Conformity in the Crucible, Theme Essay
Conformity, Imbalance of Power, And Social Injustice
A "Great Drama" is a play in which an audience can find personal relevance. It is something which an audience can relate to. A great drama should having meaning to audiences for multiple generations. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" successfully related to its audience and left us with messages that still echo today. The Crucible must be considered to be a great drama because of Miller's skillful play writing which created a script that not only addressed the idea of conformity in American culture, but also illustrated the unreal amount of power that select individuals hold because they define the means by which we all live. These people make decisions on issues like what is considered to be right or wrong. These people have existed as long as history can acknowledge and during the period when The Crucible was first performed in America, this was a very current and delicate issue because of the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee in Hollywood.
Conformity has plagued mankind for ages. It is a strong theme in The Crucible, and Miller's audience can draw parallels to it in their own lives. In The Crucible, the need to conform to the church's views and that of its minister is quite evident. The characters in the play find themselves in a very difficult situation. They must either turn their backs on what they believe in and lie by admitting to having had "relations with the devil", thereby conforming with the church's wishes, or they must follow their individualistic beliefs and refuse to lie. This kind of pressure has been a theme throughout American culture forever. Miller was able to use this theme to make his audience think about where they would draw the line. People understood that these kinds of situations were around them everyday: was it more important to conform to company policy no matter what? Or was it more important to vocalize personal views, and risk getting fired? Was a person necessarily "bad" if they didn't live by the rules of the Church? Or was it alright to have ones own interpretations of those rules. These are just a few of the questions that people may have been asking themselves during the fifties. The Crucible should be considered a great drama just because of it's all encompassing theme of conformity. It is one which everyone will find...