Quarter 2 Essay
Modern Relevance of The Crucible
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a play set in the small Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Salem Witch Trials are brewing and well over a dozen people are randomly accused of and punished for practicing witchcraft. The townspeople of this play who are accused of practicing magic and sorcery simply are immediately found guilty of witchcraft if there is even the slightest suspicion of it, based on how they act or look. The Crucible is not exactly a one hundred percent historically accurate portrayal of the series of horrific events that followed in Massachusetts in 1692, as Arthur Miller was inspired to write this play by the series of events going on in the world during his time period; The Red Scare. The Red Scare was the name given to the time when Americans had increasing fears of immigrants and in that, the possibility that they were communists. The cold war was intensifying during these times which fueled the national fear of the communists of the Soviet Union. Even though considering that in present day the Salem Witch Trials, the Cold War, and the Red Scare are over, many still might agree that the events portrayed in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, are still relevant even in modern society.
One might consider that the society's fear of witches in The Crucible are similar to that of the modern day fear of terrorists. In The Crucible, the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 make many assumptions related to witchcraft based solely on their fear of it. Their heavily Puritan influenced township and government make it easy for them to convince themselves that someone else they know in their village is sinning and must be punished for it. In The Crucible, if someone just so happen to look like, sound like, or act like a witch, or just simply act out of the ordinary, they are immediately accused making pacts with the Devil and automatically thought of as guilty of practicing witchcraft. Reverend Samuel Parris says to Abigail, "my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest"(170.) referring to how he say them dance and chant in the forest, which is beginning to give him suspicions of the girls practicing witchcraft based on something he just saw and heard. Likewise, with the Red Scare, anyone who seemed like they were a communist or immigrant from the Soviet Union were deported to the USSR without a formal trial in the beginning of the Red Scare. The trend in The Crucible proved relevant to the first half of the 20 th century, and, correspondingly, in modern day society, the fear of terrorists is just like the events in Salem and during the Cold War. Today, we judge people based on their race, appearance, their dialect and accent, and the way they act. To some people, if they look or sound like a terrorist, they are a terrorist and more often than not, they are then treated as if they are a terrorist because of the slight suspicions based off of their appearance. This prejudice is just like the prejudging of people in The Crucible, which makes the connection that the play is still relevant in today's society.
However, some may oppose these points and say that The Crucible is not relevant to modern society, taking in consideration that the type of government in The Crucible is different from the present day government. Back in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the type of government is a theocracy, which meant that the government is run by the church, and the priests and God are seen as the supreme civil rulers of society. Those who oppose the relevance of The Crucible in today's world may put their reasoning in that it may be unlikely for events such as mass murder in a theocratic society caused simply by one group's suspicion of another group defying their religious beliefs to occur in modern society because of the fact that Americans now live under a democracy. However, there are other places in the world where there is not a democracy established, and in some parts of the world there are individual tribes that govern themselves however they wish. In such tribes, depending on how they base their morals or their punishment system, events such as the ones that occurred in The Crucible could possibly repeat themselves, thus stressing the importance of The Crucible and that it is relevant in any society in the world today.
Events such as the Salem Witch Trials, The Red Scare, and modern war on terror relay that the events that occurred in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, are still relevant to the modern day world and today's society. Our society is still witnessing hate crimes to this day, and different forms of racism, terror, and hate still arouse issues that reveal everyday how the influential perspective of the events in The Crucible show great relevance and importance in modern society.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a play set in the small Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Salem Witch Trials are brewing and well over a dozen people are randomly accused of and punished for practicing witchcraft. The townspeople of this play who are accused of practicing magic and sorcery simply are immediately found guilty of witchcraft if there is even the slightest suspicion of it, based on how they act or look. The Crucible is not exactly a one hundred percent historically accurate portrayal of the series of horrific events that followed in Massachusetts in 1692, as Arthur Miller was inspired to write this play by the series of events going on in the world during his time period; The Red Scare. The Red Scare was the name given to the time when Americans had increasing fears of immigrants and in that, the possibility that they were communists. The cold war was intensifying during these times which fueled the national fear of the communists of the Soviet Union. Even though considering that in present day the Salem Witch Trials, the Cold War, and the Red Scare are over, many still might agree that the events portrayed in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, are still relevant even in modern society.
One might consider that the society's fear of witches in The Crucible are similar to that of the modern day fear of terrorists. In The Crucible, the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 make many assumptions related to witchcraft based solely on their fear of it. Their heavily Puritan influenced township and government make it easy for them to convince themselves that someone else they know in their village is sinning and must be punished for it. In The Crucible, if someone just so happen to look like, sound like, or act like a witch, or just simply act out of the ordinary, they are immediately accused making pacts with the Devil and automatically thought of as guilty of practicing witchcraft. Reverend Samuel Parris says to Abigail, "my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest"(170.) referring to how he say them dance and chant in the forest, which is beginning to give him suspicions of the girls practicing witchcraft based on something he just saw and heard. Likewise, with the Red Scare, anyone who seemed like they were a communist or immigrant from the Soviet Union were deported to the USSR without a formal trial in the beginning of the Red Scare. The trend in The Crucible proved relevant to the first half of the 20 th century, and, correspondingly, in modern day society, the fear of terrorists is just like the events in Salem and during the Cold War. Today, we judge people based on their race, appearance, their dialect and accent, and the way they act. To some people, if they look or sound like a terrorist, they are a terrorist and more often than not, they are then treated as if they are a terrorist because of the slight suspicions based off of their appearance. This prejudice is just like the prejudging of people in The Crucible, which makes the connection that the play is still relevant in today's society.
However, some may oppose these points and say that The Crucible is not relevant to modern society, taking in consideration that the type of government in The Crucible is different from the present day government. Back in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the type of government is a theocracy, which meant that the government is run by the church, and the priests and God are seen as the supreme civil rulers of society. Those who oppose the relevance of The Crucible in today's world may put their reasoning in that it may be unlikely for events such as mass murder in a theocratic society caused simply by one group's suspicion of another group defying their religious beliefs to occur in modern society because of the fact that Americans now live under a democracy. However, there are other places in the world where there is not a democracy established, and in some parts of the world there are individual tribes that govern themselves however they wish. In such tribes, depending on how they base their morals or their punishment system, events such as the ones that occurred in The Crucible could possibly repeat themselves, thus stressing the importance of The Crucible and that it is relevant in any society in the world today.
Events such as the Salem Witch Trials, The Red Scare, and modern war on terror relay that the events that occurred in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, are still relevant to the modern day world and today's society. Our society is still witnessing hate crimes to this day, and different forms of racism, terror, and hate still arouse issues that reveal everyday how the influential perspective of the events in The Crucible show great relevance and importance in modern society.