The Crucible is a well known allegory that is a story conveying another meaning. Miller wrote it to symbolize the events taking place in the USA during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is also a drama showing the injustice during the 17th Century in Salem, Massachusetts. In the USA, particularly April to December 1950, McCarthyism was taking over. There was one main leader called Senator Joseph McCarthy who disliked communists and would imprison anyone who was believed to be a communist sympathizer. This is similar to the witch hunts in The Crucible. Abigail Williams was the main leader and had the power to convict anyone she believed worked with the devil or anyone who was linked to witchcraft; this could have led to imprisonment or hanging. Both cases show a fear of the unknown and distrusted that is witchcraft and communism. The only difference between the two is that a modern day person knows that witchcraft is a myth and communism is a recognized political ideology.
The people in The Crucible had been living in Massachusetts for only fifty years so they were still a relatively unsettled community. The court had created strict laws that the people had to follow in order to survive. Some of the laws were not that important, such as going to church every Sunday, not being allowed to work on Sundays and not being allowed to dance. Such trivial laws were used to condemn people suspected of witchcraft by not being religious. “He plough on Sunday, sir” Cheever said about Proctor, “We did dance…I’ll be whipped if I must!” shouted Abigail. The characters live in the fear of the unknown; they are taught to fear the Indians who live in the woods surrounding the village of Salem. “I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads” Abigail mentions in a threat to the girls. This shows that they are afraid of the outside and stay in their community for as much of the time as they can.
When the play starts Miller used an example of a dramatic devise that is a subtlety used to portray a profound setting. Parris is in a “small upper bedroom” which is claustrophobic especially when many people are present. The room has just one “narrow window” regulating the amount of light that can enter; this shows a form of control. When the play begins Parris is kneeling down praying, the characters assume he is asking God for the good health of his daughter but in fact he is putting on an act. The only thing Parris is truly concerned about is his reputation as a Reverend, and whether his household is the centre of “some obscene practice”, witchcraft. Throughout act one we see people coming into this miniature room and leaving it, this creates a stronger feeling of claustrophobia. Later on in the play, John Proctor arrives home from work and tastes his wife’s soup and seasons it to his liking without her noticing, he then comments “It’s well seasoned”. This also shows dramatic irony as the audience or reader knows more than the characters. Each of the scenes is set somewhere different, but each setting is inside. Act one is set in Parris’ House, act two is set in Proctors House, act three is set in the Court and act four is set the prison cell. In The Crucible we only ever hear of the outside, which exaggerates the fear of the unknown, being the outdoors.
In The Crucible justice is distorted by people’s personalities. Thomas Putnam is very greedy and he wants to own more land and earn more money even though he is the wealthiest man in Salem. Putnam realizes that he can buy more land by accusing his friends of witchcraft; a person found guilty must forsake his/her land to the church. Putnam is the only man that can afford to buy their land. “This man is killing his neighbours for land” Giles said to Judge Danforth about Thomas Putnam. The injustice here is immense. To be able to convict people, your friends, for your own greedy needs is very unfair and it shows the lack of justice in the court.
Goody Putnam, Thomas’ wife, had given birth to six babies, who had died in infancy. Her bitterness and unhappiness over the death of her babies left her twisted. She accused Rebecca Nurse and the other midwifes of witchcraft and killing her babies. “I knew it! Goody Osburn was midwife to me three times!”
Abigail was romantically attracted to John Proctor who was married to Goody Proctor. Abigail sought vengeance on Goody Proctor and accused her of witchcraft. Even Elizabeth could tell that the witch hunts had all started because of Abigail’s lust towards John, “She wants me dead…she thinks to take my place”.
There is a lot of unfairness from court as its laws are very strict. As well as that, the Judges do not listen and when they do, they accuse anyone who disagrees with court. An example of this is when Giles confronts Judge Danforth with a list of names of people in the village who thought the witch trials were based on lies. Danforth took the list and questioned all the people who had signed it.
John Proctor is sometimes described as a Tragic Hero; a character who has a personality trait that is flawed. An example of a Tragic Hero is King Lear, who is the main character in the Shakespeare Play King Lear; his flawed personality trait is to be proud. As our tragic hero, John Proctor has very strong and respected personality traits. He is a decent man who is forthright and courageous; all traits that would be admired. However, in his affair with Abigail Williams, Proctor shows a weakness in character and allows his feelings of lust to override his otherwise honourable personality; this is an example of his flawed personality. When Elizabeth discovers the affair, John is forced to confront the error of his ways and attempts to amend this flaw of character. The situation remains tragic because his dear wife Elizabeth has been devastated and hurt by his actions and John Proctor is no longer trusted. John was the character who learnt the most about himself in the play. In closing act, he was the character that could recognize all the lies and injustice throughout the play.
Miller uses the omniscient narrator to introduce each main character by giving a brief history of their life, “Proctor was a farmer” and “Mr Hale is nearing forty”. He also uses it to describe the scenery and stage settings. This doesn’t make a big impact on the reader as it isn’t essential and it is not used in the play as it would lose the dynamics of the drama each time it is read. In many of the productions of The Crucible it is forgotten and not even put in the program. However it is useful in the book for serious readers because it portrays a greater vision of the setting.
In conclusion, I believe that The Crucible is a play that shows injustice and unfairness clearly from which everyone can see and learn. Even if you don’t know anything about McCarthyism you can still watch the play or read it and get something out of it, as you can learn how people act in different circumstances. You could possibly relate it to the events taking place in the United Kingdom in the late 20th Century and early 21st Century with the Muslims. Many Christians are afraid of Muslims because of the suicide bombers, and the mindset and belief of the suicide bombers are unknown to us, like witchcraft was unknown to the people of Salem.
