Common Module – Practice Essay on “The Crucible”

Resource Description

Practice Essay “The Crucible”

Thesis 

Arthur Miller’s 1952 dramatised tragedy ‘The Crucible’ extensively explores the significance of motivations and behaviours in a society ultimately driven by the search for power and honour, revealing the timeless complexity of the human condition. Based in the 17th century town of Salem, Massachusetts; the allegorical tale displays Miller’s renunciation of 1950s American McCarthyism – the policy of sniffing out communists to condemn them. This is revealed through the religious persecution of suspected witches in the play; ultimately sparked by the mass hysteria of a fearful society. The notions of fulfilling personal desires are illustrated through the absence of characters’ integrity,  the paradoxical deceit and lies saturating the highly religious society and the oddities of extraordinarily moral behaviours of certain characters within the play. Importantly, this engaging American Playwright highlights many ongoing human experiences faced by individuals everyday. 

INCONSISTENCIES Paragraph 

Inconsistencies of the character’s integrity is evident throughout the play, especially when reputation is at risk, displaying the human experience of being motivated by pride. 

– When Reverend Parris hears about the accusations of witchcraft coming about; he tells the girls to “speak nothing of unnatural causes” in fear of being “toppled[d]” by the people. The metaphor of him falling from his place of power as head of the church reinforces the inconsistency of his Christian faith, as his desire for authority is placed above the care for the people of the church. 

– Abigail also displays attributes of fickleness in her pursuit of power. Initially, she declares that she “never sold [herself]! [to the devil]” and is a “good girl!” a “proper girl!” – the repetition of exclamation marks conveying the urgency of her motivation to stay on the good side of authority. Inconsistently, she soon decides to admit that she “danced with the devil”, realising that this will put her in a position to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of “witchcraft”and be with John Proctor. 

– John Proctor; who is “respected… in Salem” is capricious in his “even-tempered” nature when Cheever arrives at his house with “a warrant for [Elizabeth]”, as he soon results in “(ripping the warrant)” in anger, the stage directions symbolising his contempt and anger with the law. This ultimately shows that Proctor is driven by the motivation to keep his wife’s reputation clean, leading to an inconsistency in his level-headed behaviour.