The Crucible 4
In 1962, Massachusetts was plagued by a witchcraft craze that would result in the hanging of at least 20 people and the jailing of at least 150 others. This event is considered one of the most tragic incidents in our American history. The witchcraft hysteria originated in the small village of Salem, where most of the people were poor, uneducated, but more importantly, superstitious. The town was quick to blame witchcraft when several of the girls in the village became indisposed by a bizarre ailment involving lapses and seizures into an unconscious case. These afflicted girls were questioned for some time and submitted the names of the women who were responsible for this awful spell. Eventually, other ailing girls began to give names of those who were presumably persecuting them, leaving dozens of peopled jailed. As soon as this witchcraft hysteria began to get out of hand, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony designated several of the colony's leading citizens to assemble a special court responsible for trying all those suspected of witchcraft. It was at this point that the Salem witch trials began and would later be the plot of a major 19th century play. It was 1953 when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, which
translates to "the test", a play based on the actual events of the witch trials in Salem during 1692. Although Miller's play is a strong story about what took place in Salem Village, it was inspired by Miller's belief that the madness surrounding the witchcraft trials is parallel to the contemporary political climate of McCarthyism. In Arthur Miller's version of the Salem witchcraft trials, he strongly shows the many tests that were laid upon the characters and goes out of his way to sum up the way they were handled. Almost every character in The Crucible was tested such as John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Reverend John Hale. In conclusion, many tests were put upon the people in the Salem witch trials and Arthur Miller represents them with great expertise. It is not fair to say if any of the characters passed the test because they all fought hard for what they believed. John Proctor, supposedly culpable of taking part in witchcraft, is a great example of a character being put to the test. The court held responsible for trying those presumed guilty of witchcraft, made it clear that if the suspected did not confess to their evil actions they would face death. If they did confess, they would live on in shame. This was John Proctor's main problem. He could confess to his sins and live, but his written confession would be posted on the church doors for the entire village to see. John wanted to stay alive but without living in shame for the rest of his life. He had a good reputation in Salem and he wanted to keep it that way. We can understand this view when he cries from is soul at the end of Act four, "Because it is my name! Because I can
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Approximate Word count = 1122
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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