Analysis

"The Crucible"
=Analysis=

-Parallel to the "Red Scare" -The corruption and degradation of government via greed and selfish acts -The value of reputation -Contrast to the Tragic Hero -The theme of Intolerance

One of the most significant parallels the play "The Crucible" follows is to the "Red Scare" in America of Miller's time. He experienced it hands-on as several communists in his industry lost their jobs. Those who were competition and considered a threat were accused of being a communist. This served as the inspiration for the ressurecting of the story of the Salem Witch Trials. It is evident that personal vengeance is being implemented for selfish reasons. The most apparent being the love triangle between Abigail, John Proctor, and Elizabeth. Though not directly stated, it was laregly implied that Abigail proclaimed Elizabeth a witch, which directly served as the cause for her arrest. It was the paranoia and desire for self-protection that led to the confessions of supposedly 100 witches in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller gives background stories for a lot of the male characters and their quarrels with land and power within the town. The Putnams and Parris' are rivals over the position of the ministry and have had quarrels over land ownership. The hysteria of the town and paranoia led to the execution and imprisonment of many innocent lives. The same could be said for the "Red Scare," where all communists had to register, but many would suffer cruelty if they did. This is the main symbolism for the play. Miller even spells this out for us with the analogy of capitalists to communists as witches are to Christians.



Arthur Miller also comments on government and the basics of the democratic government. "Political opposition, thereby, is given an inhumane overlay which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized intercourse. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence. Once such an equation is effectively made, society becomes a congerie of plots and counterplots, and the main role of government changes from that of the arbiter to that of the scourge of God." (32). Miller is saying that when the government feels threatened, a majority of the routine practices of citizens are abandoned. It is only in this case that it is acceptable to be intolerant and therefore unjust. When this happens, it's every man for himself and it doesn't matter who has to take the fall. This is the problem that Miller identifies. It is the greed of the human that causes this to occur as seen by the many accusations made by the members of Salem.

The significance of one's reputation is widely seen in the play. Proctor, for example, spends most of the play hiding the truth about Abigail to protect his name from being exposed as an adulterer. It isn't until the very end of the play where he realizes that in order to protect his honor, he must die for what is right (the fact that he is not a witch). This, however, is only brought about when Proctor sees that none of the other prisoners agree to a confession. This is why Miller does not provide the character to die for a just cause; it was the influence of the other prisoners that caused Proctor to retract his confession. This self-serving attitude is seen throughout the play in the beginnings of the trial and in the judges. Rather than admit to the mistake in the hangings of 12 innocent people and pardon the seven remaining in jail, they try to persuade the remaining ones to confess to spare their lives. Another example of the selfishness that led to the downfall of this theocracy was in the Reverend Parris. He was ashamed of his daughter's acts and became fearful of what the other people in town would think of him. It would be the Reverend's fault if the Devil was able to corrupt so many townspeople. This is most possibly the reason he leaves Salem after the trials and is never heard from again.

Based on the Greek example, Proctor is displayed as a more modern tragic hero. He does diverge, however, in that his purging was death, which wouldn't be so noble in Greek tragedies. Proctor's tragic flaw is his vanity and therefore unwillingness to jeopardize his reputation with what is morally right. In the end he dies, but it is also due to his tragic flaw. Here is where it truly strays away from a tragedy. Proctor only commits himself to death as none of the others in jail agreed to a confession to spare their lives. It was only after he realized that his confession would soil his name (by posting the confession on the door of the church) that he changes his mind. It is the realization that it would be worse to live with the label of being a "witch" and having all the people be aware of his label of a witch that scares him into finding the strength to face death.

One theme that the play touches on is intolerance. In this society, intolerance is the only accepted normality as everyone and all their activites are regulated. For example, it looks bad if one does not attend church every weekend. In this town, it is also unacceptable to have a private life. This would lead one to conclude that there was something to hide. It is the intolerance for the way other people are (for example Martha Corey who was accused of being a witch for her unusual reading habits) that led to the results of the Salem Witch Trials. Perhaps if there hadn't been consequences for dancing in the woods, the girls would not have had to resort to such drastic measures to avoid social punishment.

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