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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play set in the 1600s that tackles some very important themes relevant both in the time it was set and the period in which Miller wrote it. The play is about a town called Salem which is driven into hysteria and madness by suspicion and fear. Miller uses this true story of the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for government persecution of suspected communists during the 20th century, while also himself putting the theocratic and reputation-dominant society in which the play is set on trial. In the Crucible, the character John Proctor plays the tragic hero. He is honest, righteous, and sensible. Proctor is a decent man, with only one fatal secret. His longing for Abigail Williams, a younger girl, led to an affair (which occurs before the play begins). This conceives Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, thus setting the entire hysteria in motion.
Towards the opening of the play, John encounters Abigail alone and Abigail begs for him to come back to her, but John resists.
Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of your mind. We never touched,
In this dialogue, we learn of the unlikely affair that occurred between them and that they have very contrasting opinions about it. John admits that he does remember the good times they had together, but knows it was wrong. John has tried to forget about it and seems ashamed of his actions whereas Abigail is desperate for John. This catalyzes the events for the rest of the play as we see how Abigail’s lust for John could soon turn into jealousy and destruction and ultimately ends with john’s demise. Abigail is an orphan with a very low status in society. She is taken advantage of by John Proctor and then abandoned by him and Miller uses the harsh image of John cutting off his hand to show just how insensitive he is towards Abigail and how upsetting it is for her. This leaves her feeling isolated with no one else to turn to, so naturally, she seeks vengeance. Miller uses John Proctor’s carelessly abusing his status and power to show that in this theocratic society, very few people in the society hold all of the power and this ultimately leads to corruption and is hypocritical as the society is not run by God, but by fear of the people who run it.
As the witch hunt in Salem progresses and John’s faithful wife Elizabeth is arrested, John Proctor makes every attempt to stop the trials, without success. He realizes that he must admit to his affair with Abigail to save his wife, but even this is not met with confidence.
I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my name – you will believe me,
The fact that John is willing to soil his entire good reputation to save his wife shows that he is ultimately faithful to his wife despite the affair and in confession he cuts his last ties with Abigail, telling her definitively that it is over between them. Reputation is a key theme in the play and the character John Proctor personifies this theme at many points in the second half of the play. His unwillingness to confess embodies the theme of reputation, as he is willing to stand in the way of justice and allow people to die before he finally gives it up. John sacrificing his reputation is a very bold move and for the court to not believe him even when he claims this shows just how far this hysteria has gone. This is amplified by Miller as he is trying to make a point about McCarthyism in the time in which he wrote it, as he too lived in a society run by reputation, where communists were being prosecuted just because of its bad reputation, even though many of the people prosecuted were good people.
Throughout the crucible, a sense of panic and hysteria is present. However, in the Proctor household, this is not the case, and this provides a stark contrast with the atmosphere in the rest of the village. John proctor represents the face of sanity and reason in the Crucible, as he is constantly resisting the madness which infects the rest of the town.
Later, when Elizabeth is questioned about whether John did indeed have an affair with Abigail Williams, she lies to protect John’s honor, despite being known for never lying. In her husband’s own words, ‘That woman never lies.’ In this way, she showed her commitment and forgiveness to John. Shortly after this, John is accused of being a witch just after confessing his sins and trying to save his wife’s life. This symbolizes that in this theocratic society, it is not a god that is in charge as good people are punished more than those who have sinned. They punish people thinking they speak for God when the people they are condemning are the people in that town closest to God, so should it not be the court and Abigail who is punished?
At the end of the 4th and final act, John falsely confesses to witchcraft, but he stops short of agreeing to let his signed confession be posted in the church for all to see. He justifies this by saying that his name is too precious for him to tarnish.
Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!
John refusing to sign his name is paramount to the theme of reputation in the play. In denying his name, he condemned himself to death showing that he values his reputation above all else. He also inevitably refuses to sign because he feels that to do so would be dishonoring everyone who had died nobly for God in the trials. This contrasts with a regretful and sinful John at the beginning of the play and signifies that he has finally overcome his sin of adultery and become a good man again. In his wife’s final words of the play, He has his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him. Elizabeth honors her husband’s dying wishes to be hung as a good man in order to see him again one day in heaven. Johns death symbolizes the madness killing off all sanity left in the town, much like the atmosphere present at the time, Miller wrote The Crucible.
In conclusion, Miller uses the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for McCarthyism during the time he wrote it and the hysterical hunt for communists. Miller suggests that the Americans prosecuting communists for being different from them makes the Americans the bad people. He also uses this play to highlight the fact that, in life, it is not always the good people who succeed. Just as the saying thieves get rich and saints get shot which is amplified in this play as the most charitable and noble people are hung but the selfish and lying villagers are the ones who survive and sometimes profit from hanging their neighbors. Miller also uses this play to show how dangerous a theocratic society can be as it is the theocracy of Salem which contributes to the suspicions of witchcraft which ultimately leads to the hanging of innocent people. John proctor represents reason and reputation in the crucible. John proctor is both a protagonist and antagonist in this play, embodying Miller’s idea that no one is completely good or bad. His eventual death at the end of the play signifies hysteria abolishing all sense of reason and the fact that the people of Salem valued their reputation so much that they would die for it.
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