The document discusses the symbol of fire in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. Specifically: 1) In the play, Judge Danforth uses the metaphor of fire to describe how aggressively he runs his court, seeking to reveal the truth. 2) Danforth sees his court like the Holy Spirit, which is described in the Bible as purifying through spiritual fire. However, Danforth's fire fails to reveal the truth. 3) Later in the play, Proctor realizes Danforth's court is not a seeker of truth but a "workshop of hell", changing the meaning of the fire symbol to one of damnation and destroying truth. The second part discusses the author's personal

1. Narlyn V.
Part 1:
"[Fire] is recognized as a purifier, a destroyer and as...energy and change. It
represents illumination and enlightenment, destruction and renewal, spirituality and
damnation." In The Crucible, the term "fire" is used by Danforth to describe how his
court is run. He is quoted saying, "We burn a hot fire around here; it melts down all
concealment"(Miller 89). The author of The Crucible uses a metaphor to extend and add
depth and dimension to the description of the court. I find that in this situation fire is a
symbol of a seeker of truth and/or of purity that falls into the category of spiritual
analysis.
Throughout act three, the judge of the court thinks that by breaking down the
accused he can reveal the truth and set them free. Since the book is set in a town where
everyone lives by Christian belief, Danforth's behavior seems similar to the way the Holy
Spirit acts. In the Bible, the holy spirit is regarded as a being that purifies us through
spiritual fire. The holy spirit is viewed by Christians as a being that "melts down" (as
Danforth also quotes) all sin and impurities. Danforth runs his court thinking he can do
the same thing because when the women of the town confess to witchcraft, he thinks he
has gathered enough evidence to determine what the actual truth is. This judge actually
thinks his so-called "fire" is ardent and scorching enough to get to the truth. Obviously
this symbol that Danforth uses is a fraud because his "fire" is only a small ember that
can't melt down anything since the court is too blind to see through lies. Later on in the
act this fraud is revealed when John Proctor repeats the symbol of fire with a different
meaning. "A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face!"
(Miller 120). Proctor realizes that the fire burning in the court is not a seeker of truth, but
actually a "workshop of hell." The meaning changes to damnation and a destroyer of truth
instead.

2. Part 2:
There are many symbols in my life that surround me everyday and I interpret each
one differently from everyone else. One of my personal symbols can be considered odd
because of its meaning to me, but then again personal symbols are meant to make sense
to oneself and not necessarily to others. My personal symbol is red light. To me red light
is comforting and it diminishes my fears. Red light, to me, symbolizes a "night light" or a
comfort in the dark. The reason for this is because when I was small I used to have my
own room and a terrible fear of the dark. The windows in my room didn't provide much
light. The only things that eventually calmed my fears and let me fall asleep were the
various red lights in my room. Whether it was the glowing red numbers from my digital
clock or the power off red light from my television and DVD or the standby red light
from my radio. I don't know why but seeing those red lights made of feel less scared
because I knew they came from normal devices that I used everyday. Seeing something
normal instead of creepy shadows in the dark made me feel better. Now seeing red light
will always remind me of this.