Finding Purpose in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"
Finding Purpose in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"
The Crucible is a book that conveys a very ugly part of American history. The author, Arthur Miller, uses a play format to educate his audience about a very confusing event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. In 1692 a tightly wound New England community broke into a rash of scandals and rumors having to do with witchcraft and devil worship. Miller uses actual occurrences, names, and dates in the story, which makes the book a semi- reliable source of information about the event. Miller’s book’s main purpose is to clear up and portray the actual happenings in Salem and show the foolishness that took place.
The story is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The main characters can be split into three main groups: the accusers( a group of people that accused the townspeople of witchcraft) that included Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam, Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams; the accused (people accused of witchcraft) that included Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor; the court (led the trials and convictions) that included Danforth, Reverend John Hale, Hathorne, and Reverend Parris. These characters intertwine to form a very sophisticated plot.
The entire witchcraft craze is sparked when Reverend Parris finds his daughter, Betty, and several other girls dancing around a fire with a slave by the name of Tituba. Eventually Betty, Ruth Putnam, and others begin having demonic fits. The fits include the sudden screaming of demonic phrases, the inability to hear words such as God and Jesus, and coma like states. As their fits escalate the entire town watches. Eventually the girls begin accusing certain townspeople of witchcraft. The accused are forced to take tests to check for witchcraft or die, nearly all tests involved the death of the accused. Lives were destroyed as the accusers took all grudges and hatreds out by accusations of their enemies.
Nearly twenty people died and hundreds were accused. Eventually the Governor stepped in and put an end to the madness.
The author, Arthur Miller, set out to write a novel/play that cleared up a historical event that seems superficially confusing. In my opinion Miller did just that, he actually wrote a book in play format that was easy to read and understand. This book is a good reference to the witch trails, yet does contain some very minor...