Is The Crucible Still Relevant Essay

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“Great stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay. They say he give them but two words. "More weight," he says. And died.”- Giles Corey (Miller 135) This quote from The Crucible,by Arthur Miller, displays an act of authentic valor by a man accused of witchcraft. While the play is a heart-rending, emotional performance, it’s purpose in the world is greatly controversial. Two articles providing information on this controversy are, “The Crucible” by Brooks Atkinson and, “ The 21st Century Crucible: Why ‘The Crucible’ is Still Relevant” by Emily Rose Lathrop. Although many individuals view the play as a relevant piece of work that, “...reflects society back onto its audience…” (Lathrop 2) there are a handful of others that see it just as entertainment and believe it “lacks …show more content…
The abundance of fear that spread through the village caused neighbors to turn on each other and pass the blame to innocent men and women. Although the Salem witch trials have ended, mass hysteria continues to plague the world today. The fear that The Crucible was built on, is the same dread that carried out the Red Scare in the mid 1900’s. “Historically, the most common scapegoat for this fear is the Other. This fear, has, like in Salem, created critical issues in our society, such as systematic racism, Islamophobia, and transphobia…” (Lathrop 2) Another widely discussed theme in The Crucible is intolerance. In the Salem witch trials, the passing of blame was done because of fear of the unknown. However, intolerance emerged from this fear and soon enough, anyone who wasn’t seen to live in complete religious normalcy was seen as different and as a threat. Intolerance still afflicts society today, especially through social media. Today, “Large-scale events in the digital age, like in Salem, allow for false claims to be given the weight of the truth.” (Lathrop
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