Miles Monge10/28/09Literature Coursework
The Play is set in New England, a melting pot in which peoples characters are put to the ultimate test.
A Crucible is a melting pot in which metals are melted together to form a pure metal. Miller’s characters represent these impure metals from Danforth’s eyes, as he came to determine Abigail’s accusations. Miller allows the reader to see how it was believed that the Bible should be interpreted in one way. This belief made sure that if you interpreted the bible wrongly, you would then have to undergo a thorough investigation. But the investigation Danforth underwent, interpreting if Abigail’s accusations were true or false was not thorough enough as his misinterpretation led to innocent deaths.
In the beginning of the play we can already see that the characters are already being put to the test. Betty, Parris’s daughter, is not waking up, “will you wake, will you open your eyes?” Paris saw the girls dancing naked in the woods. This line is significant as it allows Miller to get into the readers mind and makes them think a million thoughts at once. The reader knows that Paris saw the girls dancing, but now he/she is thinking could the dancing have anything to do with her not waking up, is Paris blaming himself for this because he saw what was going on and didn’t stop it before the spell was cast on Elizabeth, which is not known at this point of the novel. Miller not only creates a scene but he builds tension with each and every single line. In this scene tension builds as more and more characters get to know that Betty is not waking up.
