Crucible
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that takes place in the Puritan city of Salem. The Puritan lifestyle was plain and simple. Daily activities consisted of strenuous work in the fields Monday through Saturday, and all day at church on Sunday. The people of Salem were self disciplined due to their religious beliefs. "The people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together." (Act I Introduction: The Crucible) Also, the Puritan church leaders often used scare tactics to keep the citizens in order. In The Crucible, the townspeople of Salem become very superstitious when a group of girls allegedly perform witchcraft and come in contact with the devil in the forest. When John Proctor shows his skepticism towards witchcraft, he is faced with many conflicts. The Crucible has an underlining theme of fear which creates selfishness in John Proctor, the protagonist of the play, which conflicts him with himself and the other citizens of Salem.
John Proctor's personal fear of having his reputation slandered puts him in conflict with himself...