What is ironic about the Crucible?

What is ironic about the Crucible?

Another example of irony in The Crucible is that when Mary Warren comes to the court with her employer, John Proctor, to tell the truth—that she and the other girls are not witches, and they have been telling lies when they’ve accused others in the town—she is not believed.

Why is there irony in the crucible?

‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play about the Salem witch trials. Miller uses several types of irony to express the degree of absurdity that is present when people are punished for false allegations due to irrational fears.

Why wrote The Crucible analysis?

Miller uses the name Crucible as a metaphor. Miller was a liberal and was accused of being a communist because of his left wing views. He was furious at this and was reminded of the Salem Witch Trials 1692. He decided to write ‘The Crucible’ to convey the stupidity of the anti-communist hysteria.

What is the main message of the crucible?

One of the main messages of “The Crucible” is that mob mentality in any situation, religious or political, leads to thoughtless (and therefore unethical and illogical) actions. In this play, those actions lead to the persecution of innocent people.

What are 3 themes in the crucible?

The Crucible Themes

• Theme #1. Reputation. Reputation is one of the major themes in the play, The Crucible.
• Theme #2. Hysteria.
• Theme #3. Power and Authority.
• Theme #4. Guilt.
• Theme #5. Portrayal of Women.
• Theme #6. Deception.
• Theme #7. Goodness.
• Theme #8. Judgment.

What is the deeper meaning of the crucible?

The Crucible is an allegory comparing Salem’s Witch Trials to McCarthyism. Miller did this intentionally to show the similarities between the two. During the Red Scare, there was a hunt for communists and spies in the United States.

What is the symbolic meaning of the crucible?

A crucible is a piece of laboratory equipment used to melt metal because it can withstand high temperatures. In this play the crucible symbolizes the heat of hysteria that takes over Salem during the witch trials. Allegorically, the United States also became a crucible for citizens during the Red Scare. …

What is Miller’s purpose in writing The Crucible?

Arthur Miller’s purpose in writing The Crucible was to express his disapproval of what was happening in the US in the 1950s. The play was published in 1953, while the US was in the midst of the “Red Scare,” in which many people, including Miller, were falsely accused of and investigated for having communist ties.

What is the meaning of The Crucible?

1 : a vessel of a very refractory (see refractory entry 1 sense 3) material (such as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat. 2 : a severe test He’s ready to face the crucible of the Olympics.

What is an example of a crucible?

An example of a crucible is a container made of graphite or porcelain that melts only at very high temperatures. A container made of a substance that can resist great heat, for melting, fusing, or calcining ores, metals, etc. The hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace, where the molten metal collects.

Why is the play called Crucible?

The Crucible is a 1950s play about the Salem Witch Trials by Arthur Miller. The events that took place during the time the play was written were very similar to the Salem witch hunts. This is why Miller named the book “The crucible” after the salem trials.

Why is the title the Crucible?

One definition of a crucible is a vessel, often ceramic or porcelain, used for melting down and purifying metal. Clearly, both definitions apply to the title of the play. The Salem witch trials end up being a crucible, that is, a time of great testing and purifying, for the townspeople.

What is the crucible a metaphor for?

The word crucible is used by Arthur Miller in his play as a metaphor. The first definition of the word crucible is: a melting pot especially for metals. In the play this is first acknowledged during the first act, as we gradually piece together the information concerning the girls dancing.

What is the significance and or symbolism of the title of the crucible?

What is the significance of the title in The Crucible? The title of The Crucible effectively helps us to understand the play in a deeper and more thorough way as the definitions of the noun ‘crucible’ reflects the themes of the play such as moral, reputation, courage, righteousness, hysteria and truth.

What is the crucible an allegory of?

A Modern-Day Witch Hunt Accused of communism by a government committee led by Republican Senator Joseph P. McCarthy, playwright Arthur Miller fired back with The Crucible. This play is an allegory, or metaphor, that compares McCarthyism to the Salem witch trials.

Who wrote The Crucible and why?

Arthur Miller

How does McCarthyism relate to the Crucible?

“The Crucible,” a dramatization of the 1692 Salem witch trials, was written as an allegory for the “witch-hunt” atmosphere that pervaded America when Joseph McCarthy, a Republican representative from Wisconsin, led the nation on a search for communists in the American government.

What does HUAC have to do with McCarthyism?

The United States government responded by creating the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which was charged with identifying Communist threats to the United States. Also during this time, Senator Joseph McCarthy began a campaign against alleged communists in the U.S. government and other institutions.

What historical event is the crucible based on?

the Salem Witch trials

What time period is the crucible set in?

Salem witch trials

Why did the Salem witch trials happen?

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials.

Is the crucible accurate?

The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. It is regarded as a central work in the canon of American drama.

How old was the youngest person accused of witchcraft in Salem?

4

Who wrote The Crucible?

How long did the Salem witch trials last?

Salem witch trials, (June 1692–May 1693), in American history, a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted “witches” to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts).

What really happened in the Salem witch trials?

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil’s magic—and 20 were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted.

Who all died in the Salem witch trials?

According to the city, the memorial opened on the 325th anniversary of the first of three mass executions at the site, when five women were killed: Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Wildes.

What evidence was used in the Salem witch trials?

Courts relied on three kinds of evidence: 1) confession, 2) testimony of two eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft, or 3) spectral evidence (when the afflicted girls were having their fits, they would interact with an unseen assailant – the apparition of the witch tormenting them).

How can you spot a witch?

How to spot a witch this Halloween

1. They always wear gloves. A real witch will always be wearing gloves when you meet her because she doesn’t have finger-nails.
2. They’ll be as ‘bald as a boiled egg’ Not a single hair grows on a witch’s head.
3. They’ll have large nose-holes.
4. Their eyes change colour.
5. They have no toes.
6. They have blue spit.

Did ergot cause the Salem witch trials?

In the winter of 1692, the suffering of these girls, diagnosed as “under an Evil Hand,” sparked the outbreak of witchcraft accusations known as the Salem Witch Trials. Her explanation was that the girls suffered from convulsive ergotism, caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, ergot.