The Crucible by Arthur Miller

I don’t remember if I read the Crucible in high school or college, but I do remember how angry I was. The story made me very angry because I was young and impressionable at that time. I believed in justice and the truth will always prevail and we are sensible logical creatures. Well any way here we are today…

The thing I find interesting is that no one was there but the 6 girls, but somehow with no evidence at all (ok well maybe a few theatrics) the other characters are able to make many accusations that became hard facts or evidence enough to condemn a man to death.

In 1957 Arthur Miller was convicted of contempt of Congress because he refused to give the names of the people at a meeting he attended. The House Un-American Activities Committee thought he was a member of the Communist Party. In “The Crucible” Miller wanted to send the message that people must be careful about how they react to situations.

The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Reverend Parris caught his daughter in the woods, with Abigail, Mary Warren, Ruth Putnam, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba, his slave, dancing and chanting. Betty fainted once she saw her father, and still lies in bed the next day. Other members of the town (including the Putnams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale) arrive at their home and want to know more. The rumors begin that the girls were participating in witchcraft. Now, they think that the Devil is hanging around the town of Salem. The girls must admit and repent of their sins. The people of the town are now terrified that the Devil is among them and their good Christian ways will be compromised.