Crucible Essay, Research Paper

In Arthur Miller?s, ?The Crucible,? many themes are expressed throughout

the play. Themes are the undertone of the story. A theme of a book usually sets

the mood and describes what is happening during the time that the story is

written. ?The Crucible? has many themes that show how everything was and how

everyone acted in the year of 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts. Mass hysteria is

the most obvious theme in the story. Mass hysteria is represented everywhere

trouble was. One example is at the end of act one when the girls are screaming,

crying, and starting to accuse people of being with the devil. When this

happens, everyone gets scared and calls the marshal. The marshal begins to

arrest people and brings them to court. The whole reason mass hysteria broke out

is because of Abigail. One vengeful accusation from Abigail to her rival,

Elizabeth Proctor, turns the whole village upside down. This confusion and

madness is one of the main reasons so many lives were taken at the trials. This

becomes a place where reasonable human beings can become released in an

environment that allows little opportunity for relaxing. Another theme during

the play is how much religion ruled these peoples lives. The court was the main

ruling body of justice and was run by the church. The concept of justice in 1692

is shown when Arthur Miller dedicates the entire third act to the courtroom.

Abigail pressures the girls to lie in court in order to accuse everyone that

they didn?t get along with of witchcraft. The separation of church and

government didn?t exist in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. Theocracy meant that

Massachusetts was to be governed by God’s laws. But this mixing up of the laws

of God and the laws of government set up the chaos of the Salem witch trials.

Greed and revenge was another major aspect that was shown in the story. Several

characters find profit in this mass hysteria and try to change some events for

their own needs and well-being. Thomas Putnam gains land by having his daughter

Ruth accuse his neighbors of witchcraft. Also, Abigail gets revenge on the

Proctors when her affair with John has been turned off. Superstition was the

biggest cause of these trials. There were no real witches in Salem. Without the

superstitious belief in witchcraft, this tragedy would have never happened.

Arthur Miller clearly explains the how people react to things they do not

understand. These were examples why The Salem Witch Trials happened. The theme

of the story keeps the plot going. Themes are one of the most important parts in

a play. Arthur Miller gives good examples and explains what it was really like

back in 1692 by showing how people acted. All these different moods and themes

led up to the witch trials. If all these untrusting feelings, superstitions, and

attitudes didn?t exist the trials would have probably never existed.