as an allegory to the McCarthy “witch hunts” against communism. Both the Salem and McCarthy “witch hunts” created a “mob mentality” through fear that led to trials against the accused. The girls in The Crucible, when they were discovered dancing naked in the woods and having fits, claimed that witches were responsible for their “sickness.” The powerful personality of one of the girls, Abigail, created a kind of hysteria in the other girls that led them to point fingers at specific women in Salem.

"In a sense I went naked to Salem, still unable to accept the most common experience of humanity, the shifts of interests that turned loving husbands and wives into stony enemies, loving parents into indifferent supervisors or even exploiters of their children and so forth"(Timebends: A Life). Crises lead people to turn towards their loved one or outcasts of society, and place blame out of fear of greater devastation. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller describes the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts: an incident run by the fear of those who do not follow authority in the play. The Puritan society is not used to individuals going against the systematic ways of the church, and are able to control this situation from the accusations of witches.

Puritan societies were very strict and something this big had never happened before, and people are being tested. People are lying and interacting in new ways. Miller explains that when the elements of people’s moral rights and malevolence are mixed just right “society becomes a congerie of plots and counterplots” (34), which is exactly what happened in Salem. It is shown in the crucible a disorderly society of people being falsely accused and hanged. Overall, inside the crucible is a society that is being severely tested and the new elements are being mixed by the

There were many important themes and symbols that I noticed were crucial in Miller’s The Crucible. One theme that was evident in the play was prejudice or intolerance. The play is set in a theocratic society, a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God 's or deity 's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities. Religion then becomes a strict, severe form of Protestantism or Puritanism. Because of the governmental structure this society, moral and state laws in turn become one and the same: sin and the status of one’s soul becomes the concern of the public. In other words, an individual’s actions and deeds is a reflection on their society. This society does not accept any deviation from the norms of society. Any individual whose life doesn’t conform to views and laws of this society not only affects or threatens public or society, but also poses a threat to the rule of God and true religion. To my understanding of the play, in the town of Salem, everything and everyone either belongs to God or to the devil. If an individual rejects the established laws of their society. Then this act is considered unlawful, meaning that the act of opposition against your society is viewed as satanic or devilish. This division or disagreement functions as the deep rooted logic behind the witch trials. As Danforth says in Act III, “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it.” The witch trials represent and

needed to be purified of the influence of Catholicism. The basis for the Puritan’s belief was an

In the Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is both an allegory and tragedy where the Puritan society of Salem is attacked with the agitation of witchcraft. It all started with five young girls of the Salem society caught dancing naked around a bonfire. This practice is viewed upon by the Puritans as the task of the devil. In the beginning of the play, there was controversy about ownership of land between some of the villagers. Later in the story, people fear for their own safety and begin pointing fingers and accusing their neighbors of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged. This caused the society to get more and more separated as time went on. This emphasizes the idea of how fear and suspicion can destroy a society due to accusations, roundups, and forced confessions. Miller captures the evil of paranoia and fear in his play through emotions by letting them shine through his characters to make the audience feel the tension, the angst and the desperation throughout the play.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is about the people of 17th century.Salem, Massachusetts situated in a dangerous and dynamic period. The Puritans of Salem joined the bandwagon of the witch hysteria that was first caused by girls falsely accusing others. The inhabitants of Salem feared for their lives as the people who were accused were subjected to death. However, the accused have a chance to save themselves by admitting to a crime they did not commit. Many took the opportunity for self-preservation because it is a human instinct of survival. However, there others who chose to uphold their ideals, name, and reputation. Self-preservation is the motivates the characters to behave and act when they are situated in a compromising situation about the involvement of witchcraft, but there are also times when it is abandoned.

The story of the play takes us back to the America of 17th century .In those days, the Church had dominance and several innocent people were tortured and put to death. The hero of the play ,John Proctor is falsely accused of witchcraft and then executed. In addition, several innocent persons are hanged.