The Crucible Theme Essay

The Crucible Theme Essay
One of the many works written and driven by Puritan influence, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has continued to influence life and thinkings. Its story
tracing the 1692 Salem Witch Trials has been widely read, received and understood, along with influencing the reader and their ideals. The play has
manifested into more than words on a page and has become of the greatest influences, even sixty years after its publication. Though its story has not
changed and is merely a retelling of the original itself, its themes have greatly impacted its universal and enduring state.
The first theme that helped create The Crucible's universal state was intolerance. Intolerance began, within history, years before the Salem Witch Trials
and years before the creation of the New England Colonies. Puritan beliefs were outcasted by the King and its government, causing their migration to
the new territory of what would become the United States. This created the Puritan colonies and the city of Salem. With their migration based on the
want of religious freedom, a theocratic society was created. Every member of the society was expected to worship and believe in God and those that
opposed the court, the men that decided God's will, also opposed God himself. During Act Three, Proctor is accused of trying to overthrow the court,
thus having his intentions to overthrow God. Danforth states that "these trials...[are] the voice[s] of...show more content...
The history of religious and government intolerance creates a bridge between the 1692 witch trials and present society, including the impending
McCarthyism of the 1950s. Hysteria continues to cause riots and uprisings within the world and reputation is still held to a high level of respect.
Without these main themes, The Crucible would not be a piece of work that is still prevalent within society and continues to teach
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Themes In The Crucible
Themes presented in Arthur Miller's The Crucible are prevalent in today's modern society, even though the Salem Witch Trials occurred over 300
years ago. These themes, such as deception, intolerance, selfishness, power hungriness, and hysteria, can all relate to both how society was in 1690
and in 2017. In The Crucible, almost every encounter had at least a bit of a stretch of the truth within the conversation. For example, Abigail claims
that she is the only person to see the spirits. The effect that this had on people was that they had no choice but to believe her. This gave her almost
absolute power over other people without the chance of them questioning her. Another instance of Abigail lying was when she accusedJohn Proctor's
wife, Elizabeth Proctor, as a witch in order to have John Proctor all to herself. In life, people have the tendency to lie, whether it be for good or bad
reasons. Typically, lying is associated with bad, and people typically lie out of selfishness. People lie to increase their credibility and to take the easy
way out of situations. For example, when a student is hiding their report card from their parents, they'll often use the excuse, "they haven't sent it home
yet." The students do this to either delay their parents form punishing them or delay them until they forget about it. Other instances of lying in the real
world is when people lie on their applications to a college or a job. People claim they have certain abilities and a different

The Crucible Theme
The Crucible
How would you feel if you got blamed for something you didn't do. The Cruciblie by Auther Miller is about a town and it start with a group of girls
that get caught in the woods doing witchcraft. Then the group of girls starts to blame the townspeople to get them in trouble and to get them out of it
and the people that were blamed got exicuted or went to jail if they admit to it. Guilt and power are the two main themes in the story. Guilt is the first
main theme in the crucible. "I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it. (John Proctor). That means he cannot judge some for
doing something because he did worse so he feels guilty. "Because its my name! Because i cannot have another in my life! Because i lie and sign
myself to lies! Because i am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may i live without my name! I have given you my soul; leave me
my name (john proctor)." He is saying that dont take his reputation to ruins his sons name because it will put a bad reputation on his...show more
content...
In act 3 danforth says this, "I want to open myself!... i want the light of god, i want the sweet love of jesus! I danced for the devil; i saw him, i
wrote in his book; i go to jesus: i kis his hand. I saw sarah god with the devil! I saw goody osburn with the devil! I saw bridget bishop with the
devil." this means that the judge and the girls have power because they keep blaming people they do not like to make them go to jail or die. "There
is either obedience of the church will burn like hell is burning." says Paris. Which means if you are not obedient then the church will burn like hell.
Guilt and Power are two main themes in the crucible. The crucible by Author miller is a good book because it shows people not to blame others for
you action. Everyone blames people and it doesn't help people getting out of bad situation. Guilt and power happens in real life all the

The Crucible-Theme- 5-Paragraph Essay
"Even the Good can be Twisted" "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." (
Dr. Seuss) "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." (Psalm 23:4) "God has given you one face, and you
make yourself another." (William Shakespeare) These quotes, found throughout many different time periods of history, all say the same: "Be who you
are and don't let anything change that." These are great words to live by, but, in time of weakness, does one stay true? Can even the good be twisted?
This is a theme that is represented throughout The Crucible many times. Characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale had
good intentions...show more content...
It was a moot point though, because Elizabeth did the same thing for him, damning him to be tried for taking part in black magic. Only in the end
did John Proctor feel any forgiveness towards himself. In his mind, he deserved the punishment he was going to endure and wasn't going
condemn anyone else in the process. All in all, John was a noble man but, warped by temptation, was made a man of slander. Furthermore,
Reverend Hale was pushed to change also. Hale came into Salem a stranger, but knew how to fix the problem the town endured. He never
questioned that God had a plan and always thought that something was either good or bad, with no gray area in between. This thinking is
challenged when Elizabeth, a pure person, is accused and then later when John confesses. He knows that these people are honest and leaves the
court for a period of time. In the end, Hale is a desperate man, and even though knowing there is no witchcraft present, he urges John to admit that he
is not the one that should be punished. He has to question all the rules he has lived by his whole life and pursue something he knows is incorrect. In
essence, Reverend Hale is pushed to his limits and is turned into a man that will be permanently in suspicion of any standards he ever thought were
true. In the end, as a reader, one is challenged to think, if put in that situation, if he or she would falter from what is

The Crucible Universal Themes
The Crucible by Arthur Miller, was written in the 1950's about the Nazi 'Witch Trials', and has several underlying themes. Some of the themes can
be thought of as universal as they relate to both the time period the book takes place in and also when the book was written. Hysteria, religion and
family are the most universal themes within The Crucible. Hysteria can cause confusion within a large group or area. An example of this in The
Crucible would be when Marry Warren confesses to being a witch so she could save herself but then later admits that she was lying. When the court
decides to bring Abigail and other girls who had confessed of witch craft in for questioning, they begin to deny the allegations that they had lied and

Theme Of Power In The Crucible
Power is the ability to influence or outright control the behavior of people. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a play written about a witch hunt in the
late sixteen hundreds, Miller shows the exchange of power between the Puritan people of Salem as the town quickly spirals into a state of hysteria. A
few attention–deprived teenage girls have convinced the whole town that witches are bewitching people in Salem, causing old grudges and feuds to
rise to the surface for all to see. Arthur Miller wrote this play as a statement on the McCarthyism scandal. Power changes in the play just as power
changed during the McCarthyism scandal. Power changes in the play from the leaders of the town to Abby and her friends as well as from the court
to the church. Power changes from the town's leaders to Abby and her friends in the beginning of the play when Abby and Mary Warren are caught
dancing in the forest. This is a paradox because the Puritan society of Salem would normally punish them for such an outrageous act, but instead they
gain power because Abby was a witness to Tituba's "witchcraft". This is shown in the quote, "She comes to me every night to go and drink blood!"
Abigail accuses Tituba of forcing her to participate in witchcraft and because that's what it looks like to Parris, he arrests Tituba for witchcraft. This
opens a door for Abby to gain more power during the trial by accusing more people of witchcraft. An example of this is in the quote, "And he goes to
save her,

The Crucible Theme(S) Analysis
Jamie Davis Professor Forest English 2030– 81 12/ 02/ 2011 Hysteria and Suffering Jumping to conclusions, bad assumptions, and false information
can cause much hysteria within a society. This can be surely bad if you are dealing with people who are hypochondriacs. In The Crucible, Arthur
Miller displays how hysteria is used to cover the truth, but can cause suffering for many of those who are innocent. The play strongly illustrates the
hysteria that brushed through Salem because of the fear that Satan had haunted the town. When you have an entire society in an uproar it is usually
because of false information being spread and people who are just reacting without thinking about what could possibly be happening. There are some
people...show more content...
John Proctor states, "I never spoke on witches one way or the other. Will you come, Giles?"(Miller, 82). Abigail is not only John Proctor's mistress,
but she is also one of the girls who are accusing innocent people in the town of being seen with the devil. Abigail is the character who has the most
influence on the town's hysteria. John regrets his affair with Abigail, but she thinks what they had was love. Because Abigail wants to be with
John Proctor, she and few other girls from the village, and Tituba (a slave) dance around because they believe it will somehow kill Proctor's wife.
Abigail is asked about her affair with John, but she says none of it is true. She is does not want to get caught. While coming up with more lies
along with Betty (Reverend Parris's daughter), she tells the other girls, "If anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, I will
come to you in the black of some terrible night (The Crucible.)" So, after the news that Abigail and the other girls' outlandish actions begins to spread
like a wildfire, the hysteria in the community take over. Abigail only contributes to the hysteria by telling lie after lie just to cover up her wrongdoings.
Abigail is dreading telling the truth, which has triggered hysteria to a dangerous level that otherwise, would not have been achieved. During the play,
the attitude is awaiting destiny in the presence of widespread irrational belief and growing hysteria in the Salem society. Nearly

Essay about Themes in The Crucible
Themes in The Crucible In the crucible Arthur Miller takes the chilling story of the Salem witch hunt in 1692 and combines it with the issues of
McCarthyism in the 1950s. The play reflects Miller's ideas and opinions about McCarthyism and what he thinks are the similarities to the Salem witch
hunts. Proctor is the main character Millers uses to reflect the unfairness of the Salem and McCarthy trials and how the truth died in the 1950s. This
makes Proctor's role very dramatic and exciting. Miller also uses a dramatic licence to make this even more so – adding the love to Elizabeth and guilt
about Abigail gives the story an intriguing twist. The whole nature of Proctor makes him an exciting and complex character; as a result...show more
content...
The whole theme of Proctor's affair adds a dramatic twist to the plot. Affairs are stereotypically exciting and the deceitfulness, lust and lies that come
into play with this particular example make it especially interesting for the audience. The wrong things done here in the name of lust have a certain
attraction – it is almost intoxicating. One of the things that makes Proctor such an important character in the Crucible is the fact that he stands for the
truth and fights for the innocents. His strongest weapon in this fight is his powerful speaking. His speeches and comments don't just have an effect on
the other characters in the play but on the audience too. "You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!" – this is a very strong statement as
Heaven is the symbolises highest good and is a force of God. To pull it down and so denounce God and place a whore in God's place is very
dramatic because of the extremes, it's almost absurd to the Salem society. Persuasive techniques are even used in his lines, by presenting his opinions
as statements it seems as though they're facts and unquestionable; "God is dead" and "they're pretending" are good examples of this. This techniques
involve the audience as they make the audience develop opinions about issues in the play and care about what happens to characters. Proctor's use of
emotion when he

The Crucible Theme Analysis
The play "The Crucible" has many different themes to it. It could be many different things in many different ways. One feels that the main theme is to
tell the truth and be honest. One believes that the main theme is that because the reader shouldn't lie, the reader should always tell the truth cause no
one will ever know what to expect if the reader lies. In the play and story it has many scenes of people lying to not get in–trouble and it lead to many
consequences after they lied. This was all from McCarthyism and Witchcraft that spread around. The main cause of all this hazardous stuff is because
of Satan. People are going around lying about seeing the Devil and seeing the many people involved with the devil. Throughout the whole play

The Crucible Theme of Religion Essay
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses themes to display thoughts throughout the book. The theme that seems to be the center point of the story is
religion. Religion is on the character's minds with every action they do. When something goes wrong in the town, religion is sought out as a cause.
When the witch trials begin, the devil is supposed to be the source of the troubles. Arthur Miller vividly uses religion to show the readers how
important religion is to the people of Salem. At the start of The Crucible, we find Reverend Parris praying. Arthur Miller automatically shows us
religion is important. "Reverend Parris is discovered kneeling beside the bed, evidently in prayer." When the people of Salem realize something is
wrong with Betty...show more content...
"Theology, sir is a fortress may not be accounted small." Arthur Miller uses religion to display the lives of the people in Salem throughout Act 3.
In Act 3, the theme of religion has a different meaning than before. Now, the theme of religion is used in a manipulative way so the people can
get what they want. Abigail and the rest of the girls are using Mary Warren because she has turned against them. Abigail pretends Mary is a yellow
bird and is taking over their spirits. "Draw back your spirit out of them!" As soon as Abigail and the girls blame Mary for witchcraft Danforth
believes them and starts to accuse Mary. "You have seen the Devil, you have made compact with Lucifer, have you not?" Mary Warren responds to
the accusations with turning against Proctor. She completely disregards the pact they have made in order to save herself. "I'll not hang with you! I
love God, I love God." In Act 4, Arthur Miller uses religion to test the characters. In Act 4, the characters would either hold on to their religion and
beliefs or give in to save themselves. John Proctor is the character who does not want to give in however he does not want to die. He wants to have a
compromise but the authority will not let him do so. "It is no part of salvation, that you should use me!" Rebecca Nurse is another character who has
the choice to confess but she does not give in. "Another judgment waits us all!"

The Crucible is a play with an abundance of themes. Each of the characters have a theme that contributes to the overall theme of the story as well. The
Crucible shows unjust decisions controlled by manipulated courts and envious girls. The court officials put 200 people through the misery of being
accused of practicing acts associated with the devil, and they executed 20. The theme that comes to mind after these actions are brought up is inequity.
Abigail accused many people in the town of Salem of actions that they did not do. She made the marriage of John and Elizabeth Proctor unstable by still
trying to steal John from Elizabeth even though John was trying to regain the trust of his wife. Another theme that is present is that reputations can be
altered easily. Going back to the Abigail and John incident, John's reputation was brought down when the court found out that he cheated on his wife.
Another example of how reputations are judged in this play is when John didn't want his name posted on the church door. His name would have been
frowned upon since it would have been on the list of people who practiced witchcraft, and he knew people would think less of him (62). Abigail also
fed false accusations about well–respected people in the town of Salem. Abigail had told the court that Elizabeth Proctor had been practicing the
devil's work, and Elizabeth then got taken away even though she hadn't had done anything (37). A good reputation can be easily faltered, and it is a

Literary Analysis Essay On The Crucible '
Kayla Kemp
Mrs. Canfield
Junior English
12 October 2017
The Crucible
Puritans had a strict and disciplined lifestyle that was live to achieve the grace of God. They believed that people that were sinners, liars, and
adulterers were damned in the eyes of God. In The Crucible the main antagonist was Abigail. She showed tendencies to be spiteful, jealous, and
vengeful.
One of the main antagonist was Abigail Williams, Abigail would use her spitefulness to blame other people she showed hate too. In the text it states,
"she is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend her! (Miller 22). What abigail
was saying is that Elizabeth Proctor is trying to ruin Abby's name in the village. In the text it states, "don't lie! To Hale: she comes to me while i
sleep; she's always making me dream corruptions!.. Sometimes i wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not stitch on my body! I
always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her barbados songs and tempting me–(Miller 41). Abigail is trying to blame tituba because
before all this the tension was on abby and she didn't like the tension so she turned it on Tituba....show more content...
In the text it states, "oh, i marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be–" (Miller 22). Abby is saying how strong John is to be holding
back her feelings toward her. Abby is just so jealous she says things just to weaken john. In the text it states, " you did, you did you drank a charm
to kill John Proctors wife, you drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!"(Miller 18). Betty was admitting that Abby drank a charm just so she can kill
Goody Proctor, Abby is that jealous that she will do anything to get rid of

Mary Warren: A Change For The Worse
People change, but is it always for the best? Mary Warren, a shy, quiet, and pushover girl is put into some difficult situations that will show
everyone just how weak her backbone really. Mary was a good girl, but was influenced by everyone and made wrong decisions. Then she became
extremely indecisive and couldn't choose whose side to be on. To then becoming exactly like Abigail, a guileful profligate of a girl. Mary is a dynamic
character, who is bound to change in the drama, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller.
In the beginning of the story, Mary does not have much say in anything and just takes commands from Abigail and the girls. Mary Warren wanted to
confess to witchcraft being fake but...show more content...
And not even thinking twice about what consequences might occur now to the innocent Proctor family. Mary went from a pushover girl to a bad girl
who does things for herself only. Becoming very selfish and quite similar to the vindictive Abigail.
Mary Warren went from a quiet, shy girl who listens to what everyone tells her todo to a very indecisive girl who cannot choose between saving
herself or an innocent family. Mary is a dynamic character indeed. She ultimately changed for the worse and continued the hysteria that over took
Salem by playing along with the devil's game, making it a historically known event, that forever changed the view of witchcraft

Theme Of The Crucible
One theme in the crucible that appears trough out the entirety of the play is, people believe in the super natural world in Salem. Many of the towns
people believe in witchcraft which leads to hangings and the death of innocent people. This last for awhile but as the story comes to an end people
begin to realize when more highly looked upon people began to hang for unnecessary reasons. Author Miller show trough this quote that people can be
persuaded to believe any thing that anyone says if they are a highly ranked persons in their social

Themes In The Crucible
There are many themes in the play The Crucible. The theme we chose was that it is better to live and fight another day. Most people have many
reasons to live. If you have any reason at all to live fight another day. In the play The Crucible John Proctor has lots to live for, but he chooses to die.
He has a family consisting of a wife three boys and a baby on the way. " Tell me you have three children? " (pg 59)– Hale " Aye. Boys. " (pg 59) " The
child? " (pg 99) – John Proctor " It Grows. " (pg 99) – Elizabeth Proctor. Also Hale is persistent that Proctor should not kill himself so that he can live
for his kids and provide for his family and Hale will feel less guilt for his wrong believing. " Man, you will Hang! You cannot! " (pg 105)– Hale.

Theme Of Greed In The Crucible
One concept is capable of more destruction than almost anything else. It can change a person's life, or end it. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a
play that is set in Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1690's. The play revolves around the infamous Salem Witch Hunts and their proceedings both
within the court and outside of the court. Within this plotline, a theme of greed functions in the play, influencing the actions of certain characters,
including Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam, and Abigail. Reverend Parris is often seen as one of the most greedy characters within The Crucible.
An example of this can be seen in a discussion about payment, where Parris announces, "Mr. Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at
sixty pound a year! I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in the Barbados to serve the Lord. I do not fathom it, why am I persecuted
here?" (Miller 841). Here, Parris exhibits one of the most common forms of greed. Parris is complaining about his pay, and demanding more in
order to be properly paid. Reverend Parris is thinking about his salary while his daughter is unconscious and believed to be under the power of
witchcraft. Parris lets his greed take priority above his daughter. I cannot think of any reason that a father would put money ahead of his unconscious
daughter. While it is the first example of greed in the play, it is certainly not the only example of a greed of possession. Another one of the antagonists
of the play can be seen

The Role Of Deception In The Crucible
The Salem witch trials was a period in 1692 where several young girls claimed witchcraft, resulting in the death of many lives, and the destruction of
many more. Arthur Miller's recreation of this frenzy is presented in The Crucible, in which the lives of several real–life people were recreated to tell
the story of the trials. The Crucible portrays how rapidly and dangerously hysteria can spread, and the lengths one may retreat to in order to reach
what is thought to be best. Characters react to the situation in various different ways; some use it to their own advantage, some try to spare their own
lives, and the bravest ones try to save the lives of their loved ones – no matter the cost. In life, the power of deception is a force with more significance
than one may recognize. Abigail is a master of deception in the play; her cleverness and skill kick off the witch trials. By accusing the weak and
outcast first, such as Sarah Good and Tituba, she made the act more believable. By doing so, she was able to gradually work up to her true
enemies. It is no surprise Elizabeth Proctor was accused, for Abigail said of Elizabeth: "she is blackening my name! She is telling lies about me!
She is a cold, sniveling woman..." (Miller, 1140) Abigail, though extremely selfish, was just as clever in her actions. She was very careful to protect
herself, and told her friends, "let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come for you in the

The Crucible Themes
In every literary, there are themes. A theme can be explained as an idea or message of a narrative. In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Miller uses
the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to reveal how easily people can be drawn into a kind of crowd mentality which ultimately hurts guiltless people. The
Crucible has published long ago and still it is being read all over the world. Themes of reputation, hysteria, and empowerment have been analyzed as
both universal and long–lasting. The first theme analyzed in the play is reputation because many characters are concentrated on maintaining their
public and fine reputation in Salem. Most of the characters worry more about reputation than their comfort. "Abigail, I have fought here for three long
years to bend these stiff–necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you...show more content...
Many characters can assume that their fellow citizens have been supernaturally worshipping the devil. "I will come to you in the black of some
terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you...I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down (Miller)." This
quote shows that if someone was blamed and contradict the accusation, they are hung right away but if they confused, they will ruin their name. The
theme of hysteria is enduring and universal because there are similar things in modern life, for example, the racial profiling. Finally, the theme of
empowerment has been developed in this play. Abigail Williams has a great amount of power with the witch hearings and she was only
seventeen–year–old. "Now look you...I will come to you in the black of some terrible night... bring a reckoning that will shudder you...I can make
you wish you had never seen the sun go down (Miller)." This quote shows that Abigail Williams is in charge. She has no power at first, but then
became empowered over the group of

The Crucible Themes
For this book review I decided to read The Crucible. In this play there are a wide variety of themes from hysteria, conformity, empowerment,
reputation and many others. Each aspect of these themes within the play comes with the idea of witchcraft. So I decided to pick apart the topic of
witch craft and decided to see where the idea of a witch trial originated, and I found that it started in early Europe.
For three centuries of early modern European history, diverse societies were consumed by a panic over alleged witches in their midst. Witch–hunts,
especially in Central Europe, resulted in the trial, torture, and execution of tens of thousands of victims, about three–quarters of whom were women. A
witch–hunt is a search for people labelled as witches or who have evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch–hunts in Europe and North
America falls into the Early Modern period of about 1400 to 1700, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War. The belief in
witchcraft has been shown to have similarities in societies throughout the world....show more content...
The trials were sparked by the belief that witches were operating as an organized threat. Those accused of witchcraft were portrayed as being
worshippers of the Devil. Many people were accused of being witches, and were put on trial for the crime, with varying punishments being applicable
in different regions and at different times. The peak of the witch–hunt was during the period of the European wars of religion, between 1580 and 1630.
The hunts declined in the early eighteenth century with the growth of the Enlightenment and rationalism among the educated

The Crucible Theme Essay

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