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The Crucible Essay



“The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, is a dramatic play about the witch trials that took place in Salem during the late 1600s. Throughout the entire story, Miller expresses a series of human failings that motivates the characters to turn on each other for their own benefit. Some of the main examples being; fear, greed, and jealousy.


Of these three societal problems, fear was what drove the people of Salem to madness during the witch trials. People were so afraid of being the next person to be accused of witchcraft, that many of them lied in order to keep their names “white” in the village, and keep themselves alive, rather than do what was right and tell the truth. For example, Marry Warren said this about Jon Proctor, “Don’t touch me! You’re the Devil’s man! I’ll not hang with you! I love God!” She was so afraid that she would be hung if she told the truth because she thought no one would believe her. So, she resorted to lying about Proctor to the court saying he was really the Devil’s man. Knowing he wasn’t, Marry still sacrificed an innocent man so that she, in turn, could remain alive. This is important because once accused, it shows how people will rely and resort to anything just to save themselves.


Another main idea that Miller tries to highlight throughout the play is greed. People are constantly stabbing each other in the back, in The Crucible, just so they can gain from it and benefit. A great example of this comes from an accusation made by Giles about Putnam. “My proof is there! If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit his land that’s law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!” This shows how Mr.Putnam is greedy and using the mass hysteria of the witch trials to his advantage so he can gain land. Putnam is just one out of a whole town of people who are using this chaotic event to their advantage . This is important because greed is one of the key motivations for accusing people of compacting with the Devil.


Furthermore, Miller also expressed the element of jealousy among the characters in The Crucible. Jealousy triggered another reason for people to accuse others of witchcraft, just so they can get a sense of vengeance watching their foes hang. Abigail was a very popular character when it came to jealousy and getting the ultimate revenge. An example being her jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail loves John Proctor, but she knew she could never have him as long as Elizabeth was around. In the play, Abigail says (with bitter anger), “Oh I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be-” Proctor replies, “You’ll speak nothing of Elizabeth!” Abigail then goes on to say, “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” This shows why Abigail is jealous of Elizabeth. She wants Proctor all to herself. This is important because jealousy is a motive, not only for Abigail, but for most of Salem when it comes to false accusations.


In conclusion, the actions of the people are what ultimately caused the Salem witch trials to occur. This mass hysteria swept chaos throughout the town and caused many innocent people to die. These three human failings were strongly depicted by Arthur Miller throughout the play and were what motivated him to bring awareness of this horrible massacre to society.
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