Soon enough, the whole village believed the devil exists and lives within the fear of each person. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores through the individuals vengeance, reputation, fear, and seeking for power with the drama of suspense and impact. The main theme of The Crucible is vengeance. The people of the town of Salem weren’t united. They were distrusted towards The Crucible Themes essays In the play, The Crucible, the playwright Arthur Miller portrayed many different themes. He uses real life events from the Salem Witch Trials in to show that fear and suspicion are infectious and can produce a This essay will detail how the characters and events interpreted the main themes and historical context. There were three main themes presented in The Crucible: Puritanism, reputation, and hysteria. Of these three, hysteria would be considered the main theme throughout the play and is still present today
The Crucible Essay Theme: Proctor’s Choice, Essay Example
Book Guides. The Crucible remains a staple of high school English because it is rich in themes that are consistently relevant to human beings regardless of time period. But these themes aren't always easy to explain or dissect in the context of the play, and they can be even harder to develop into essays, the crucible theme essay. Read on for an overview of what a theme is, a list of important themes in The Crucible with specific act-by-act details, and a summary of how to use this information in your essays and other assignments. Before I get into the nitty-gritty of how The Crucible themes are expressed, let's do a quick overview of what themes are and why they matter.
A theme is a central topic that is addressed by a work of literature. Themes can be expressed in many different ways. In the case of a play like The Cruciblethemes are revealed mainly through the dialogue of the characters. They're also revealed though events in the plot. Themes tell us what the purpose of the work is. What is the writer attempting to convey to the viewer? The Crucible 's themes have lent the play artistic longevity because they're more or less universal to the human experience across time. If you hope to write an awesome essay on The Cruciblethe crucible theme essay, you should have extensive knowledge of its themes.
If you can show that you understand the themes of a work of literature, you've clearly mastered the material on a deeper level. In the next few sections, I'll take a look at a group of broad themes in The Crucibleincluding irony, hysteria, reputation, and power. First off, what is irony? Many people are under the impression that irony is just when something happens that you don't expect or that you really hoped wouldn't happen. In reality, true irony only happens when a situation is the exact opposite of what you would expect, the crucible theme essay. The classic example of an incorrect use of irony is in Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic" when she says that "rain on your wedding day" is an example of irony.
Well, it's not. Sure, you don't expect or want rain, but it's not the polar opposite of getting married. A real example of irony would be if two married guests got into the crucible theme essay fight about going to your wedding that ended in their divorce. The ruthlessness with which the suspected witches are treated is aimed at purifying Salem, but it achieves the opposite outcome. The town slips further and further into chaos and paranoia until it reaches a point of total devastation. The court's attempts to preserve Puritan morality by arresting and executing accused witches ironically lead to the removal of the most virtuous people from society. These people are the only ones who refuse to throw out false accusations or lie about involvement in witchcraft, so they find themselves condemned this is the fate of Rebecca Nurse.
This means that much of the population that remains is comprised of the power-hungry, the selfish, and the cowardly. There are several ironies in Act 1 that center around Abigail Williams. In her conversation with John, Abigail claims that he helped her realize all the lies she was told by two-faced people in Salem who only publicly adhere to the conventions of respectable society pg. Hale also makes some unintentionally ironic statements in The crucible theme essay 1 when he begins his investigation, the crucible theme essay. Hale is convinced that a scientific inquiry based only on facts and reality can be conducted to detect a supernatural presence.
This is ironic because searching for "the Devil's marks" as the potential cause of an ailment is inherently superstitious. The whole purpose of a trial is to hear both sides of the story before a verdict is reached, the crucible theme essay. In telling people they must confess to their crimes or be hanged, the officials show that they have already decided the person is guilty no matter what evidence is provided in their defense. When Hale asks him to recite his commandments, the only one he forgets is adultery. The fact that he forgets only this commandment shows that he is trying extremely hard to repress his guilt. This is irony of the same type that I discussed in the overview of this theme.
Salem is under attack from the hysteria that is encouraged by the same people who seek to keep imaginary supernatural demons at bay. In Act 3, Hale continues to make ironic statements about the existence of concrete proof for the accusations of witchcraft. Elizabeth the crucible theme essay a victim of cruel irony in this Act when she is summoned to testify on the reasons why she dismissed Abigail from her household. John tells the judge to summon Elizabeth to back him up because he knows she always tells the truth. This well-intentioned mistake seals both of their fates. This attitude comes from a man who has shown no remorse for condemning people to death throughout the play. He has sentenced people to death based on lies about their dealings in black magic, and he has accepted other false the crucible theme essay from those who would rather lie than be executed.
Here are a few questions related to this theme that you can use to test your grasp of irony and its significance as a theme in The Crucible :. Hale wrongly assumes that his academic mindset will save him from jumping to the wrong conclusions in the witchcraft investigation. Ironically, he is the first to demand a confession from Tituba based on Abigail's dramatic but false testimony. The the crucible theme essay significance of hysteria builds quickly as accusations of witchcraft proliferate throughout Salem. The power of collective hysteria ultimately becomes insurmountable because it grows larger than the influence of the crucible theme essay few rational voices in the community.
The seeds are planted in Act 1, when Abigail is questioned about her activities in the woods and ends up accusing Tituba of witchcraft to avoid punishment. Armed with the false proof of these coerced confessions, the court officials aggressively persecute anyone who is accused. Hysteria blinds the people of Salem to reason as they become convinced that there is a grand Satanic plot brewing in town, and they must not hesitate to condemn anyone who could be involved. This is a lesson in how fear can twist perceptions of reality even for those who consider themselves reasonable under normal circumstances. Even before Abigail makes accusations, rumors of witchcraft have morphed into accepted truths in the minds of the more superstitious members of the community.
Ann Putnam jumps at any opportunity to blame supernatural forces for the deaths of her children. Rational explanations are ground up by the drama of the rumor mill, and people see only what they want to see whatever keeps them in the good graces of society and makes them feel the best about themselves in situations that don't appear to have easy explanations. Parris is extremely dismayed by this revelation because of the damage it will do to his reputation. This vicious cycle continues to claim the lives of more and more people as the play progresses. By Act 2, the crucible theme essay, there are nearly 40 people in jail accused of witchcraft.
Many people confess when threatened with execution, and this only heightens the paranoid atmosphere. The authorities ignore any inconvenient logical objections to the crucible theme essay proceedings because they, too, are swept up in the madness. The hysterical atmosphere and the dramatic performances of some of the accusers cause people to believe they have seen genuine proof of witchcraft. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, the crucible theme essay, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. The idea that a witch's familiar spirit is capable of stabbing people is too scary for the superstitious and now hysterical people of Salem to give Elizabeth the benefit of the doubt.
No one even the crucible theme essay Mary's the crucible theme essay about sticking the needle in herself. In this environment, whoever yells the loudest seems to get the crucible theme essay most credibility. The depths of the hysteria that has gripped Salem are revealed in Act 3 when John finally confronts the court. The court refuses to challenge anyone who claims to have been afflicted. When the petition testifying to the good character of the accused women is presented, the reaction from Danforth, Hathorne, and Parris is to arrest the people who signed it rather than considering that this might indicate that the women are innocent.
Nowhere is there any consideration of ulterior motives. The power the crucible theme essay mass hysteria is further revealed when Mary is unable to faint outside of a charged courtroom environment. She believed she had seen spirits earlier because she was caught up in the delusions of those around her, the crucible theme essay. Abigail distracts the judges from any rational investigation in this act by playing into this hysteria. Will you confess yourself with him? Danforth insists that John must know more about the Devil's dealings than he has revealed.
Though Rebecca Nurse's involvement has already been corroborated by other confessors, Danforth demands to hear it from John to confirm that John is fully committed to renouncing his supposed ties to Satan. Here are a few questions about hysteria to consider now that you've read a summary of how this theme was expressed throughout the plot of the play:. Even though there is significant reason to believe Abigail is lying about Elizabeth's familiar spirit stabbing her, the frenzied investigators ignore testimony that challenges their chosen witchy narrative, the crucible theme essay. Concern for reputation is a theme that looms large over most of the events in The Crucible.
Though actions are often motivated by fear and desires for power and revenge, they are also propped up by underlying worries about how a loss of reputation will negatively affect characters' lives. Once there have been enough convictions, the reputations of the judges also become factors. They are extremely biased towards believing they have made the correct sentencing decisions in court thus far, so they are reluctant to accept new evidence that may prove them wrong. The importance placed on reputation helps perpetuate hysteria because it leads to inaction, inflexibility, and, the crucible theme essay, in many cases, active sabotage of the reputations of others for selfish purposes.
The overall message is that when a person's actions are driven by the crucible theme essay to preserve favorable public opinion rather than do the morally right thing, there can be extremely dire consequences. Reverend Parris' concerns about his reputation are immediately evident in Act 1. Parris is very quick to position himself on the side of the accusers as soon as Abigail throws the first punch, and he immediately threatens violence on Tituba if she doesn't confess pg. He appears to have no governing system of morality.
His only goal is to get on the good side of the community as a whole, even in the midst of this bout of collective hysteria. Abigail also shows concern for her reputation. She is enraged when Parris questions her suspicious dismissal from the Proctor household. Abigail insists that she did nothing to deserve it and tries to put all the blame on Elizabeth Proctor. She says, "My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! In this act, we learn more details about the accused that paint a clearer picture of the influence of reputation and social standing on the patterns of accusations. Goody Good, the crucible theme essay, an old beggar woman, the crucible theme essay, is one of the first to be named a witch.
Rebecca Nurse, a woman whose character was previously thought to be unimpeachable, is accused and arrested. This is taken as evidence that things are really getting out of control "if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning.
The Crucible - Characters, Themes, \u0026 Analysis
, time: 8:05Most Important Themes in The Crucible, Analyzed
Themes in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay. Words4 Pages. In every literary work, there are themes. A theme is a broad idea, moral or message of a book or story. One individual may construe the themes of a book or story differently than another, but that is the pure beauty of themes. One great literary work is The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller Essay About The Crucible. How would you feel to be accused or to have people start rumors behind your back? Arthur Miller uses the theme twisting of the truth and justice to teach his audience that people blame others and become innocent. During the Salem Witch Trials and in the book which is based off of The Crucible by Arthur Miller Jun 11, · The Crucible Theme Essay Arthur Millers play, The Crucible is a story of the with hunt in Salem Ma. The town breaks out in hysteria because a group of young girls spread a lie to get out of trouble. Some of the characters must battle there own desires and morals to stay alive or to do what's right
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