The Crucible and Dante's Seven Deadly Sins In the play The Crucible hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft without any proof, this time period is known as the Salem Witch Trials.. Arthur Miller wrote this play to show how horrific and unfair the Salem Witch Trials were. In this play sins are broken rapidly.. Some of these sins are pride, wrath, lust, envy, sloth and gluttony. Pride is to be very positive about what you have done. Lust is to have a sexual desire or determination toward someone or something.
The actions held in Salem lead to many consequences. The main end result of groupthink in The Crucible is that many innocent people die. Once one person accuses another person of being a witch it is difficult to prove you are innocent because everyone believes what is thought to be right. John Proctor is an example of a guiltless man being hung because of groupthink. Mary Warren betrays John by saying that “he comes at by night and everyday to sign, to sign, to--
Character Analysis of John Proctor The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place during the time of the famous Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s. Rumors of witchcraft are among the townspeople all due to a group of girls who are hysterical and are pretending to be under spells of witchcraft. Innocent citizens are being accused left and right for committing some sort of witchcraft and everyone in the small town of Salem feels like they can trust no one. Throughout the play many of the characters evolved in one way or another. In the course of the play, one of the major characters John Proctor, goes through changes and faces multiple challenges.
The play opens in a scene of chaos; Betty Parris, daughter of Reverend Parris, has slipped into what is now known as a coma. When Betty does not awaken, the townspeople immediately turn to witchcraft as the reason for what is happening. Jealousy causes many of the people to accuse others of witchcraft. Debates over property lines occur; neighbors are at each others’ throats. Centering now upon John Proctor, and his wife, Elizabeth, the story takes a turn.
The course of enacting revenge is symbolically signified through the fervour of allegations of witchcraft, which destroys all judgment and creates a sense of belonging with the members of the community that have been involved in monstrous actions, such as killing babies and communicating with the devil. Miller, having been blamed of being a communist along with many of his friends, is critical of this hysteria. Despite some of his characters’ legitimate fear of witchcraft, the fervour surrounding their accusations leads to innocent people being accused of wrongdoing to satisfy vengeful grudges and create a sense of belonging. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft in order to seek revenge, as Elizabeth acknowledges when she says, Abigail ‘thinks to kill me, then to take my place’. This shows Abigails desire to belong not only to proctor but also within the community, by taking Elizabeth’s position.
Hysteria leads the people of Salem to believe that those who were friends are executing witchery and associating themselves with the devil. The continuous accusations of witchery present the people of Salem with a chance to redeem long-term grudges. The abundant case of Abigail Williams uses the current situation to indict charges on Elizabeth Proctor, having her sent to jail. Not to be entirely blamed, Reverend Parries also pronounces his placement in society by accusing the people who question his authority. Hysteria can prosper from those who feed off of it.
9-11 Racial Profiling The Salem Witch trials are a well known case of persecuting the innocent. With little facts and lots of fear, the town of Salem executed 20 citizens for practicing witchcraft. And this entire story started with a few young girls, whose antics led to the jailing of three innocent women. It is a case of mass hysteria in many cases, but it also compares to current issues such as racial profiling. The initial case sparked many others, and witchcraft was seen everywhere, just as after 9-11, terrorists are seen everywhere.
Jessica Ramirez Mrs. Whalen Honors English III 27 September 2012 The Horror Beneath the Truth “In 1692 nineteen men and women and two dogs were convicted and hanged for witchcraft in a small village in eastern Massachusetts” (Miller, vii). This quote signifies the insanity behind events occurring during the seventeenth century in Salem, openly recognized as The Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is a play written to express and acknowledge what happened during the Salem Witch Trials and the truth behind the citizens convicted of witchcraft. The Crucible was written to compare events of the Salem Witch Trials to the events occurring during the Cold War in which thoughts were summarized into one belief known as McCarthyism. McCarthyism beliefs were established by Senator McCarthy in which he stated that citizens found suspicious of being a communist or having any kind of association with the Communist Party deserved to be punished (Firy).
Analysis During the time of the witch trials if someone did something that was odd or uncommon they would be accused of being a witch. Or if someone didn’t like someone they would accuse the person of being a witch using false or exaggerated proof. Abigail and the other girls would accuse people in Salem simply because they got in the way of what they wanted. Accusations were thrown easily into situations and people became paranoid. Abigail and the other girls and Parris accused Tituba of being a witch.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place during the 17th century, and is about the Salem Witch trials. Many people were wrongly accused, which ended in death because of some claims made by unaccredited teenage girls. Among those accused, there were members of society who had done nothing but good their entire lives for the community. They were hanged because of the hysteria caused by these girls. Throughout the play the idea of what the value humans placed on one’s life came up.