The Crucible essay

Submitted By clutch_chris
Words: 881
Pages: 4
Open Document
Christopher Torres
Mr. Ortiz
11 English AE, Period 1
14 October 2014
The Fuel to the Fire
It is stated in the Bible that god damns all liars. So in colonial Salem, Massachusetts, he damned the entire town. In the playwright, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, hysteria has swarmed the small, Puritan town of Salem. This hysteria was caused by such a blasphemous rumor of witch trials. Miller portrayed the trials using historical characters to illustrate the tension throughout the town. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, grudges and personal rivalries lay the foundation of the hysteria of witches, which led to the meaningless conflicts that ultimately led to plentiful deaths among the village. Miller used grudges and personal rivalries as the fuel that kept the Salem Witch trials burning. From the beginning, Abigail Williams had an obsession with John Proctor. Her jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, led to the insane idea that Elizabeth was possessed by the devil. By now, John made it clear to Abigail that, “I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again” and emphasized to her that they “never touched” (Miller 1246). However, Elizabeth was still disappointed that John committed adultery against her, but his sincerity grew greater for Elizabeth so she could trust him again. Abigail’s personal rivalry against Elizabeth led to a meaningless conflict between the two as well as a sense of infidelity between Proctor and Elizabeth. John Proctor was eventually accused of being a witch instead of Elizabeth when he screams, “I say-I say God is dead!”(Miller 1315). Through all the trouble of trying to send Elizabeth to hang, Abigail’s plan utterly failed and backfired upon her. This unintelligible conflict between Abigail and Elizabeth led to the death of their lover, John Proctor. By the conclusion, their conviction for each other was unpredictable. This gave a tragic, yet astounding emphasis on John Proctor’s futile death.
John Proctor has a rivalry with Reverend Parris through the church preaching’s by Parris. Proctor does not believe that Parris should be a man of authority in the church. Parris then states that Proctor did not attend the church on Sabbath, so Proctor responded with a crafty response saying, “I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hell fire and bloody damnation.” He also exclaims that “There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore” (Miller 1284). Proctor goes on about how Parris is not a holy man and how he only thinks about his reputation. This grudge between them went absolutely no where because John Proctor was accused of witchcraft now. This proves the point that grudges will lead to nothing but meaningless consequences. Proctor also criticized Parris exclaiming, “…the last meeting I were at, you spoke so long on deeds and mortgages, I thought it was an auction” (Miller 1284). Proctor believes that Parris can care less about God and more about how much money he makes and what is needed for him. Later, these minor conflicts led to major punishment with Proctor being hung because of being falsely accused.
Throughout the play it is apparent that Reverend Parris believes the town of Salem is against him. Parris found a knife thrust into his front door in the middle of the night, which
Show More

Related Documents: The Crucible essay

The Crucible Essay

The Crucible Essay The word "crucible" is defined as a difficult test or challenge; a place or situation that forces people to change or make difficult decisions. Throughout the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller (intro element), characters emphasize that the novel title, in fact (interruptor), the title does fit very well, in particular the character of John Proctor. By changing himself according to what is happening to him in the novel, John Proctor clearly suggests that The Crucible is an…

Words 347 - Pages 2

Crucible Essay

The Crucible Essay The Crucible was a very emotional book in terms of plot. The plot was about a girl named Abigail who accuses many people of witchcraft. She also accuses Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor. Abigail uses her power of the court to get to her obsession, John Proctor, by trying to eliminate Elizabeth. She is unsuccessful in getting this done and ends up executing over twelve people including John Proctor. It is great to see all the different kinds of characterization and…

Words 930 - Pages 4

Essay on The Crucible

Long Essay - The Crucible q How is language used in The Crucible to express the emotional intensity if characters in conflict with each other and/or society and to convey the abstract ideas that emerge through that conflict? The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is a prime example of dramatic theatre using powerful language to express emotional intensity of the characters in conflict with each other and their society. The language used also helps to convey the abstract…

Words 1284 - Pages 6

Crucible Essay

Olson 1 Phil Olson Mr. Weinstock American Lit. February 9, 2015 Crucible Essay The Crucible is a 1953 play written by Arthur Miller, that showcases the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts in 1692. The play was made into a 1996 film directed by Nicholas Hynter. In the movie, several teenage girls sneak out of their houses around dawn one morning. They meet in the forest and dance, which is forbidden in the town. While dancing a woman named abigail sheds her clothes and proceeds to drink an animal’s…

Words 939 - Pages 4

the crucible Essay

The Crucible Essay In the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller; Reverend Hale and Abigail Williams are characters who change throughout the play. Reverend Hale goes through personal changes during the witchcraft trails in Salem. Arthur Miller writes that Reverend John Hale is a trained witch-hunter and he will fight the Devil. Reverend Hale comes to Salem to help out Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty, who is supposedly possessed by the Devil. In Act One, Hale states, “What victory…

Words 441 - Pages 2

Crucible Essay

Marcus Smith English III 2nd Ms. Anderson 27 October 2014 The Crucible Character Analysis Essay Reverend Hale in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible like most all of men of learning, spends a good amount of time pondering the invisible world. His job in the play is to diagnose witchcraft if presented and provide a cure if necessary through conversation or removing the infected inhabitants from Salem. Reverend Hale devours majority of his time to his faith and work. Throughout the play, Reverend Hale…

Words 441 - Pages 2

the crucible Essay

The Crucible Essay In Arthur Miller’s 1952 play The Crucible, Hale appears in Act 1 as a response to Reverend Parris’ request to examine his daughter Betty Parris. Hale devoted most of his life to the study of witchcraft and other demonic practices in the hopes of being able to destroy them in the name of God. As a devout Christian, Hale sees it has his duty to seek out the witches of the Salem village and “save their souls”. A few of Reverend Hale’s actions show the changes he undergoes in…

Words 805 - Pages 4

Crucible Essay

Jonathan Walton Block 2 November 4, 2014 Crucible Essay In literature, there are two types of characters, static characters and dynamic characters. Static characters do not change throughout the duration of the story, but dynamic characters do change throughout the story. A dynamic character can be described by their actions, beliefs, and their relationships with others. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor can be described as a dynamic character. One way John Proctor…

Words 2364 - Pages 10

Crucible: The Crucible and Proctor Essay

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a classical tragedy, with John Proctor as the play’s protagonist. Honest, upright, and blunt-spoken, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair. This created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch frenzy in motion. Once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery. Such an admission would ruin…

Words 787 - Pages 4

The Crucible Claim Essay

Claim Essay When reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main character John proctor is being accused of witchcraft by the court while John Hale trying to explain says, “‘Proctor, the court is just’”, but then he is cut off. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a metaphor to the Mccarthy Trials in the 1950’s because he believed the Salem Witch trials shared a connection to the trials.. Practices of the Salem Witch trials were almost the same to those employed by the congressional committees where…

Words 638 - Pages 3