American Cultural Puritanism and The Crucible Essay

In Arthur moth millers The Crucible, the dramatist creates a scene based on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, tho the themes that the come across conveys ar still embedded in modern monastic order. hind end Proctor, the protagonist, is condemned for speaking out against the Puritan leaders, indicating a theme of individual versus order. However, the play as a whole depicts a time of political manipulation, when the societys leaders expected all of the towns hoi polloi to follow the legal ages beliefs, condemning those who thought otherwise. These themes trick be applied to both(prenominal) events occurring in modern society and the actions at the time the play was written, 1953. in the lead these themes can be applied, one(a) must(prenominal) understand the general maculation of The Crucible as wellhead as the stylus it is carried out as a drama. The moral struggles of John Proctor argon presented throughout the play, with the biggest one regarding his decision to eithe r speak out against the majority and face the try of being killed, or keep quiet and watch other unprejudiced slew be condemned. Proctor eventually tells the reverend and the judge, among other officials, what he believes the girls, such(prenominal) as Abigail Williams, are doing. He presents them with facts and evidence, explaining a scheme the girls are carrying out against him, yet the leaders do non listen to him. Instead, they designate him to death for rebelling against the society, calling him a witch.While the main theme of Millers play interprets this time of political unrest, several smaller themes are also emphasized. The author implies that society cannot settle for just arresting and hard criminals when they call attention to themselves. Instead, there is an occasional witch hunt where people are sought out and punished when they are, in reality, completely unreserved (Goldstone, Introduction, 19). This becomes evident in The Crucible when one realizes that the o fficials could postulate stopped auditory sense to the girls after they found out the first few names of people who were witches.Nevertheless, the girls were given the authority to give the names of anybody that they wanted, with the judge having no way of telling whether or not they were lying. Another major theme in the playdescribes how people in every society piddle been obligate to compromise their intellect and integrity in order to follow societys popular beliefs. Millers feelings that transparent people could have been saved if more people had the courage to speak out against what was occurring are expressed in this universal account of the inhumane and senseless acts that have occurred throughout history.In the play, the audience has the opportunity to consider the viewpoints of John Proctor, an innocent person, sooner than just the side of the government leaders, making the themes universal in that more members of modern society can relate to them. Miller explains in his essay, Why I Wrote The Crucible, that he intended for the play to depict a common reaction of people in a situation such as the Salem Witch Trials, or the anti-Semitism era somewhat 1952. He says that many people turn their backs on friends, as well as others who have been condemned for some reason, to keep from being seen and then advance identified with them. Much like the plays protagonist, Miller was trepid of being identified as a communist when he wanted to write the play as a social criticism in the 1950s. Therefore, he used the events of the Witch Trials to draw a parallel rather than directly discussing anti-Semitism (2).In this same fashion, parallels can be worn between The Crucible and contemporary society. Many members of society still engagement a moral conflict when protesting the government, mainly because the belief that society must somehow make sense is common. Even though Puritanism and the beliefs associated with it do not effect society in the same way that they did in 1962, similarities can be seen in the lessons that the Salem Witch Trials teach and happenings in the contemporary world. While Miller used the Salem Witch Trials and his play to criticize the government in 1952, events similar to this occur every day in the world and many people can relate The Crucibles themes of contradicting the majority to their modern lives.