The Crucible, Nicholas Hytner production of Arthur Miller's screenplay

Question: Explain how the authors of the two texts present similar ideas, although they tell different stories.

When ideas surpass both time and place, it is only logical that different authors presenting the theories in separate texts can maintain synonymous perceptions whilst creating superficially unrelated stories. A most clear example of this fact is witnessed in the comparison of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Nicholas Hytner's film adaptation of Arthur Miller's screenplay, The Crucible. Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest centres around a battle for the minds and souls of a group of mental patients between a dehumanising, conformist bureaucracy known as the "Combine", and naturalist, patriarchal individualism, which are represented by Kesey's characters "the Big Nurse" and "R.P. McMurphy" respectively. Apparently quite separately, The Crucible is based on the tragedy of the Salem witch trials of the nineteenth century, where mass hysteria goes hand in hand with sinister manipulation to take hundreds of innocent lives, revealing with the aid of a number of subplots

One of the most obvious of the authors' shared perceptions can be seen in the flaws that both Kesey and Miller expose in society. Although the authors use different times in American history to express their viewpoint, Miller the nineteenth Century and Kesey the early 1960's era of 'scientific advancement', clearly society is portrayed as a dictatorial monster that wields far too much power, and subsequently holds a noose around the necks of its people, unethically eliminating any individual that dares to oppose its authority. Kesey through his character "Chief Bromden" blatantly labels society as an inhuman, mechanical, power hungry "Combine", a "vast efficient mechanism that would function quite well were" the individual "not thrust upon it". Hytner with Miller's play, on the other hand, employs much more subtle methods to lead one to such a belief. Salem's so called justice system, comprised of three judges, holds the lives of the accused in its hands. Protests made by the characters "John Proctor", the "Reverend John Hale" as to the legitimacy of "Abigail Williams" and the trials in general, fall on deaf ears. When innocence is more than apparent, as in the case of "Mr Jacobs", and "Goody Osborne", one hears that the two harmless characters "will be hanged". Consequently it is clear Miller believes the whims of the powerful dictate who lives and who dies, not the individual's guilt or innocence.

In leading one to despise authority for its abuse of power, both Kesey and Miller are placing the individual above the system. Both texts utilise a strong main character, with whom one sympathises, to represent individuality and non-conformity, specifically The Crucible's "John Proctor", and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's "McMurphy". Although the details of events the characters encounter vary, both face persecution at the hands of society and its ridiculous morality and justice. In essence the texts are battles between right and wrong, with the individual representing common sense ethics and society representing so called educated wisdom and authority. Cleverly, both authors manipulate the sympathies of their audiences towards their "individual" main characters, and in doing so gain support for their beliefs. Consequently, when both of these characters are kille

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Approximate Word count = 1544
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)