The Crucible

Edward Albee's "The Goat" or Who Is Sylvia is, to the issue of Gay Marriage, what Arthur Miller's The Crucible was to McCarthyism. Albee manages to show an audience exactly what true love is and he uses a middle class WASP family with a homosexual son and a goat to do it. The end of the play has a hurt and confused wife holding forth a dripping burlap sack full of hacked up pieces of a dead goat as her husband weeps into his hands. Not only does it address the issue of how dare we define love, but Albee even is brazen enough to use a goat, which of course was the homophobic reaction to the issue of gay marriage in the first place: "If we allow this what is next? Do we allow a person to marry a goat?"

This is ludicrous and anyone with a little common sense should see that to jump from same sex to bestiality is both crazy and propaganda. But let's play with this bit of stupidity for a moment: Imagine a young woman taking her goat home to meet the folks for the first time. "Mom. Dad" she says timidly, "This is Billy."

In 1955 there were actually Senate Congressional hearings where individuals were seriously asked about their connections with the Communist Party and asked to give names of those with whom they worked who might just be "red" as well. Lucille Ball, married to a Cuban, managed to escape ruin because Ball and Arnaz ran one of the most powerful studios in Hollywood. No one was hiring Lucy; she did the hiring. And no Senator was going to tell Americans not to watch the beloved Lucille Ball. Others were not so lucky and were blacklisted, never to work again. Some managed to escape. Shirley Jackson and Stanley Edgar Hyman were members of the Communist party as students at Syracuse university in the 1930'[s/. they escaped persecution but one of their very talented writer friends wasn't published until the early 70's when Woody Allen hired him as a screen writer. Ralph Ellison was published first. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible- tightly researched and accurate (ironically, Shirley Jackson wrote a book called The Witchcraft of Salem Village but for different reasons) and America saw how the Red Scare was a witch hunt- smart America anyway.

Sadly, The Crucible remains relevant as it could now go on a double bill with Albee's The Goat. One, defining the purity of love using our homophobic culture's bad taste as a well produced metaphor and the other, Miller's Witch hunt that could easily occur with anyone from the Jews in Europe to the Gays in America.To those who didn;t live in the middle of the cold war, either as the first group, who were cojlficted about siding with Germany to protect from The Communists, to the last generation who simply lkived with the fear that a series of buttons would be pushed and the world would end.

"What would you do if they droipped the bomb?" a seven year old boy asked her grandfather who was a nuclear physcisit. He thought about bomb shelters, canned food, bottled war. His grandfather's answer scared him more than anything in his loife.

"I'd go outside and watch."

But Miller was talking about the witch hunt of paranoia that filled the fabulous 50's. In the same time we were doing Nuclear Testing in northering Nevada and Utah while more and more countries continued to do the same and the Communist was seen as so dangerous to the fabric of life- not just American life. Arthuur Miller's point seems to have been that in retrospet the whole thing would be seen with the same foollishness as the Trials of Salem Village. It's true now, but sadly, Communists have been replaced by others of whom we are afriad: Enter Edward Albee.

The other thing these plays have in common is that they both won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; the authors collected multiple Pulitzers, a plethora of Tony Awards and a production life that will go on in Regional Theatres, community theatres, colleges and High Schools for hundreds of years.
And sadly, they will likely both remain relevant. Because if a German is not allowed to marry a Jew and is shot for having a relationship with one, then why can't a man be shot for having a relationship with another man? Genocide still goes on, as Paul Simon wrote in "Old" and Al Gore pointed out to the UN (One can use Google Earth and look down upon the vast concentration camp at Darfur Sudan) as we all stand in line at Wal-Mart on Black Friday 2012, where, according to the news, there were only three Wal-Mart handgun incidents. It takes very little and a Holocaust sneaks up on us while we're worrying about our gas bill and snow tires.

My Country `tis of thee. To think about ourselves and ignore if we are free.

The Crucible is an important piece of modern American literature. It is not just an indictment of the McCarthy era as many describe it, although those allusions and allegory are present. I see this play as the story of how awful one can become to one's own neighbors, if one's end goal is that neighbor's property. We still see episodes like this in modern life.

I think this play gives pause to the idea of religion as the basis for education in our country. Given that one can target a person who does not believe for destruction, and in a fervent religious community even the facts have no bearing. Truth is the highest commodity of all. And John Proctor is the only character in the play to see through the mendacity from the beginning.

This is also a cautionary tale on the power of government. When our leaders show up wanting to pacify a mob, instead of standing for the truth, everyone is in trouble. In this play, the deputy governor wants to find a witch, so he finds a witch, regardless of the utter stupidity of the charges and the facts. A government with the power to eviscerate its enemies in such a way needs to be brought to heel, and as we read in the epilogue to the story, the people of Massachusetts do just that.

I highly recommend this play for High School kids. They need to understand that power and truth are not always aligned.

"The Crucible" is many things. A piece of great American theatre, a gift to actors, and a wonderful read! One thing it is not is a piece of history, so be warned. Too many people read this as a historical text, despite Arthur Miller's explicit instructions in the play's notes to not do so, and thus they miss the forest for the trees. This is not an examination of the Salem Witch Trials, but rather a fictional rendering of a historical event, in order for the modern reader or viewer to examine their own bias, prejudices, hypocrisy, or concepts of honor.
To me, this play is about one's man's personal redemption. The protagonist of the play, John Proctor, is a fallen man for many reasons, and the play really traces his moral progression to final absolution through honor, truth, and dignity. The events of Salem in 1692 are used for dramatic purposes to tell this story. And what a story it is.
Every time I read this play I feel intense hatred for theocracy and dogmatic religion wherever it may be found, and I also find myself examining my own personal code of ethics and seeing how I stand in the world of moral affairs. "The Crucible" is wonderfully structured in four acts, each one better than the one that preceded it, and it builds to a crescendo and a very abrupt ending that leaves the reader with a pounding heart, an angry mind, and a moral quandary. No small feat!
The text has a very large cast of characters, but in this edition all of Miller's notes are included, and so it reads like a novel, and is a very enjoyable experience, even if one never actually sees it in performance. In the hands of a bad acting company it would be deadly dull, but done well it is exciting. The film version, for which Arthur Miller also wrote the screenplay, is not bad either. Daniel Day Lewis is an excellent John Proctor, and it captures the spirit of the text very well.
If you don't know this seminal American work, you should. Read it, let it take you on a very emotional journey, and then self reflect. The greatest literature makes us do just that.

Arthur Miller's masterful play explores the consequences of greed, envy, vengeance, extremism, and hypocrisy run amok. It is set in Salem during the infamous witch trials, but could easily translate to other times in history (Robespierre's reign of terror during the French revolution, McCarthy's Communist hearings, etc.). Miller shows how the witch trials took flight and gathered speed and power until they nearly consumed the whole of Salem. He also shows how the officials in charge refused to hear evidence contrary to their purpose so as not to lose face publicly by standing down. Through the story of John and Elizabeth Proctor, a couple caught in the center of the firestorm, the tragedy of the trials is made abundantly clear. In a futile attempt to save his wife from the machinations of Abigail Williams (the young girl Proctor had had an affair with, and who kicks off the accusations with her friends to get Elizabeth Proctor out of the way so that she can be with John), Proctor fights the system by challenging the court to see the motives behind the accusations. His attempts to bring reason into madness are met with the insistence that if he is not with them, he is against them (which should sound eerily familiar to anyone with a television set). After Proctor himself has been accused of colluding with the Devil and sentenced to death the officials in charge become determined to use him to validate their holy terror. If Proctor, a popular and well-liked man in town, were to lie and give them a confession that he had conspired with Satan it would legitimize all of the hangings that went on in the public eye. Giving a false confession would save Proctor from hanging and allow him to live to see the birth of the child Elizabeth is carrying -- but can he go through with it? Miller's multilayered play is a classic for the ages -- a truly timeless work of drama that is every bit as relevant today as it was when it was first produced in 1953 (at the height of the McCarthy hearings), and which will most likely prove relevant in another fifty years as well. That is a sad statement for humanity, but a credit to Miller for his perceptive eye and his courage to capture it so eloquently. Perhaps with the example set forth in "The Crucible" we can learn from the past, and not be doomed to repeat it.

When John Proctor says these words to his wife Elizabeth at the conclusion of this play, he has faced accusations of being in league with the Devil and is ready to face consequences meted out by the religious tribunal he has faced. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which have ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

When John Proctor says these words at the beginning of this play, he has no idea that he himself will face accusations of being in league with the Devil. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which will ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

My wife and I first read this play about 35 years ago and we saw it performed (separately)in lackluster productions.

In May, 2006 we saw in London "The Crucible" as performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It lived up to exceptional reviews, including the first ever six star maximum awarded by TimeOut's theater section.

Some plays read better than they ever perform. Others perform better than they read. Others are equal. This is a play that reads and performs well, but a theater production is extremely demanding, if for other reason the number of actors required. The RSC had the requisite numbers and quality.

Miller was quite open about the play's symbolizing of the McCarthy era of smears, innuendos and attacks that ruined the lives of many innocent people. Miller made it clear that his play was fiction that was loosely based on the Salem witch trials.

The play is also about human character -- how revenge, jealousy and other motivations sometimes bring out the worst. In the 50s, few played much attention to the allusions to the Puritans, who had no tolerance for other Christians, much less other faiths. For them, as the play says, you are either with us or you are against us. A familiar refrain. Well performed or well read, the play is thought provoking. But your mind must be open to at least consider putting yourself honestly into Miller's shoes and his era.

There is a reviewer who condemns this play even while admitting he has never read it or seen it performed. He is only concerned with imposing his point of view. What he contends is that McCarthy was more right than wrong and that there was no witchhunt because there were communists -- and some in government. It's a popular theme among McCarthyism deniers

Condemning a book or play you know nothing about is akin to book burning -- or witch hunting.

Witch Hunt is defined as "an attempt to find and punish people whose opinions are unpopular and who are said to be a danger to society" My Webster defines "the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as political opponents) with unpopular views." Miller got that right and the revisionists of facts get it wrong. From the earliest days, witch hunting has never really been about witches, but those who held those unpopular views or lived differently.

You could get to be a "fellow traveler" by speaking to the wrong people. Most American communists had quit the party in disillusionment well before McCarthy came along. McCarthy in his "Crucible" style kangaroo court went after people anyone who could give him a headline. He gave no due process or fairness. It was about confessions and naming names in a Soviet-style show trial. Which is strange for a man who and other right wingers in Congress who succeeded in overturning the conviction of the SS troops responsible for the Malmedy Massacre. It was all in character.

McCarthy won his first local election by smearing a respectedl jurist. And then, exaggerating his own war experience, he smeared Sen. La Folette as a draft dodger even though LaFollette was 46 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. McCarthy requested a DSC he almost certainly did not deserve (similar to LBJ's Silver Star). And he claimed to have flown missions (in varying numbers) when he was actually a desk bound intelligence cipher. And then he saw opportunity as a demagogue on the communist threat identified by George Kennan in the "Long Telegram."

In February, 1950 he waved a list of people who he said were communists who in the State Department. A review is no place to recount basic history of who our WWII allies were -- or that Churchill, a devout anti-communists needed the Soviet Union against Hitler as did we. There were real problems. In 1946, the State Department itself prepared the list of security risks McCarthy eventually waved around. Most of them were dismissed as security risks, not as Communists, but for other reasons, i.e. sexual preference, alcoholism, bankruptcy, etc. McCarthy got the names from a Senate report done years before. Some had been guilty of having a contrary view on China, citing the corruption and weakness of Chiang Kai-Shek. McCarthy's, who attacked gays, could not have passed the security standards due to his own sexual preferences and alcoholism.

McCarthy leveled the charge of helping the communist agenda against General Eisenhower, President Truman, FDR, General George Marshall, Secretary of State Dean Acheson and many other great men who were staunch anti-communists. In fairness to McCarthy, he did some of his worst smears while drunk or close to it. He would drink with reporters, then feed them their stories. Anyone looking at the old film can see that he was frequently intoxicated -- and his performance on the Murrow See It Now, was not only smear but out of control. Easy to see in Good Night and Good Luck. No one could damage McCarthy in the end as he did himself.

Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican conservative, strongly condemned McCarthy in her Declaration of Conscience speech in June of 1950. Others joined her, but most were afraid. Eisenhower, who had despised McCarthy for years, did not respond until McCarthy went after the Army. McCarthy targeted political opponents, e.g. Sen. Millard Tydings was tarred by McCarthy's committee with a faked photograph of him with a Communist. He smeared a Connecticut Senator who questioned his actions. Even J.Edgar Hoover had to wash his hands of him. So the smears continued until 1954 when the Senate finally censured McCarthy for conduct unbecoming his office.

McCarthy did no good and damaged the U.S. counter espionage program. It was in any event Richard Nixon who pushed the Alger Hiss case -- before the election when McCarthy discovered Çommunism was his ticket. Other major cases involving communists, for good or ill, were accomplished before McCarthy came along.

The climate of fear and division McCarthy engendered was perhaps Stalin's greatest victory. The McCarthy hearings called those who would make a good show confession-- or provide a list of names already given. Artist and writers and bureaucrats who had done nothing feared for their jobs for youthful indiscretions, or knowing a wrong someone -- or for nothing at all. McCarthy not only stifled dissent, he cast a pall over American intellectual life more in line with Stalin than the US.

Carl Foreman, who co-wrote the script for "High Noon" and co-proiduced it, is an example of those forced into exile (to Britain). As it happens, High Noon, once wildly condemned by the right, is one of the most requested film for presidential viewing. Reagan loved it. So did Lech Walesa, who cites use of its imagery, i.e. the movie poster of Gary Cooper, in Poland's first almost-free elections. Why? As Walesa said in the Wall Street Journal: "Cowboys fight for justice, fight against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual." Some conservatives now rave over its depiction of duty and courage.

So too, is The Crucible about core American beliefs of nothing going along with the crowd, joining the lynch mob. The unpopularity or even complete wrongness of some views does not make it correct to punish people for having those beliefs. If you want to criticize it, first you have to see the play and understand it.

What is really unfortunate to the mesmerizing Arthur Miller's play"The Crucible" is that is was written after his "Death of a Salesman". Hadn't the play writer written "Death...", "The Crucible" would certainly be regarded as his unique masterpiece -- however, I believe the honor must be shared-- which is not that bad for readers and audiences.

Performed for the first time in 1953, "The Crucible" is loosely based on the famous Salem witchcraft trials that happened in 1962. Miller used the actual even as an inspiration to create a fable that resonated in his time's politics -- which was called the witch hunting. The play was written in response to Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee's crusade against supposed communist sympathizers. Despite the changes, as Miller states in a prose prologue to the play, his objective is to "the reader will discover (...) the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history".

At the end of the play, one can be sure that the writer achieved his aim. "The Crucible" paints with the right paints a portray of mass hysteria, paranoia, chaos and manipulation. What's more, it achieves a higher level when it manages to deal with the 50s politics -- which happened to be touched by mass hysteria, chaos and manipulation as well.

As a whole, the symbolism in the play is the paranoia about communism that pervaded the United States in the 1950s. with his text, Miller managed to bring up several parallels between the House Un-American Activities Committee's rooting out of suspected communists during this time and the seventeenth-century witch-hunt. In both cases, the narrow-mindedness and the excess of zeal ended up blinding people. Like in Salem, the communists were encouraged to name names and confess their `crimes'.

In "The Crucible", Miller's concern is not to with the fact that the accused are witches or not -- but rather with the unwillingness of the court to believe they are not. In this case, in the McCarthyism era, so full of excess, many innocents were condemned, and this parallel is what resonates from Miller's words even more than 50 years later.

Miller vaguely based his characters in the actual ones, but in his prologue, as a disclaimer, he alleges that he was forced to make many changes. Abigail's age for instance was raised, the judges were symbolized by only two etc. But, as he explains, this is not a historical work.

One of the most impressive points in the play is the theocratic society --where church and state are one, and the only allowed form of religion in Salem is the Puritanism. The witch trials represent the expression of intolerance --while the hanging is the means of restoring the purity of the community. On the other hand, hysteria plays the role of tearing this society apart. It supplants logic and people start to believe that people they have always known are not what they believed to be. Abigail is the character that has an important role triggering this hysteria, since she wants to marry John Proctor, and for that must get rid of his wife. Others simply use her device --while others fall into her trap. In the end, the community is into pieces.

As one of the characters says that was `a strange time'. So was when Miller wrote his play -- and so is today. That is why Miller's "The Crucible" is such a timeless piece. Reading this play --opposed to watching it performed -- is an enhancing experience. Many of the writer's digressions are not in the stage -- that's why reading this book is a complementary homework for those who have already seen it performed or in the 1996 movie version.

When John Proctor says these words to his wife Elizabeth at the conclusion of this play, he has faced accusations of being in league with the Devil and is ready to face consequences meted out by the religious tribunal he has faced. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which have ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

When John Proctor says these words to his wife Elizabeth at the conclusion of this play, he has faced accusations of being in league with the Devil and is ready to face consequences meted out by the religious tribunal he has faced. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which have ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

When John Proctor says these words to his wife Elizabeth at the conclusion of this play, he has faced accusations of being in league with the Devil and is ready to face consequences meted out by the religious tribunal he has faced. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which have ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

This is certainly an interesting story and a poignant look at the way mass hysteria can shape a culture. Though it was written during the Communist witch hunt in America and written about Puritan times, it certainly can be applied to modern times. It’s interesting to read through this and see that though the times may change, humans are rather unchangeable.

Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", a four act play about the Salem witch trials in 1692, is a wonderful drama that speaks about intolerance and authoritarian power in society.

The heart of the play is not about the accusations of witchcraft, but about the conditions that led to the accusations and how quickly people will take advantage of one another during hysteria. It is a historical reminder (and a warning) that people died because of hysterical fanaticism in an authoritarian culture. Miller takes this important lesson in history, adds words to the historic figures, and makes a darn good fictional drama depicting their roles in this historic event. The action inside the court room is beautifully constructed and explores the idea of injustices being perpetuated in a sanctuary designed to create justice.

Miller does a great job creating scenes that evoke outrage and indignation while keeping the characters real and human. John Procter is not be looked upon as the "hero" or "victim" because of his past indiscretions and ignorance, just as Abigail Williams is not to be looked upon as the "villain" because her actions are perpetuated by a persecuted youth who is suddenly granted power by the courts. The characters are an interesting mix of people caught-up in a blizzard of conditions that were just right to give innuendos truth and superstitions law.

I found the play very enjoyable and entertaining even without all the parallels to what was happening in the 1950's when it was written.

Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", although a great play in its own right, was a reaction to the hysteria and panic that proceeded during the McCarthy trials. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are the backdrop for the book's premise, and they seem to parallel the whole idea of chaos which ensues when "mass idea" takes over a community, in this case the belief that many of the townspeople are involved in some sort of witchcraft.

Concisely written, "The Crucible" does not waste words, yet still packs a serious punch. The underlying themes encompassed within the novel-mass hysteria, intolerance, faith (and lack thereof)-are issues not only dealt with in this society, but ours as well in certain cases. Embedded within the message of the work is the idea that "mass thought" can affect how a society believes and operates, and in this case it is of the girls and other members of Salem accused of dealings with malevolent forces.

John Proctor, despite his faults, is the one voice of common reason and logic. He gets Mary Warren to return to court to try and discredit the testimonies of the girls accused, but in the process seals his own fate. As a symbol for protest against all the illogical reasoning, Proctor shows his willpower in the play's climactic scene.

All in all, this is a thought-provoking play that takes on many subjects relevant to both the 1950s and today. If you are interested in the McCarthyism of the 1950s or the Witch Trials, you are sure to find this book interesting. I'm glad I finally decided to sit down and read this book after hearing so much about it!

Recently I read Arthur Miller's, "The Crucble" to my juniors and seniors and to my surprise they loved it. Even though the setting was in Salem, Mass. in the 1600s, the students had no problem connecting the themes to current events and to other pertinent social issues.
We had lengthy analytical discussions about the characters, the plot and the different conflicts that exist throughout the play.
What was also helpful to the class was the way I scaffolded or broke up the reading and added the DVD to give visual support. The students could then compare and contrast certain aspects of the movie to the play.
I found that I could encourage high interest in the play by adding supplemental materials such as informational articles on Senator McCarthy, The Red Scare, Communism.
Lastly, I recommend The Crucible by Arthur Miller to any teacher,student or novice reader. I am sure they would find it to be a bewitching treasure!

This play, based on the infamous Salem witch trials of the 1690's that New England still has not lived down, was written by Arthur Miller in an earlier period in American history, the 1950's, when hysteria over the alleged internal "Communist menace" dovetailed with the opening of the coldest part of the Cold War against the Soviet Union. The dramatic tension of the play cannot be understood except as a parable on that then current atmosphere. Miller draws parallels with the earlier period of hysteria, in this case the irrational hysteria over witches in the isolated, inward-looking fervently Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts. The comparisons in reaction to the witches and `reds under the bed' are startling as far as the response of the societies and individuals in those societies community were concerned. Obviously in the play one needs a hero, even if it is the flawed and `fallen' John Proctor who will stand up, in the final analysis, even unto death for his principles. We will always find a few, even if reluctant, fighters in such circumstances. What is more compelling, and frightening, is the reaction of the `honest' town folk. Then, as in the case of the Cold War hysteria, those `good' folk turned the other way, joined actively in on the action or in some way justified the trials. As we are again in a period when the new hysteria is over Islamic fundamentalists and their motives this remains an extremely powerful cautionary tale. Read the play and/or watch a movie version of it.

Arthur Miller wrote this play to oppose the McCarthy witch-hunt. This aspect has aged. But the play keeps a universal value in the way it describes how, in any closed society, in this case religiously closed, all those who do not conform the pattern will be prosecuted and executed. It shows with great depth the process of accusing the victims and how the victims are trapped between their refusal to lie due to their religious faith, and their desire to survive even if it is by lying. But the situation is so tense that this lying becomes impossible because it implies accusing others, hence it goes against the grain of any moral and human behavior. This is still true in our world. As soon as something does not go the way we want it to go, we look for scapegoats and we accuse them of being the disturbing elements. This has been true with the Jews, the Gipsies and some others under Hitler. This has been true of all those who opposed the regime under Stalin. This is still true in our societies in many areas. We are always ready to start a crusade against the outsiders and those who are different to defend our own order. And in such situations private life in invaded, the rights of individuals are negated. Any « purification » policy is built on a whole set of tyrannical actions. Arthur Miller reaches a universal meaning when he says such actions are true of any society at any time. A society seems to always look for some homogenized unity, rejecting diversity with great ease. The new element that may be seen today in some societies is the protection of minorities by the law. But the temptation remains.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Like millions of Americans, I was first introduced to "The Crucible" as required reading in high school. At the time, I hated it. I'm not sure if it was because of my age, the fact that my teacher overloaded us with the symbolism in the book, or the story just didn't appeal to me, but it was something I didn't think I'd ever pick up again. Fast forward fifteen years and I recently finished Arthur Miller's most famous play. This time? It wasn't too bad.

The story is about a farmer named John Proctor, living in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. When a young girl in the town becomes ill and her guardian catches her dancing in the woods with other girls and his servant from Barbados, he is quick to bring in an outside minister, fearing that witchcraft has swept through his niece. Quickly, though, the allegations of witchcraft get out of hand, with young girls, led by Abigail Williams, accusing everyone they have borne a grudge against of being a witch. The "trial" is a joke, with the girls "testifying" of acts that cannot be proven or disproved, putting on a show in front of the court where they act as if they are under the spell of the defendant. If the defendant confesses to the crime, they get to live; if they plead innocence, they are hanged.

Proctor is eager to remain apart from the proceedings until innocent people in the town are killed. He is quick to realize what is going on, especially after his wife, Elizabeth, is accused by Abby herself. The two have a sordid history; he and Abby had an affair while she was working in his house, and he knows that Abby's accusation is a ploy to get Elizabeth out of the way so the two can live together. But when Proctor defends his wife and refuses to budge, he, too, is accused of witchcraft.

"The Crucible" is hailed as a symbolic work against the evils of the witch hunt, exemplified by the Red Scare of the 1950s. But in reading it this time, I tossed the symbolism out the window and simply took a look at the story itself. By focusing in on the characters and actions, I was able to get a lot more out of it. This is a tale of honesty and character, of doing what is right instead of what is easy, of releasing an inner burden and finding freedom in the truth, regardless of the consequences. In that light, I enjoyed it a whole lot more.

The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 was a book about the Salem witch hunt. Miller used details from the real witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts that took place during 1692-1693. Arthur told the story of village in the town of Salem who had to go through the struggle of dealing with witchcraft. The reverend Parris discovered his own family members dancing in the woods with others. Throughout the play his daughter (Betty) and niece (Abigail) and the other girls of the town slowly rise to power with the town looking up at them to point out other witches. Throughout this time of the play those who believed in the witches (Putnam's, Parris, and the church) had clashed with those who didn’t believe (Proctor, Giles and Martha.) This play goes through the struggle of having to dodge lies and dig up the truth. Through this play the reader must travel the path of predudjudics, sins, and the desire of love and thirst for revenge.
The Crucible was one of the best plays that I have ever read. I love that Arthur used characters of all ages to connect more with the readers. The play is almost like a hook, as soon as you start reading you can’t stop. You never know what is gonna happen next, who will be accused.

I liked the different voice acting in the play. It was definitely unique! I’m always a fan of witches and studying Salem. This, however, made me wish I was watching it on stage instead of listening to it. It could be great if it came with a PDF of the stage or movie. But it’s alright if you want something to listen to when you’re trying to understand the book/play.

Arthur Miller's classic play based on the Salem Witch trials of 1692 demonstrates superstition, hysteria, and control. After being discovered dancing in the woods (strictly forbidden) one girl refuses to wake, and suspicions arise. Under pressure, the girls soon confess to communing with the devil. Young Abigail Williams senses her power as lead confessor, and milks the opportunity. Soon many stand accused, special judges arrive from Boston, and the town is quick to condemn. Hysteria reigns, and none are safe from its blows. The gallows await the imprisoned, thought they may win a reduced sentence by confessing their guilt. A couple skeptics led by John Proctor speak up, but the tables turn and they soon find themselves shackeled. Those that grimace at the willingness of the judges to trust superstition and obvious frauds should consider the power dynamics of a fundamentalist, church-ruled society. Those that understand the hysteria of McCarthyism in the early 1950's should see clear parallels from this moving demonstration. This play is well worth your time, as is the stirring 1996 film with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis.

A considerable number of plays from the 50s come across as melodramatic, cynical and stilted today. In contrast, Miller's classic remains powerful and universal - but not for the usual reasons you'd expect. As a drama it has more in common with 19th century works in the tradition of Ibsen or even the novels of Hugo than with the 50s authors like Williams, Beckett, O'Neill, or even the Miller of Death of a Salesmen. Instead of the drab, pathetic, cowardly, sad, sniveling, or absurdist characters of some of his contemporaries we see people of moral stature. People in the mist of an irrational hysteria with normal human frailties but with moral sense. An interesting dimension is added in the portrayal of the villains. At one point in the play it seems expedient for the 'chief inquisitor' to temper or betray his crusade. He chooses to follow his vision (I am being vague to avoid giving away any plot). Compare this to Hugo's Javert in Les Miserables. By writing the villain in such a manner both authors create a drama that pits two moral codes - two views of reality. This elevates Miller's play to the level of a romantic realist drama.
Many of the other reviewers will point out the intended parallels to events of the 50s. However, Miller's play is more universal and can be viewed in relation to any fanatical hysteria. This is still timely today given the Politically Correct hysteria on college campuses.

This was an excellent full-length version of Miller's classic play about the with-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem. Written in 1952, it reflected the anti-communist hysteria that engulfed the United States at the time.

What's scary is that in many respects, it reminds me of what's now happening with respect to the anti-immigration stance being held by many Americans.

My only regret is that there aren't more such plays available in this format.

Like many others, Elia Kazan flirted with the American Communist party in the 1930s; again like many others he was soon disgusted by the vicious totalitarianism of the Soviet Union and left the party. In the 1940s Kazan emerged as a major director, creating such films as GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT for the screen and staging playwright Arthur Miller's landmark dramas ALL MY SONS and DEATH OF A SALESMAN--but in the early 1950s his former affiliation with the American Communist Party came back to haunt him the form of the House Unamerican Activities Committee.

In the wake of World War II the American goverment began to fear that Soviet agents had infiltrated the country and were working for the overthow of American democracy. The film industry became a hotspot of investigation, with conservatives claiming that motion pictures were being used to popularize communist thought. Unfortunately, the House Unamerican Activities Committee was less interested in getting to the truth of the matter than in maintaining political power: American citizens were hauled before the committee; attacked, often for no reason; and found their careers and lives destroyed as a result. But there was a way around this. If you confessed you had been a communist (whether you had been or not), if you recanted your former beliefs (whether you had held them or not), and if you named names of others involved in the party (whether they had been or not)--you could survive. And when Kazan was called before the committee in 1952 that is precisely what he did.

Arthur Miller was so outraged by Kazan's behavior that he terminated both their longstanding friendship and highly successful working relationship; although they would eventually resume a working relationship, they had no contact for more than a decade. He also wrote a play about the situation: THE CRUCIBLE.

On the surface, THE CRUCIBLE is a retelling of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. The power-hungry Rev. Parrish has met with resistance in the town, and when his daughter Betty, his ward Abigail, and several other teenage girls are found dancing in the wood the community fears the worst: witchcraft. In order to protect himself, Parrish calls in Rev. Hale, an expert in such matters. In order to protect themselves, the girls confess--and then begin to name names of "other witches." In order to placate the court, those named must name others in turn, and the lies and hysteria turn into a cycle of power-grabs and revenge.

Among those named as a witch is Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor--a man who had a sordid affair with Abigail, who now sees the opportunity to get rid of Elizabeth via hanging and force Proctor into marriage. In an effort to protect his wife, Proctor goes before the court and denounces Abigail, but Abigail now turns on him as well, accusing him of being a witch. He is arrested and sentenced to hang. Rev. Hale, now aware of the fraud involved, begs Proctor to confess, even though the confession will be a lie. Proctor refuses and pays for his integrity with his life.

In broad historical outline, Miller's tale of the witch trials is quite accurate; he does, however, take considerable license with individual characters and relationships. Whatever the case, the result is a uniquely powerful play, not only as a story pure and simple but on a deeper level in its warning against the communist witch hunt of the 1950s--and any similar witch hunt, regardless of nature, which relies on a process created by those with ulterior motives and uses as evidence testimony extracted by fear of reprecussion. While most consider DEATH OF A SALESMAN Miller's finest play, I have always given that title to THE CRUCIBLE; unlike SALESMAN, which has a dated quality, THE CRUCIBLE has a timeless quality, remarkable in intensity, thought-provoking in subtext in ways which most plays are not. Strongly recommended.

GFT, the store Reviewer

This book was a great read, even if you are forced to read it by your English teachers. The book is very well written. It stays on tract and does not wonder from topic to topic or from scene to scene. All the scenes are connected in some way to a previous one. There is a love story that keeps the readers involved. Also there are various action scenes that will keep the story intense. There are many characters in this book, but since it is written as a play,it was very easy to keep up with them. I like how in class you read it as a play while giving students parts in the play. Doing this keeps the students involved and awake while reading the story. There is a villain in The Crucible, like must stories. The villain in this story is Abigail Williams. She will do anything to keep herself out of trouble. I like how there is a villain because it makes readers develop a felling for them. Such as one reader might despise Abigail because everything that she has done or another reader might like the role she plays in the story. All in all, I thought this was a great book to read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical books with a love story and a little bit of violence.

Yes, here is yet another poor student who was forced to read this and similar writings on the Puritans! To my pleasant surprise, however, I found "The Crucible" to be better than I had first expected - this probably has to do partly with the fact that the story is rather short, but also with the fact that the story is rather interesting as well. Written in the form of a play by the thought-to-be-communist Arthur Millar, "The Crucible" can really bring you into the story if you let it. The main subject behind this book is the hypocrisy of the Puritan civilization, dealing mainly with the witch trials and burnings in Salem during the late 17th century in early America. The story is crafted around actual fact and history texts, but some of the characters and scenes Miller describes are fictitious, naturally. Even though the fiction element is strong, the book also carries a level of realism to it that takes you back to those horrible times in 1692 quite well.
While I don't really like the reasons Miller wrote the book (to somehow prove he was innocent of ties with communists....what does that mean?), the book was still interesting and provocative. Students out there, stick with it - the book isn't that bad, it's short, to the point, and actually can have your complete attention at times.

The Crucible is the first Arthur Miller play I've read. The plot summary and reviews I read made it seem appealing, suspenseful if nothing else. But no matter how great something is, it is nearly impossible to convey those feelings in the form of an the store review.
It's easy for me to admit that after reading the introduction I was turned off by the language, not esoteric enough to be genuine 17th century english and not terse enough to be mid 50's language, the intro exists in a world in between the two describing the key characters in the play and the setting which it is taking place. Having decent knowledge of the Salem Witch Trials and how Miller correlated the tragedy to his experience with McCartheyism during "the red scare." Miller's details are so personal that it almost seems like this is a first hand account of the trials. The play evolves under perfect dynamics the exposition is descriptive but not boring, the main conflict had me at the edge of my seat grimacing in Proctor's pain and burning with hatred at the injustices being executed. Finally the climax brings arrays of the human emotional spectrum into a pleasing and redeeming conclusion.
Overall this is the best American Play I have read, although my knowledge of American playwrights is limited I would venture to say that Arthur Miller is a genius and that this play is one of the crowning achievements of American Drama.

without a really good screenplay! In this case, Arthur Miller wrote the play that was to later become a moderately successful movie in 1997. Much has been made of the play's relevance to the McCarthy hearings in the early 1950s, but its impact can carry over to race relations in this country through the 1960s (and today), Hitler's domination of Europe before U. S. involvement, political situations abroad, and a whole host of social issues in 2001 America. This work will always be important and relevant--that's one of the reasons it is a big-time classic!
Another reason is the spectacular dialogue between John Proctor and Judge Danforth. The movie tends to draw out the conflict between Proctor and Abigail Williams, but Paul Scofield, who plays Danforth, should have been on the movie poster beside Daniel Day-Lewis. The conviction with which Danforth condemns those accused of witchcraft is truly chilling, whether in print or orally. Proctor's tarnished morality is incredibly compelling. The "wrongness" of the whole situation is amplified and exemplified by those two individuals. Read the play, watching for that gritty dialogue, and then watch the movie. Miller co-wrote the screenplay, so you know that what happens on-screen is of his doing. He fills in the gaps of the play that, while they are very effective on stage, would be distracting to a movie audience.
As a play, it is a great read with just incredible dialogue. That translates well onto a stage or onto a movie screen. It just doesn't get any better than this for American drama.

As usual I stumbled into this one almost by accident. There was a fair of used books at the language institution where I am a teacher of English, and I wound up purchasing a large number of books, and this one was one of them.
As I read, I realized that I knew the story, but could not place where I'd seen it. I later remembered the film with the same name starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Wynona Rider, which I thought pretty good at the time. I was not, however, prepared for the literary criticism of the play, which was used by the author as a way to confront the McCarthy days in the US.
The play was written in the early fifties,a time when an anti-communist craze was sweeping the nation. Arthur Miller was one of those who fell victim to the HUAC, and he wrote a great piece of art ironizing the situation of his time.
In the reader's version, some characters are described by the author in a contemporary way,in which he compares the attitudes of the semi-fictional characters of the play (most of them were true, such as judge Hathorne, an ancestor of Scarlet Letter author Hawthorne) to those who supported Joseph McCarthy and his followers.
Of course those are days that are now long gone, but the play is nevertheless awesome and it is a pleasure to read.
By the way, if you want to go further, take a look at the film and compare it to what you have read.

While Arthur Miller was more likely known for his most popular play DEATH OF A SALESMAN, which won the Pulitzer Prize as the best play in 1949, THE CRUCIBLE is regarded by many critics to be a much more superior work.
THE CRUCIBLE was written in response to the ridiculous charges made by Senator McCarthy, who accused the Democratic administration of harboring and supporting Communists in the United States Government. Miller wrote the play in 1953, at the same time America was involved in a formidable struggle with the former Soviet Union. America in general had this secret and unexpressed xenophobia of this social-communist power.
Miller had used the famous McCarthy saying in the play - the senator oftained maintained that those who opposed his hearing were Communists, and consequently, any public official who offered criticism, questions, or doubts of the hearings soon found himself defending himself against the charge of being a part of the Communicst conspiracy.
In THE CRUCIBLE, we also found struggle and conflict between the Salem people and the Authority. At a more personal, narrower level, this conflict exists between John Proctor vs. Reverend Parris. John Proctor was a local member of the church who had opposed and challenged many of Parris' unnecessary expenditures. Like those who dared the power of the government and questioned authority of hearings back in 1950s here in America, anyone who opposed the authority of the Salem judges was automatically suspected of trying to undermine the court in the 17th century.
Besides McCarthyism at the time when the play was written, THE CRUCIBLE reflected so much the concepts of Puritanism back in the 17th century. The unusual nature of the Puritan religion led to all kinds of and different levels of fear of witches and persecution. Puritans, like the authority in THE CRUCIBLE, deeply felt that their way of life was absolutely right and all other ways were wrong. Therefore, Puritans believed that government should be totally controlled by the church.
THE CRUCIBLE is an authentic examination of the Puritan Age of America. It was written at the time when McCarthyism outburtsed and people lived in hysteria. It served to parallel the Salem Witch0hunt which brought about fear and persecution some 300 years ago. Interesting play. Fun to read.

This book is truly a quick read, because it's really not long, and plays tend to be a quick read. I like the format, because it brings out each individual character, and puts each one on the spot, so I can easily delineate each character's tone as they conversed.

Described as a timeless classic, The Crucible provides everlasting insights that are not just clichéd themes, but perceptive recurring themes that are demonstrated through mankind's idiosyncrasies. This book unearths essential themes that will stay in the history of mankind, due to its significance and accuracy towards human flaws. The fact that humans would selfishly perform acts of self interest at the expense of others in the midst of fear and hysteria has been repeated throughout history and will continue to be one of many human's shortcomings.

I liked how the book reflects what happened in reality. Mainly referring to the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare, The Crucible asserts that opportunistic people, who perform self-interest, immoral acts that saves their lives at the expense of others' is essentially wrong and selfish. Much like Abigail, many people from Salem have intentionally accused the innocence for witchcraft to sway the attention and blame, when in actuality, they are blameworthy.

At the peak of the Red Scare, many people, in hopes of being vindicated for wrongdoing, attacked innocent reputation, pretending to serve the community by finding the menaces, who in this case are the communists, of society, while, ironically, the accuser is actually the culprit. Because everyone was afraid of communists, some used that notion to their advantage to lock people, who had done wrong to them, a tactic that is wrong and immoral.

Since I have read Othello, I noticed a parallel between it and this book. That humans would selfishly perform acts of self interest at the expense of others in the midst of fear and hysteria is a theme, around which The Crucible revolves; this very theme parallels to that of Othello by Shakespeare, because both Abigail and Iago perform culpable actions just to find a scapegoat, who is supposed absorbs all the blame.

In The Crucible, Abigail understands her options, and the only way to sway all the attention that is imposed on her originally is to find a scapegoat, who eventually becomes John Proctor, who upholds a reputation and refuses to reveal his scandalous relationship with Abigail. Because Abigail is accused of witchcraft, the only way to survive is to use Proctor as a scapegoat, because she is certain that he will not refute that accusation, unless he unveils his adultery, which he avoids to keep his reputation clean. Abigail's opportunistic nature essentially saves her, but ultimately kills Proctor.

I did not really like the characters per say, but I really was intrigued by the fact that people do blame other people just so they could be vindicated. I look around myself, and I do see this as a universal theme.

Arthur Miller is among the world's greatest play writers in history. This is among his best works. It is great not because it is largely factually accurate, but because it was a courageous statement about a Wisconsin politician causing similar hysteria about communism.

Vendettas and greed for land and money caused neighbors to turn on each other in Salem. These weaknesses in society allowed a collection of teenage girls to hypnotize Salem with their lies. In the end, most of the town ends up being accused of witchery. It was only when the town exhausted their search for potential witches that the hysteria slowed. Recognizing the error of Salem's court, the government was forced to step forward and compensate the families of the deceased.

From a literary standpoint, Miller wrote The Crucible masterfully. Reverrend Parris is the corrupt minister who naturally draws the reader's ire. The groupthink that causes others to follow him is one of the most dangerous elements in society. Many of these elements are very present in today's world with a media that thinks for people. This is truly a literary and theatrical masterpiece.

This play is truly and epic for recent times. The language used by Miller for his characters are intelligent and eloquent, but not to such an extent as to make for difficult reading (like Shakespeare for instance). Miller's Crucible is largely based on the Salem Witch Trials and contains more than a few actual quotes for his characters that came from transcripts of the real trials. The plot is so very clever with many layers and themes and subplots running throughout. There is the obvious top layer that almost anyone can understand about the horror of the witchhunt, and then there is a more subtle layer about the inner nature of humans... sometimes it can be quite dark (like Abigail, the girl who really leads the accusations) or cowardly (like Parris, whose only real drive seems to be saving his own skin and reputation) and yet there are others that are good (John Proctor, who takes on almost like a Christ figure) and righteous (like Rebecca Nurse who is practical and strong willed through the whole ordeal). The writing is brilliant and it is easy to become thoroughly entrenched in the horror that life in Salem in 1692 came to be. There are many tense moments, and many agonizing situations, and I was quite swept up with the futileness and frustration that many of the accusees more than likely felt. This play is brilliant, and was written in response to the McCarthy horror that swept the 1950's, and serves as a disturbing warning that the intolerance and hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials has happened before, and can happen again.

Austin Webster
Lesson 13
English 1
The Crucible
The book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, can be described as sad, diminishing, hateful, and savageness. Why do I say this? I would say that this author is much like Edgar Allen Poe in a lot of ways, such as in the story there was not one sunny day, it was always raining. The only happy moment in this story was when the girls were dancing around the camp fire, but even then they were casting spells on people. Poe writes just the same way, for instance The Raven. In this book the same scenery was there dark, cloudy, raining, lighting, thunder, and the thought of people going crazy. My opinion on the book is that it is really cruel, but at the same time I loved The Crucible there was so much action and hatred from the families inside of it. That made this The Crucible very interesting.
For example in the first part of The Crucible, the young girl was knocked out and did not speak to anyone, but yet she screamed at the name of the lord. Abbigail only cared about herself, she would blame her friends, family and other random people for witchery and she made friends with the judge so then he would not send her off to be hanged. Even though she was there that night at the fire dancing with the other girls, she still never got blamed at first. During everything that was going on Elizabeth was given a doll, and that doll that she did not recognize had a needle inside of it. It was given to her by Abbigail and when the people came over to get her, they found the doll and accused Elizabeth for witchery, and was brought to the jail. Abbigail got off with this crime. The only people that knew about it were the people that were there that night, and the people that were also threatened by Abigail.
In the end of the book Abigail was finally tried, because she got caught for what she had done. The friendship that she had with the judge ended whenever she was in the court house. The judge could not believe the evidence behind her. The judge thought that she would never do something like this, and he could not trust her anymore. She was convicted, and was sentenced to death by the gallows. That was the end of the witchery. A lot of other people were hung for no reason, all because of Abbigail’s story, and putting evidence on other people. But then the Salem witch trail came to an end, and the Procter family was ok again. Elizabeth, the women that was tried for the witchery, was sent home and free, after Abbigail was hanged for her wrong doing.
This book was full of up’s and downs, form the beginning when the girls dancing nakedly around the fire, cooking a stew with live frogs in it, from the young girl that was thought to have a spell cast on her, by the girls and the devil being inside of her, to Abbigail accusing other people in the town no matter if they were friends, family, or someone she did not even know, just to save her own skin, in then at the end Abbigail getting caught, and getting tried for witchery, and then hanged for it. This book was full of surprises, and action. I loved this book I would recommend reading this book for anyone who is interested. If you do read it you will not regret it is an awesome book.

This is the first play by Arthur Miller I have read, and I inquired into mostly because of my interest with Witchcraft and the Salem trials. A wonderful play that shows the hypocrisy of a town threatened by purported withcraft. The cried of "witch" by anyone in this town aroused and scared everyone. The lead characters Abagail Williams along with Reverend Parris and John Proctor. I will not give any story here, for you should read it and be surprised and amazed. Nonetheless, the story lets one wonder how such a town and belief in the Bible (more so than God) can lead to such havok. The laws are simple: 1) You are not a witch until someone points the finger at you. 2) You can deny these charges, but you will be hung. 3) If you confess you are a witch, then the sentence is jail. 4) If you do not believe in withcraft you will be hung. These were the beliefs of the time, and it is demonstrated in this marvelous play. Arthur Miller tells an exciting story based on history (although he says its not literal history for there were some need for dramatic purpose), of a time when things were simple in America and Massachusettes, yet like all towns in the world, there is always something brewing in the minds of the good who want to banish evil from their homes. Highly reccomended!

In the introduction of Act One of The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes, “When one rises above the individual villainy displayed, one can only pity them all, just as we shall be pitied someday. It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions, and the balance has yet to be struck between order and freedom” (7). This passage suggests that what happened in Salem during the witch trials is the enacting of an attitude that still crops up today. It’s the spark of panic that causes mass hysteria and paranoia. It’s the point at which we stop thinking for ourselves and just try to blend in to avoid persecution. To read the rest of my review, click here: [...]

This play is set during the time of the Salem witch trails in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is the leader of a group of young girls who start accusing other people in the town of being witches. Even though there was no real proof any of these people were witches, they were arrested, tried, and found guilty. The ones that confessed were allowed to live, but the ones that refused to confess were hung.

When Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, her husband, John, goes to the judge and tells him that Abigail accused Elizabeth of this crime because Elizabeth had discovered that he and Abigail were having an affair. The judge has Elizabeth brought to the courthouse, and he asks her if her husband had been unfaithful. She doesn't know John has admitted to this, and she lies in order to protect him. Then John is accused of being a witch and he is arrested.

John agrees to confess so that he can live, but he refuses to accuse anyone else of being a witch. But when they ask him to sign a public confession, which they plan to hang in the church, he refuses and retracts his confession.

I first read this book over 20 years ago in high school and recently re-read it. This was one of the few 'classics' that I was able to fully appreciate when I read it as a teen-ager.

The story is fascinating, even more so because it's based on real historical events and people, although some facts were changed. For example: In reality, Abigail was 11 and John was 60 (in the play their ages were 17 and 40) and they never had an affair.

The Crucible is a story of injustice resulting from mass hysteria. It's also about courage and honor. It took a great deal of courage for these people to die rather than to tell a lie so that they could live.

This is a play that is based on the Salem Witch Trials, and I have heard that acutal quotes have been taken from actual trial transcripts in its writing, but I haven't delved into the actual transcripts to find out for myself as of yet. It is because of the historical nature of this play that I enjoyed reading it. Although the spoken language that is used by Miller for his characters is eloquent it may make this a difficult read for some. I didn't find it as hard to follow as the language used by Shakespeare, but there a few times that I had to re-read a line here or there.
The plot is surprisingly clever and gives the reader the idea that this could very well have been how it happened. The author's ability to touch on every aspect of the experience is truly moving. The writing is brilliant and I was engulfed in the tradgedy caused by the horrors of life in Salem during this time period. There are numerous moments filled with tension, and I found myself hoping for the best for all of the wrongly accused.
This is novel that points out the cruelty of human nature when survival is a person's only concern. It also points out the level of hysteria a population can reach. If a reader doesn't take those two lessons away as learned, then perhaps they will take the simpler lesson that is rarely touched upon away with them. Be kind to your neighbors as ou never know who will have the next profound effect on your like.

As usual, Arthur Miller was in rare form when he wrote "The Crucilble." Although on the surface it is about the Salem Witch Trials, Miller's true inspiration came from the Red Scare that plagued Hollywood in the middle of the twentieth century (and included his pal Elia Kazan). The fact that Miller wove factual history with the hysteria of his day makes "The Crucible" all the more chilling.

Throughout the course of the play, a collection of teenage girls 'confess' to having seen various women and men of the town of Salem with the devil. This hysteria sweeps over the town as even the authorities fall under the sway of these lying young girls. Caught in the middle of these hysteronics is the Proctor family - John and Elizabeth, who have struggled in the past, but are trying to rebuild their marriage. They are rent apart when Elizabeth is suspected of being a witch. John hopes to clear his wife's name, but only manages to make matters worse for both of them.

The hysteria experienced in Salem is chilling in the fact that these sorts of witch hunts occur today, in all different areas of society. "The Crucible" shows how easily people can be swayed, with the barest of evidence, to believe something that is false. Miller's play is extremely well-written and informative, and almost too frighteningly real.

Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" came to Broadway during the 1952-53 theatrical season. But the events of the play take place more than 250 years prior to that time. The literal action of the play concerns a real historical phenomenon: the "witch hunts" that took place in Salem in the 1690s. But the play could also be read as a metaphor for the era of McCarthyism (1950-54), during which a United States senator led the country in a frenzied and destructive modern-day "witch hunt" for suspected Communists.
"The Crucible" is a stunning exploration of jealousy, lust, mistrust, rumor mongering, religious fanaticism, and the arrogance of power. Miller's dialogue crackles with energy, and his characters are compellingly real. The play as a whole is graced by the author's intelligence and compassion. By turns infuriating, horrifying, heartbreaking, and inspiring, this is truly one of the masterworks of the American stage.
The play succeeds in book form as a gripping read. Although I have never seen a stage production, I heartily recommend the excellent 1996 film version, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and featuring a superb ensemble cast that includes Daniel Day-Lewis. A fitting companion text to "The Crucible" would be "Inherit the Wind," the excellent play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee; like "The Crucible," this play explores a real American historical event involving religious fanaticism.

For dramatic tension, for a resounding lesson in the ethical treatment of others, this four-act play excels. Set in the 1692 Salem witch trial debacle--a black eye in our heritage--Miller wrote the play parallel to the McCarthy hearings. America in the 1950's was then in the classic, titan struggle against a new threat: Communism.
But in 1692, 19 people were executed for the crimes of witchcraft and associating in the black arts. Miller takes this historical arena, stirs in a failed love tryst, and the dramatic tension never lets up.
The play is worth studying for several reasons: First, it has a strident moral tone that is extremely important for students to explore. Justice is not always a given in our society, and in the execution of justice, if we lose our sanity, we can err into several pitfalls of bad logic, or fallacies--the fallacies of Bandwagon, Hasty Generalization, False Cause, Two Wrongs Make a Right, and so on. Second, it teaches us our own history, with scars. Third, through Miller's deft use of language, we watch (read) a classicly structured play develop.

This play has always held a special significance for me. It was the first Arthur Miller play I ever saw performed on stage, and it is also a chilling comparison between the past and present.
Miller uses the Salem witch trials as the setting of his play, but it is actually play of its time. Written during the McCarthy Era, a witch-hunt of a different kind, Miller uses the Salem witch trials to illustrate what was happening (and is still happening) in the USA. "Guilt by association" is the order of the day, civil rights are violated, and many individuals and families are destroyed.
This also hits me personally, as I know of one individual who was a victim of the McCarthy witch hunt. I just recently found out about this, and after reading Miller's play again after many years, it took on a whole new significance for me. I am grateful to all who stood up to those who tried to take away our most precious rights, and to Miller for writing this play.

The Crucible starts off pretty slowly, but by the end of the first (of four) acts, the craziness has been wrenched up sufficiently. Miller's play chronicles one of the best-known cases of mass psychogenic illness, wherein a group of teenage girls begin seeing devils and accusing their neighbors of witchcraft, an act that results ultimately in hundreds of arrests, 19 hangings, and Giles Corey's infamous death by pressing.

Because the play was written as a reaction to McCartheyism, it avoids the more esoteric witchcraft tests and spends practically no time in trial. Instead, it focuses on the citizens who are losing their family and friends and their futile attempts to fight back. Miller employs some nice devices to drive the story home. First, the somewhat archaic dialog feels stilted and overly formal, which provides a nice contrast to the utter madness of the girls being "witched". Second, the tension is upped by the benefit of perspective. We know that there was no witchcraft in Salem, and so we feel John Proctor's frustration as he tries to argue his wife's innocence. We like to believe that reasonable people will accept a rational argument and that the truth will out, sooner or later. But time and time again, Proctor and others are thwarted by the over-simple, hyper-religious hysteria. That's what makes the play so terrifying. Sometimes rational people can succumb to madness and any who oppose them will be tortured and murdered. It resonates as strongly today, in the days when American citizens can be indefinitely detained and tortured without trial, as it did during the Red Scare of the 50's.

The presentation of the play on Kindle is severely wanting. Long tracts of historical data are dropped in the first act haphazardly without any indication that they're editorial notes and not part of Miller's work. They really disrupt the flow, because you'll have 6 or eight screens of non-canon text between lines of speech. Stage directions and dialog are difficult to distinguish (directions are italicized... that's it) and the frequently spill over into each other, which makes the reading a bit more difficult. And it's $12 on the store for 134-page document, which feels steep (hello, library card). And some things are just lost in reading a play verus seeing one. So my overall experience was mixed.

Few Twentieth Century American authors were as acquainted with personal pain and tragedy as Arthur Miller. Miller, a brilliant yet flawed man, experienced personal tragedy in his tempestuous marriage to and relationship with Marilyn Monroe. He watched as many of his friends suffered the wrath of the government during the McCarthy era. Miller distilled his own experiences into one of the most memorable tragic figures in American Literature: John Proctor.

John Proctor is the protagonist of Miller's play, The Crucible. Set during the Salem witch trials, The Crucible is an extended meditation of the destruction that occurs when people falsely accuse others.

Proctor is no hero. He is a man who is deeply respected by his fellow townsfolk. When accusations of witchcraft start flying around Salem, Proctor is urged to declare that the chief "confessor," Abigail, is a fraud. The only problem is that Proctor had once had an affair with Abigail. His concern for his good name causes him to hold his tongue.

The plot begins to broil when Proctor's own wife is accused of being a witch. She is then arrested. Proctor accuses Abigail of having accused his wife out of jealousy. Yet Proctor's plan to expose Abigail fails when his wife lies to try and protect his name. Proctor himself is accused of being a witch and is arrested.

One of the ministers involved in the trials becomes doubtful of the whole situation. He tries to convince the accused of making confessions rather than face death. He persuades Proctor's wife to ask Proctor to confess. Proctor finally surrenders his personal pride and agrees to make a false confession about having been a witch. Yet when he makes his confession, the court tells him that he must name others. Proctor refuses and as a consequence, is sent to the gallows.

One gets the sense that Miller saw a lot of Proctor in himself. Miller, though not righteous, was willing to publicly decry the with trials of his own time. The Crucible had a considerably shorter theatrical run than Miller's earlier works. During the virulently anti-Communist fifties, Miller was putting his career on the line by writing The Crucible. While not on the same scale as Proctor's sacrifice, Miller's dilemma was great. Notwithstanding its contemporary importance, Miller's play, and the character of Proctor in general, speak more broadly to the ideas of America and the America tragic hero than they do the issues of their respective periods.

America is a land born of cooperation. The States had to unite in order to throw off the British Imperial yoke. Yet America has also always been a land that holds the notion of rugged individualism dear. Though Jefferson gave it clear expression, rugged individualism had been a characteristic of America since its earliest colonial days. These two elements (cooperation and individualism) have combined to form a conflicted national identity.

This same conflict occurs within Proctor. Proctor is an individual and proud of it. Nothing means more to him than the picture of personal honor he presents to others. The great irony of Miller's play is that Proctor measures his individual worth by what others think of him. It is this concern for the community that twice is his undoing.

The first time Proctor is undone it is in a negative way. His concern for his good name with the community leads him to not expose Abigail as a fraud. He is rendered silent by his fear of exposure as an adulterer. Abigail's power and influence grow in the meantime. This eventually leads to the arrest of both Proctor and his wife.

The second time Proctor is undone is depicted more positively. He refuses to falsely accuse others of witchcraft. This means certain death for the individual (Proctor) and uncertain good for the community (Salem). Proctor's ultimate choice is that the good of the many is superior to the concerns of the individual. Yet the community is malignant. It is the source of many of Proctor's woes. Perhaps this is the main point of Miller's play: the true tragedy in America is the country's unfulfilled dream of individual independence. Whenever dangers threaten the land, be they real or imagined, the individual suffers in the name of the common good.

John Proctor is a hero in as far as he is representative of all Americans. Whatever the ideological persuasion of the reader or audience member, something about Proctor's plight speaks to the American experience.
The Crucible is a great play. I recommend it.

This story made my jaw drop to the ground...several times! What a frightening play! The message is timeless. Although it was written during the McCarthy era, it is appropriate for even these days...given the state of foreign policy in our country, and the popularity of Jerry Springer shows for example, where mob rules.
I was horrified at the ignorance, the hipocracy, the will for personal vengeance that the characters displayed. It's a perfect example of how we as people do NOT learn from our mistakes, and that as a society, events like the salem witch trials continually repeat themselves in many forms, exposing how hell-bent we are to destroy each other!
I've never seen this performed onscreen nor onstage but now I can't wait until the opportunity arises, because I'm sure that when The Crucible is performed, it will be utterly powerful. I hope that theaters will continue to produce this play forever, because no one should forget the irreparable damage that fear and ignorance can cause.

Does The Crucible pass the test?
When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, America was going through its heavy stages of McCarthyism. Threats and accusations were everywhere, and nobody was safe from the possibility of being called a communist. Even Miller himself was accused of Communism. Miller wrote this play about a similar situation to McCarthyism, but with the consequences for being accused being a lot more severe. The engaging tale is very cleverly written, describes actual events, and is about the Salem Witch Trials. The book is excellent, and should definitely be read in all high school English classes.
The Crucible is an excellent piece of writing. It digs deep into human character, and exposes flaws in human nature. Some flaws explored were greed and hysteria. Greed was addressed when the townspeople began to cry witch on neighbors for which they had grudges. The hysteria that followed came when those accusations were taken seriously, and the accused were arrested. Here, Miller takes obsession to a whole new level. He makes the townspeople sentence death onto each other just so they could take their neighbors' land. Although the reader obviously knows that the accusations are fake and ridiculous, Miller has Hale and the judges give reasonable arguments for the accusations. They base the fact that witches exist on the Bible saying that they do(the Bible was law). In order to prove the accused blameworthy, they do things like catch them in the act of lying. They then claim that lying in court proved the accused guilty, no matter what the lies were about. The fact that we see points of view from all points in this story is what makes this a truly good read.
This play is based, and mostly even consists of actual events. The Salem Witch hunts really did occur in America in the 1690's, and people such as John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Elizabeth Proctor really did exist. Miller did change some of the details, such as the ages of John Proctor and Abigail(they were actually 60 and 11, respectively), but that was just to strengthen the plot with a love affaire(which was also made up). He also made a few other small changes such as the wage of Betty Parris, and nonel. These changes were not significant enough to make the play be considered historical fiction, and the history was presented in an interesting way, unlike most pieces on history that I have read.
What makes The Crucible so unique is how even though it takes place far in the past, its events are really parallel to the present. After reading this, we think about present-day witch-hunts, such as McCarthyism and sexual abuse cases. In The Crucible, people falsely accused others of something that we today would not find a crime. The accused often had their lives ruined. McCarthyism is the term describing a period of intense anti-Communist suspicion in the United States that lasted roughly from the late 1940's to the late 1950's. During it, Joesph McCarthy accused hundreds of Americans of being Communists. This caused humiliation and often a loss of jobs for very many of the accused. Like with The Crucible, we would not find this accusation to be a major crime today. Lastly, this makes us think about court cases where children accuse adults, often doctors, of sexually harassing them. The children are seen as fragile and innocent, so their accusations are often taken seriously, with serious punishment done to the accused adults. Unfortunately, as in the case of the Salem Witch Trials, the children are not always telling the truth. All too often, they are told by their parents to lie to the court about being molested. Since the court typically sees the children as innocent, they often overlook this paramount fact, which results in the lives of the adults ruined.
In conclusion, my opinion is that The Crucible most definitely "passes the test", and should be read by generations of English students to come.

The Crucible describes the anguish of a sinner (John Proctor) as he wrestles with his conscience. Around him the Puritan world is succumbing to the whims of clever young girls who manipulate the superstitions of their elders by pretending to be oppressed by "witches" in their New England community. Proctor, a married farmer, resists the hysteria, but reluctantly as he is guilty of an affair with the ringleader of the girls and feels he is unworthy to stand for what is right. When finally he makes a dramatic stand, it is too late to stave off the bloody tidal wave that we know of today as the Salem Witch Trials, but it is not too late for him to realize the significance of his own integrity.
Arthur Miller was compelled to speak before a McCarthy hearing in the 1950's and expected to incriminate associates of his as Communist spies. His encounter with the "red scare" is the inspiration of this play and he is highly successful in exposing an extremely dark potential that lurks within the gullible and uncritical human society.
The Crucible is unrivaled in drama and punch.

Ultimately, we never enjoy novels or plays we are forced to read as much as free choice reading selections. However, I was pleasantly surprised with my school's decision to do a reading of 'The Crucible.' With the exception of 'To Kill a Mockingbird', it would have to be one of their better choices. 'The Crucible' is cruel and frustrating, but is certainly a book that teaches us much about this period of time in this area of America. It has to contain some of the most hypocritical characters in a written piece I have ever encountered. My frustration and dislike for Abigail, mounted steadily to a growing hate at the close of the play. I feel that whilst this was not close to a perfect play, and occasionally frustrated me with it's consistancy, it is both informative and relatively entertaining. A somewhat short read, which I am sure would be marvellous to see as a play.

Written in the early 1950s, Miller's literary work was meant to be a parallel to the "Red Scare". He focuses on the 17th century witch trials in Salem where its citizens out of hysteria participate in wild witch hunts, acts that killed numerous innocent civilians.

His story focuses on John Proctor, a relatively honest and good man who had an affair once with his wife's helper. Out of this lust, he initiates the start of the mass hysteria because Abigail, the helper, has fallen in love with him and will stop at nothing to make him love her, even killing his current wife. Her jealous rampage snowballs into a full blown mass hysteria where she implants ideas of the presence of witchcraft into the minds of the small town's citizens and brings to trial many people, including his wife. Throughout the entire story, Proctor knows her true intentions and we see the inner struggle within himself: To either to keep his good name and let his wife die, or confess his adulterating sins and besmirch his good reputation that he holds dear.

Throughout the entire story, the reader is engulfed within Miller's storytelling, his writing style and sentence structure whirling us into the tense and upbeat atmosphere of those times. With his masterful use of short and repetitive sentence structures, he is able to make them feel this tenseness. With this kind of writing style, it makes The Crucible one quick and satisfying read.

Overall, I found The Crucible to be a fairly good book with an interesting plot and a classical heroic ending. I especially liked the fallen hero archetype that redeems himself in the end after struggling with his inner mind.

Although I was slightly perturbed at the fact that the author would play around with the historical facts, in order to make it more realistic, I feel that the story would have been of greater impact had he left the original details within, but other than that, this book is worth the time and money spent!

McCarthy's Red Scare as opposed to the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller's The Crucible takes an interesting as he takes a historiccal tragedy and compares it to one of the hot botton issues of his time during the 1950s. As Miller describes the chaos and ignorance during the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts, Miller also successfully compares the mania of a Puritan-dominated era to a supposedly more progressive era of the 1950s, a time where the Red Scare was at its height. His brilliant commentary in between the scenes of the Salem Witch Trial remind the reader how our fears of the unknown time and time again result in our own ignorance and weakness as a society. It's fascinating how the language of these two time period are so different, old english vs. contemporary, yet these tragedies are joined by one main thing. The ignorance, fear, and hatred manipulated into both societies is what threatens their own foundations. Miller's style and organization of the plot is intriguing as it makes events that occured during the Salem Witch Trials parallel with what went on during the Red Scare. This is an effective political drama that urges the reader to step away from fear and focus on understanding.

When I was up at Cambridge back in the olden days when there were only three women's colleges and men's colleges were single sex, I tried my hand at acting and ended up joining an "indie" production of "The Crucible. By "Indie" I mean that it was not produced by either the of the two drama societies the Amateur Dramatic Club and the Mummers, nor by a college drama society. It was instead produced by this second-year student and performed in a church and performed by people who answered an ad in Varsity. That was how I got into it.
I probably got the part of Tituba because I am Chinese and they didn't have a more authentic applicant. I also was a member of the ADC. What we did have was the up and rising freshman actress to play Abigail Proctor. We happened to be reading English at Griton in the same year. She was a much better actress.
But one thing that really struck me when I was reading this play was how it was basically the McCarthy Treason trials and Miller's take on them. I didn't know about the trials first-hand but I was certainly aware that they had happened and the kind of hysteria behind it.
Having said that, I also did not think that Miller was trying to portray Salem, Massachusetts when those trials took place. Gone from the picture in spite of the presence of a minister is any sense of the religious fervor and fear which also played a significant role then. This went beyond orthodox political thinking. I don't think that we ever quite got the crying-out scene right, but I don't think there was all that much guidance either. And actually, looking back now, I am not so sure that the rest of the cast were quite as aware of the McCarthy trials as perhaps they should have been. Certainly they were never mentioned at any rehearsal I ever attended. And the copy we used was not footnoted or anything, nor did it have an introduction.
All this indicates to me that Miller's play did not travel all that well, as is the case with a few others I have read. Not "Death of a Salesman" though.
That little production did all right though. It was also the last time I acted in Cambridge. I didn't figure there were going to be too many opportunities for a not-so-wonderful Chinese actress (of course I didn't think so then) and started working for the newspaper rather more seriously. But I still have the play, and I read it again every so often.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible comes very close to being the perfect model for the so-called 'tragedy of the common man', an idea which Miller himself propounded in an article in The New York Times, in the same week that his other great work, Death of a Salesman, was premiered. Miller's idea of drama was to put the common man, or the working man, at the centre of a situation that would require him to act in an uncommon way. This is exectly what we find in The Crucible. Although not written with this idea of the tragedy of the common man explicitly in mind, The Crucible conforms to the definition more closely than does Death of a Salesman. Motivated, of course, by the witch-hunt-like MacArthur hearings in Washington D.C., The Crucible focuses on a man under attack, a man who is flawed but who is good. A common man in uncommon circumstances.
Possibly this is Miller's greatest work, as it combines the timeless quality of tragedy with contemporarily relevent themes in a way that is neither ambiguous or overly intrusive. This is a play which should continue to be read in schools and studied with care, particularly for its historical value.

The Crucible, Arthur Miller's allegory for the McCarthy era trials, is a wonderful story of pride, love, power, and redemption.

Act One sets the stage very nicely, with a sense of distrust and suspicion in the air that's just waiting to erupt into full hysteria. We're introduced to several interesting characters. There's Parris, the self-righteous minister; Abigail, the voluptuous young woman; and Proctor, the protective farmer. Of course, these are just a few of the characters, but, in my opinion, they are the most interesting. My only complaint on Act One is the lengthy side notes made by Miller used to make characterizations that didn't fit into the play otherwise, and explain historical facts and rumors in more detail. Despite these missives being useful, they also tend to be quite intrusive. I often found myself backtracking through the pages to remind myself what was going on.

Act Two continues to set the stage for impending hysteria, with the arrest of Elizabeth and numerous other women accused of witchcraft. Giles Corey and Francis Nurse's wives are also taken into custody, despite the evidence against one of them simply being an interest in books.

Act Three introduces us to the unrepentant Judge Danforth. In my opinion, he's the second most unlikable character, bested (for serious lack of a better word) only by Abigail. He's the main proprietor of the idea that neutrality on an issue is simply non-existent, and this coupled with his vicious ideology make him quite a deplorable character indeed.

It is also in this act that John Proctor, the protagonist, is charged with witchcraft, while his wife is let free due to a pregnancy. Tensions stir, causing a complete eruption, ending in the resignation of Minister Hale from Danforth's proceedings.

Act Four finds Proctor in jail, facing execution unless he confesses to having been under the control of the Devil. In Elizabeth's confidence, he firmly defends his innocence, but ponders the possibility that perhaps he should confess to save his own life, which Elizabeth supports.

Proctor reluctantly decides that he will lie and confess to save his own life. However, when he finds that Danforth intends for his confession to be in writing and hung upon the church door, he retracts his confession and states that he would rather die than tell a lie and be the judge of others. The curtain falls as Proctor is brought out to hang, with a cry from Danforth of, "Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these weeps for corruption!"

There's a running sense of doubt among all the characters, which perhaps adds to the fear of God that causes the eventual aberration. It's an extremely moving tale on its own, but the fact that it's almost a flawless mirror of the McCarthyist era makes it all the more affecting. The characters are all amazingly believable; I truly felt pain for Proctor, Elizabeth, and Giles, just as I truly felt contempt for Parris, Danforth, and Abigail.

I recommend this play to anyone, but especially those who have read and enjoyed any of Miller's other work.

Very good for what Arthur Miller was trying to get across. I believe it really put the situation he and many others were going through during the Red Scare. If you are interested in history in literature this is definitely for you. If you are just looking for a good story about the Salem witch trials this may not be for you. Although it does have a lot of elements that are important of the trials, it is lacking in optimistic or hopeful parts of the story. This was very powerful to show how ridiculous the Red Scare was, but doesn't make very pleasant reading just as a story. I really didn't find one part of this story pleasant. It's very hard to read and love a story that is so bleak throughout the entire play. It's just a let down in the story-telling aspect. However, I think what Arthur Miller wrote this for was perfectly conveyed. So, if you would like to read a great piece of history this is awesome for you! But, if you want to read a fun story about witch trials, avoid this.

After seeing the recent New York production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, I felt compelled to rush out and buy a copy of this powerful play and devour it. The play does not lose its impact as a piece of literature divorced from its theatrical presentation. This portrayal of Salem witch trials was written as a shadow commentary on the McCarthy trials but the play still has a terrible relevancy to today's raucous world. This play rips away the black-and-white, simple good-and-evil view of the world of many leaders and shows the relativism and the dangers of such view points. Aside from this, though, this play is entertaining in a very breathtaking way with very powerful character portrayals that makes these historical personalities both universal and powerfully true to their historical period.

The amalgamation of history and literature in this play makes it a real work of art. Even though the audience is familiar with the historic denouement of the Salem Witch trials, the plot compels it to follow until the very end. The dramatic irony, by which the audience identifies the real victims and the spuriousness of witchcraft, is key to the enticing complications of the plot.
From the secret affair between Abigail and John Proctor to the false accusations of witchcraft, Myers criticizes the superstitious and Puritan society of Salem in which religion forms a moral law, and reputation can stand in a person's way to do what is good and just. Because of the theocratic nature of the society, moral laws and state laws are one- society is responsible for individual salvation. Ironically, they hang those accused of witchcraft based on the testimony of a group of teenage girls.
The play reflects the minimal role of women in the Puritan society of Salem and how witchcraft, for many girls, was a way they could get back at society. Tituba, whose status is lower than that of anyone else in the play by virtue of the fact that she is Black, manages to deflect her blame by accusing others of witchcraft. Similarly, Abigail also retaliates at the Proctors for having fired her and for John's denial of his affair with her.
In Salem, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil; dissent is not merely unlawful, it is associated with satanic activity. This bifurcation functions as the underlying logic behind the witch trials. Arthur Myers demonstrates the role that hysteria can play in tearing apart a community. Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they have always considered upstanding people, are committing absurd and unbelievable crimes. At the end of the story, John Proctor prefers to be hung than to falsely sign his name on a paper confirming his involvement in witchcraft. The paradox of individualism and society's impact on its members conveys the trouble resulting from hysteria and lies.

I had been intrested in the Salem witch trials for quite sometime, so that lead me to picking up 'The Crucible'. This is a great document of the chaos that went on in Salem, Mass. in 1692. The trouble starts when Betty Parris, 10, falls under some unknown illness with symptoms unknown, everyone immedietly belives it to be causes of an unknown evil that put her in her inert, and practically lifeless. the work of the devil. The town is in histerics and begins a crazy terrorous witchhunt when accusations are fired out. Arthur Miller's story gives the whole Salem Witch Hunts a realistic spin and puts it in uniform and shines up its buttons. The story is inthralling, and the characters (Abagail in particular) are wonderfully designed and intriguing. The book is written in playwrite format, which makes it somewhat clunky to read, but is still fluent. I would love to do this play in drama class. *has been begging her teacher* Any one who is intrested in witchcraft or the salem witch trials will deffinetly enjoy this. You really get to see the evil of scociety, and how quick people are to point fingers, and the results.. 19 innocent men and women hanged. Such a grasping story I was actually driven to go to Salem, to fullfill my experience. I deffinetly recommend the movie also, Wynona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis play thier rolls with perfection.

There were some strong variations in volume within this audio presentation of "The Crucible," but it is otherwise an effective dramatisation that adds the bonus of historical context before and after the text/performance. There are a smattering of sound effects to heighten the suspense and pain of the drama, but much of tension is presented in the actors' voices. I strongly recommend that you *hear* rather than *read* The Crucible, whether through video, audio or live performance.

Exciting and eventful, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a joy to read. Arthur Miller succeeds in bringing the thrill of each event in the play. Filled with wonderful imagery and actions, The Crucible remains one of my favorite plays.

Miller is able to create masterful scenes through the dialogue of the characters. He can set the tone and mood of the setting through how the characters talk. This allows readers to actually envision the setting and feel as if they too are part of the play.

The characters are wonderful in that they are not one-dimensional, and they appear very real. Each character feels very human- as if the reader has already met the character before. It is interesting to see each character have a different persona and different motives, which leads to an interesting and complex plot. Because each character has a different motive, it makes the plot much more interesting as there are also added subplots which entice the reader to know more about each individual character.

The events that occur in the play contribute greatly to the overall excitement of the story. The accusations are extremely vivid, so readers can feel the fear and the hysteria the town itself is feeling. They appeal to the senses as readers begin to feel engaged in the story.

If you want to read a short, engaging play, The Crucible is the way to go.

This book is first and foremost a test of morals.
Is it ok to kill other people if the evidence against them is not sound?
Is it ok to kill them at all?
How do you decide who will live and who will die?

These are the questions that make up the majority of this book.

The Crucible is set during the time of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in 1692. During that time, many women were hung under the assumption that they had dealings with the devil and had practiced witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller depicts the constant struggle between the Lord and Satan. This universal theme is also seen in Steinbeck's East of Eden with a struggle between good and evil.

This has an allusion to the biblical story of the War in Heaven between Lucifer and God in order to steal God's throne. This biblical allusion summarizes the entire play in one sentence. People believed that women could be possessed by the devil and ordered to do witchcraft. If the women did this, they were turning their backs on God, as Lucifer did. After the war in heaven, Lucifer lost and was banished to Hell where his name became Satan. The people of Salem, Massachusetts believed that it was Satan, the devil, which inhabited women's souls. The play also symbolizes a struggle between good and evil, as does the war in heaven. The war was a struggle between God, good, and Lucifer, evil. Also, the characters in the play have to constantly decide whether they will be on Satan's side or on God's.

Put your own moral sense to test here.
Let you be the judge of who should live or die and see if you could do it.

As everything in society comes tumbling to the ground, who will be the people that are still sane and who will be the ones that betray their so called "loved ones"?

This book overall is a pretty good read. There are some things that you will have to get through. One of the things that you will have to get through is an annoying teenage girl. All books will have this though. Another thing that you will have to get through or at least I had to get through is the ending, but some people might like it. I love how Arthur Miller spiced up what actually happened in Salem. Although the book was good the movie was a little bit better. It was a lot easier to picture what was happening... obviously. The good thing about this was how much it keeps you on the edge of your seat. You will just keep wanting to read it and not put it down. That's why, although I didn't like some of the characters, I loved the book/movie! I do recommend this book for someone who is wanting a good book to read.

This is a wonderful play that is timeless even if it was originally intended as an indictment of the Mc Carthy era witchhunts. The action centers around the character of John Proctor who is forced to choose between saving his wife from false accusations and saving his own reputation. The dramatic tension is palpable as the story progresses from the introduction of the various characters and their backgrounds and motivations to the climactic courtroom scenes. The play is destined to survive because it explores essential truths about human nature including the willingness of people to accuse their neighbors and follow mass hysteria and these are timeless themes.

Miller's "Crucible" amazingly parallels the McCarthyism era and provides a frightful yet realistic account of the possibilities caused by human desires. Its short length combined with its easy-to-understand language allows the readers to become fully absorbed in the plot.
During the period of anti-communism, suspicions were placed among all types of people, ranging from outcasts of society to the most-trusted educators. The hysteria of the Red Scare spread rapidly through the belief of a necessary social conformity. Despite questionable evidence combined with exaggerated threats, suspicions were often deemed credible in a court of law. Consequently, once suspected, few individuals were able to completely clear their reputation. As with the witches accused, suspected Communists were given the chance to escape punishment through confession and identification of other Red Sympathizers. This gradually led to false accusations of others to save oneself, resulting in the condemning of many innocent individuals. Paralleling the Salem Witch Trials to the persecutions of the McCarthyism era, Miller emphasizes the ability of mass hysteria to overpower the apparent irrationality of the Red Scare.
Miller's outstanding use of historical context further emphasized the power of human nature to cause the spread of mass hysteria. When looking at the "Crucible" as a play, it seems too surreal and frightening to be true. Any reader could easily mock the people of the community for being naïve and hanging nonexistent witches. However, the scary irony that Miller uses is the fact that the whole scenario has happened before in history, numerous times. Not only did the settlers of Massachusetts hang supposed "witches", but also people in the twentieth century have allowed mass hysteria to spread unjustifiably.
"The Crucible" is an exciting play that fully grasps the attention of its readers. It is not only an entertaining book for any occasion, but is also a meaningful retelling of a tragedy of human nature.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is not really a book, but I've decided to count it anyway. The play is short, and I finished it in one afternoon because I was so engrossed. Also, I enjoyed it much more than I did The Death of a Salesman, also written by Miller. One of my favorite aspects of the play was its relevance to modern times; at points, I couldn't tell whether the action was set in Salem in the 1600s or Washington DC in the 1950s. In addition, the first act included one of my favorite lines I've read recently: "Their fathers had, of course, been persecuted in England. So now they found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their New Journalism be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas."

The last time I read "The Crucible" was in high school back in the 1960s. Over the years I had forgotten much of what it was about, however it wasn't until I listened to the excellent production by L.A. Theatre Works that the raw emotions of this gripping story came to life.
As a few other reviewers here have suggested, this story works better as a play, not just a high school "textbook." I'd suggest that any students who have to read this book also take the time to listen to this recording.
My impression this time is that a merciless, judgmental religion is no true religion. I hope that young readers, or listeners, will realize that this is not the type of religion that Christ intended.

I thought this play was excellent. I haven't read many American plays before, but this one was definitely great. It takes place during the Salem Witch Trials, and follows the inhabitants over a period of several months. I thought it was interesting mainly because it gave me some insight into how terrifying it must have been for the people who lived back then. It shows how hysteria can make people believe anything and how a small minority can destroy so many people's lives, once they realize how much power they have. It was very disturbing, because it makes you realize how fragile our society is; but it is also very enlightening.

This tragic and thought provoking story follows the time period of the Salem Witch trials and the victims who were wrongly accused. "The Crucible" preaches for justice, truth and loyalty. When the Proctor's wife, and later on the Proctor himself, are unfortunately called under trail for relations with the devil, the pair suffers through the ordeals of asking for forgiveness of their sins or dying with pride as they know they are innocent. As they are being tried in court, Mary is the sole person who can testify if the allegations against them are true or not. In the beginning, she stayed loyal to the truth despite the pressures from society to condemn them. Yet eventually Mary breaks under the pressure of her peers and agrees that the pair is indeed guilty of their accusations, although they are innocent. She clearly gives in because of the fear she had of her own life, worrying if others would become suspicious of her. The proctor eventually refuses to repent for something he does not do, but is he still eventually hanged for his crime? Read this story to find out! As you read, benefit from it's parallels to the struggles in our society today, where the justice systems gets overly involved in the moral investments and rumors of the outside world. This book is the perfect historical account to one of the most despicable times in history, it preaches loyalty to the truth even in the worst of times.

A quick read considering it being a play, the Crucible offers some insight into the victims and those involved in the Salem Witch Trials.

Since it was a play, Miller's style did not amaze me in anyway, but i enjoyed the play aspect in this case, since it was something different from the typical read. Instead of the common vivid descriptions or the over the head type of figurative language, Miller uses subtle detail to create the same effect, it is hard to explain just how, but each minor detail seems to add so much to the picture projected in my mind, and it really seemed as if a play was held before me.

I could see everything--the fear in the people's eyes, the tension between every conversation. There may not have been a lot of words, but I felt that even the single "no.. no.. " told a lot.

Most shocking was the inhumane--yet ironically humanly--moral depictions of the characters. I was surprised with their extremely careful eye for reputation and name--to the point of setting up innocent friends and family to the sacrificial alter to calm the fearing people. So much for honestly, so much for loyalty. The people were monsters when it came to saving themselves at the cost of anybody. Though disgusted as I was with these characters, I was more a little shaken myself. Looking now to the type of society around me, I could envision another enactment of the witch trials. Yes, it was inhumane; yes, it could have been avoided. BUT, I find that many of the characters' flawed traits still exist in today's society. We see people hiding secrets, hurting others, telling lies, to save their own name. We see people dressing up with hope of impressing--or sometimes, deceiving--others. Society today still has its hand tightly gripped on reputation, and it doesn't seem as if it is letting go soon.

Rather than the typical history lesson, The Crucible is a drama that tells a lot. Love triangles, back stabbing, and affairs flood the story, and characters with every aspect revealed hold it up. The Crucible was meant to depict the mind settings and the circumstances of the people involved in the Salem Witch Trials--and it did just that.

This play by Arthur Miller is definitely worth reading, partly because of its engaging storyline and also for its succinctness. This play can pretty much be a model for what play should really be like. It has complex characters that at times both amuse and scare us, a straightforward storyline that is not without it's twists and turns, and most importantly, a fascinating topic that is in relation to historical context.

The plot revolves around the historic Salem Witch Hunt in Salem, Massachusets. A young woman named Abigail is among the others who are accused to performing witchcraft and for enthralling ordinary civilians. When they are finally proven guilty, they stand before court, but not before Abigail gains power in the justice and randomly convicts innocent women to be the "real" witches. The hyseria and corruption surrounding the court and Salem society as a whole will never be the same, as the innocent are convincted while the guilty are let go. Although fiction, this play does relate immensely to historical times, in which women indeed were sentenced to death during the trials for no reason and were never proven guilty. The story is written with eloquence and wit, with the occasional tad bit of humor and irony in the mix. The best part? The language is easy to understand, for us mere mortals at least.

There's so much going on in this play that I don't know where to begin. On the surface it's about the Salem Witch trials, and if that's all you get out of it that's more than enough. But there's so much more there as well. It's an attack against Mccarthyism too. If you know your history it's easy to see the parallels. In either case it's about paranoia (the first ones to go are the ones who're a little odd), mass hysteria (self explanatory), revenge, (if someone has crossed you, why not accuse them), and greed (Abby's accusing Elizabeth so she can have her husband). It's about guilt too, primarily that which John Proctor feels, (I hope I'm not giving away too much here, but John had an affair with Abby).
So where does the naming of names come in. Well, both in the trials and in the HUAC (House Unamerican Activities Committee) hearings, you could assure your own safety, and prove your innocence by implicating someone else. The argument is put to John Proctor that what harm will it do to accuse someone who is all ready condemned. The same occurred in the HUAC hearings. In the end Proctor has a chance to save himself, but lose what honor he has left (he is after all an adulterer, and while not as serious now, it was a big thing then), or die honorably--to leave some suspense in it, I won't say which he chooses, although you can probably guess. In the HUAC hearings there were those who named names (Elia Kazan is the only one I remember, but yes, this is what the controversy about him receiving a lifetime acheivement award hinged on), and those who didn't (Miller, Dashielle Hammet, Lillian Hellman to name a few). While no one died as a result of the HUAC hearings, as far as I know, careers were in essence permanently ruined.

This short play dives deep into the minds of those who participated in the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600's. Miller focuses entirely on human emotions as he attempts to discover the real reason for these ridiculous witch accusations. "The Crucible" is intriguing and mind-bottling as readers realize the severity of the trials. Many people's lives were changed and it leaves one to question: "Why didn't anyone verify the claims?" The play centers around a man named John Proctor and his relationship with the young Abigail Williams. John commits adultery, cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. In the Puritan society, adultery is a major sin in which the individual would face a severe punishment if convicted. When Proctor tells Abigail he does not love her, she takes revenge by accusing Elizabeth of doing witchcraft. The claims are absurd, yet not a single person in the town attempts to clear Elizabeth's name. Abigail uses her manipulative powers to get the other girls in on her plan. The play shows that both fear and revenge can cause people to do horrible things. The townspeople are involved in this "witch hunt" and add to society's ignorance. They fail to challenge authority even though they know what is right. I found this book engaging as I tried to fathom the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller does an excellent job of trying to understand why this happened. I learned that Puritan society was weak and that many individuals feared speaking out against authority. The entire Puritan society was based on control. By instilling fear in people, the Puritan leaders could maintain leadership over the rest of them. This is a great read if you want to try to understand history and apply it to our world today.

Just as 'High Noon' shows the courage of a man who refused to cut and run from great danger, 'The Crucible' is usually regarded as an allegory which attacks the 1950s intolerance of anti-communist zealots.

Perhaps it is much more. Liberals get a warm fizzy feeling over Miller's portrayal of fundamentalist religious persecution run amok; but, this limited acumen ignores the terrible "engine" of such persecution - - - the American adversarial judicial system.

The play portrays hapless victims accused of imaginary evils and then convicted by a judicial system based not on truth, justice or mercy but on the absolutes of guilt or innocence. No mitigation is allowed. In Act III, Deputy Governor John Danforth states, "But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road between."

It's the same idea used by President George Bush to justify whatever he wants to do, always of course within the law and within the Constitution, in his War on Terror. Likewise, Gov. Danforth in 'The Crucible' always acts within the law. Miller asserts all power corrupts, and the power to kill someone corrupts absolutely.

It sums up the essence of the play; our court system is either win or lose based on adversarial confrontation. It's origins are in ancient "trial by strength" rituals. It was thought God would not allow the guilty to triumph, and so victory was considered proof of absolute innocence with no room for doubt. In Act IV, a plea to delay the executions a week was rejected by Gov. Danforth because, "Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now."

Sound familiar? We are now told that a withdrawal from the War on Iraq "must cast doubt upon the sacrifice of them that died till now." Miller is very clear in portraying the corrupting power of government: Never admit a mistake, regardless of the cost to the innocent.

As the play ends, one condemned man is urged to sign the false confession he has just spoken. He responds, "You have all witnessed it; what more is needed?"

Why sign? One preacher explains it has nothing to do with guilt, innocence or mercy, instead it is solely because "the village must have proof that - - -"

The man responds, "Damn the village! I confess to God, and God has seen my name on this! It is enough!" He tells the governor, "You are the high court, your word is enough!"

But judicial rules reject God. Mercy is not by God's truth, but only by the lie demanded by the court. There is no interest in truth, justice, guilt, innocence or mercy. The man refuses, because personal honour means more than arcane rules. He explains, "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How can I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"

The court refuses. Justice, says Miller, is not truth or fact; it depends solely on court rules. 'The Cruicible' uses real events from 1692 to illustrate the basic weakness of an adversarial judicial system. It applies today, as much as to the McCarthy era.

This is a play for today. It applies to our procedural-bound courts, to religious fundamentalists and to intolerant political extremists. It shows what happens when government officials believe "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice." It applies to us, now.

I surprisingly enjoyed this book though it was assigned reading for school. The obvious parallels of the play's setting, in the time of the Salem Witch Trials, to the Red Scare of Arthur Miller's time actually add to how one may reflect what they've read in this play. In place of Abigail pointing her finger and crying "Witch! Witch!" at anyone who crosses her, one can easily see McCarthy pointing his finger in every direction and crying "Communist! Traitor!"
My favorite thing about this work though are not the parallels to the 20th century Communist scare. It is the realationship between John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth. They suffer the most at Abigail's whims, Proctor having had an affair with the girl and Elizabeth dismissing her from serving in their household when she suspected as much. Even through Proctor's unfaithfulness and the accusation of Elizabeth practicing witchcraft, the couple holds a certain tenderness to each other and maintain it even through tenser scenes. I loved the ending though it was quite sad. It added to the melancholy of the theme.

With its suspenseful plot, melodramatic characters, and excessively strict setting, Arthur Miller's The Crucible expertly captures the helplessness of the wrongfully-accused.
The Crucible follows the story of a stubborn cynic in the midst of his society's chaos and paranoia. Not particularly moral, for he had committed adultery, John Proctor is the typical man struggling with his beliefs that are not accepted in his community. His different thoughts violate the society's unsaid policy of conformity, rendering him the perfect character to play out the pitiful hardships of a heretic. Since he neither entirely good nor completely evil, Proctor's character represents the common man, and the average reader can relate to his thoughts about society. Because of this, readers are more able to sympathize with Proctor, drawing the reader more into the book's plot as it goes on. Because of this, the reader eventually faces the same gnawing conflict Proctor faces in the end. While yielding to his society's chaotic witch-hunting disturbs his conscience, holding fast to his beliefs guarantees death. Throughout the play, Proctor battles it out with his pride when he is forced to choose between his life and his conscience. Instead of just a story of trials, The Crucible represents a moral test -is being honest worth dying for? The reader contemplates this inevitable question as he flips faster and faster (and his heart beats faster and faster!) to reveal the fatal end - his ethics win, and Proctor hangs dead.

Only by placing his story in a strict community would Miller be able to illustrate the overwhelmingly contagious fear of evil -and he did just that. Prior to the introduction of John Proctor's character, the story begins with a young girl's false accusation of another of witchcraft in Salem, a Puritan settlement. The idea of the Devil's work, witchcraft, in their own pious community vastly alarms its citizens. Immediately, this fear spreads like an uncontrollable wildfire in a million acre forest. With this paranoia and fear leading to chaos, which eventually causes its tragic finale, The Crucible disapproves of the Puritan society's intolerance of dissent, almost mocking its gullibility and piety.

Also, characters developed in the play symbolize different aspects of the human nature. Abigail, the girl who initiates these accusations, does so because of her vengeful stubborn nature -a perfect representation of the play's antagonist. Her anger and confusion towards her banishment from Proctor's house motivates her revenge. Goody Proctor, the symbol of moral goodness, is, of course, John Proctor's wife -a daily painful reminder of his past sins. Throughout the play, she reflects a self-less personality, creating a standard for her husband to achieve. These characters help further shape John Proctor's dilemma at the end.

As for context, Miller compares these Salem witch-trials depicted in the play to the 1950s Red Scare in the United States. As the witch-trials begin with one accusation, so does the Red Scare. The piety and overwhelming fear in the Devil in the community allows the witch-hunt to continue throughout the Puritan settlement. Paralleling this fear, the paranoia of Communism in the steadfast Democratic-Republican United States allows the trials and accusations to pervade throughout America.

As readers, we see the absurdity of these Salem witch-trials. With Miller's amazing suspenseful style, we ourselves feel helpless as well because we cannot intervene with the story. Instead, we could only sit back and watch as the ridiculous fear swells out of control within the community. By being able to relate his protagonist to the reader and recreating this very helplessness in the reader as well, Miller thoroughly explores the desperation of the wrongfully accused. Yet, Miller also comments on the ridiculous period of the Red Scare, when people allowed the accusations to get out of hand. This fantastic, discreet but not imperceptible, parallelism between the Salem witch-trials and the Red Scare period adds a historical flair.
The Crucible is an exciting and engaging play, holding suspense until the very satisfying end. Like a Shakespeare play, The Crucible makes a reader fully experience from the initial complications to the final catharsis.

I have always wanted to read this book and I am glad that i finally did. THe Salem witch trials have always intrigued me and this book/play gave me an insight into them. I liked how throughout the book the author gives you details about each character and explains why they are they way they are. It is scary to think that a group of children could wreck havoc on a town with only their imagination and acting skills. I can't help but feel sorry for the victims and their families. Again this is a must read for anybody interested in the witch trials.

When is lying justifiable? Is it good in certain situations but bad in others? The Bible explicitly says, "Thou shall not lie," but most nowadays choose to neglect that rule and seek our own good, whether it be by telling the truth or by lying. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is memorable in that it illustrates the malicious extent of a person's lie. Miller recounts a person's desire to destroy one another by using false accusations to highlight the destructive result of humanity's egoistic nature.

A look at the period in which the book takes place is crucial in understanding the immorality behind the punishments those accused of witchcraft received. Set in the early 17th century America, the enticing play quickly build up climax as the characters struggle to fit in their superficial society of the Puritans. Those latter strongly believed that any contact with evil spirits merits death. The presence of a sinner in the midst of the community would mean danger and melancholy to all. Therefore, it was crucial to spot the guilty and remove him/her.

Since the firm Puritan belief of the seventeenth century upheld witchcraft as a direct contact with devils, and if not Lucifer himself, the accusations of Abigail and her associates cause great hysteria in the calm city of Salem. By falsely accusing others of being involved in witchcraft, Abigail succeeds in fooling the deputy who then orders many venerable citizens to burn at the stake.

It is also interesting to realize that Miller passed through a period that exactly parallels that found in his play. Driven by the impulsive McCarthyism ideology of his era, Miller parallels the anti-Communist fervor of the 1950's with the false accusations of the Salem Witch trials of the 1690's in order to highlight the outlandish prejudice of both eras.

Senator John McCarthy eliminates Communist compellers from the United States by ensuring that all those partaking of the Communistic party be severely punished. As in the case with the Salem Witch Trials, people in the 1950's accused others of Communistic involvement in order to escape their awaited severe punishments.

In both eras, the policy of encouraging others to confess resulted in great hysteria and settled long-held vendettas. In the 1950's, those who refused to confess were forever blacklisted, and in the 1690's, they were condemned and hanged. In both eras, it is evident that the envy of the miserable toward the happy is what caused many people to sell others.

Overall, the book is enticing and holds many moral lessons that the reader must deduce after seeing the consequences of the characters' actions. If you want to discover some history as well as enjoy a book where you will be able to see yourself, then I strongly recommend this play for you.

Truly Artur Miller's greatest work. I own at least three copies of this book and have read it over twelve times. No matter how many times I have read it, watched it live, watched it on tape, or performed in it, the story has never bored me. It constantly reveals something new to me and forces me to look at my world in a slightly new manner after each reading.
By far Miller's best play, it is also his most well-known. It contains strong connections with McCarthy-ism and is therefore relevant to even today. It is important to realize that while it is set in 1692, it has connections to all time periods and thusly, must not be trapped within it's own time period.
A driving piece of work that will blow you away.

Arthur Miller created a timeless classic when he wrote The Crucible. A play composed of themes describing the courage and integrity of those who were trying to remain upright, authorities gaining too much control, hypocrisy overtaking a people, guilt for past sins, revenge that was fueled over generations, and mass hysteria that gripped the Puritan village of Salem in 1692. In addition, being published in 1953, this book reflects the McCarthy era and the Red Scare hysteria that was created from an idea that had no significant evidence. Although this play is set in a time of long ago, the overriding themes and lessons that can be taken from this novel are still relevant for people today.
The small Puritan village of Salem is obsessed with the idea that there are witches residing among them. Since they are resolute about living a life lead by the Bible which states "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), they are overcome with fear that witches will corrupt them. Once the young, promiscuous Abigail Williams begins condemning common people from the town for witchcraft, mass hysteria is created and more and more people are accused of this fatal sin. People are thought to be witches until proven otherwise, and even some of the town's most highly-praised citizens are condemned. John Proctor who once had an affair with Abigail, is condemned of being a witch himself and deals with conflicts within himself of guilt, fear, and even courage as he struggles against what he believes is right and what others are telling him is right. The Crucible provides countless thoughts that provoke the reader to think about society, their beliefs, and examine their own inner selves.
How do people react to crucible situations today? This novel has many connections with the McCarthy Red Scare that completely ruined the trust and reputations of many innocent people in our government and society. It is a play which is easy to understand yet possesses many thought-provoking and deep ideas about how one person can make such a huge impact on so many people's lives as did Abigail Williams. Even when characters in The Crucible knew that what was occurring was wrong, they were either too late to protest or did not have enough courage to stand up for what they believed. The Crucible will benefit anyone who reads it, and encompasses many topics relevant to people today.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great book to read with a mother-daughter book club. It provides an outlet to talk about issues the girls are covering in school, and to find out about how their perspectives differ from those of their moms. The issues of witchcraft and socially sanctioned violence against a targeted group seem eerily relevant to some of the things going on in our world today. This book challenged all of us to think about the most important things in our lives and what we're willing to sacrifice to achieve a higher cause.

This play by Arthur Miller is definitely worth reading, partly because of its engaging storyline and also for its succinctness. This play can pretty much be a model for what play should really be like. It has complex characters that at times both amuse and scare us, a straightforward storyline that is not without it's twists and turns, and most importantly, a fascinating topic that is in relation to historical context.

The plot revolves around the historic Salem Witch Hunt in Salem, Massachusets. A young woman named Abigail is among the others who are accused to performing witchcraft and for enthralling ordinary civilians. When they are finally proven guilty, they stand before court, but not before Abigail gains power in the justice and randomly convicts innocent women to be the "real" witches. The hyseria and corruption surrounding the court and Salem society as a whole will never be the same, as the innocent are convincted while the guilty are let go. Although fiction, this play does relate immensely to historical times, in which women indeed were sentenced to death during the trials for no reason and were never proven guilty. The story is written with eloquence and wit, with the occasional tad bit of humor and irony in the mix. The best part? The language is easy to understand, for us mere mortals at least.

There's so much going on in this play that I don't know where to begin. On the surface it's about the Salem Witch trials, and if that's all you get out of it that's more than enough. But there's so much more there as well. It's an attack against Mccarthyism too. If you know your history it's easy to see the parallels. In either case it's about paranoia (the first ones to go are the ones who're a little odd), mass hysteria (self explanatory), revenge, (if someone has crossed you, why not accuse them), and greed (Abby's accusing Elizabeth so she can have her husband). It's about guilt too, primarily that which John Proctor feels, (I hope I'm not giving away too much here, but John had an affair with Abby).
So where does the naming of names come in. Well, both in the trials and in the HUAC (House Unamerican Activities Committee) hearings, you could assure your own safety, and prove your innocence by implicating someone else. The argument is put to John Proctor that what harm will it do to accuse someone who is all ready condemned. The same occurred in the HUAC hearings. In the end Proctor has a chance to save himself, but lose what honor he has left (he is after all an adulterer, and while not as serious now, it was a big thing then), or die honorably--to leave some suspense in it, I won't say which he chooses, although you can probably guess. In the HUAC hearings there were those who named names (Elia Kazan is the only one I remember, but yes, this is what the controversy about him receiving a lifetime acheivement award hinged on), and those who didn't (Miller, Dashielle Hammet, Lillian Hellman to name a few). While no one died as a result of the HUAC hearings, as far as I know, careers were in essence permanently ruined.

This short play dives deep into the minds of those who participated in the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600's. Miller focuses entirely on human emotions as he attempts to discover the real reason for these ridiculous witch accusations. "The Crucible" is intriguing and mind-bottling as readers realize the severity of the trials. Many people's lives were changed and it leaves one to question: "Why didn't anyone verify the claims?" The play centers around a man named John Proctor and his relationship with the young Abigail Williams. John commits adultery, cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. In the Puritan society, adultery is a major sin in which the individual would face a severe punishment if convicted. When Proctor tells Abigail he does not love her, she takes revenge by accusing Elizabeth of doing witchcraft. The claims are absurd, yet not a single person in the town attempts to clear Elizabeth's name. Abigail uses her manipulative powers to get the other girls in on her plan. The play shows that both fear and revenge can cause people to do horrible things. The townspeople are involved in this "witch hunt" and add to society's ignorance. They fail to challenge authority even though they know what is right. I found this book engaging as I tried to fathom the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller does an excellent job of trying to understand why this happened. I learned that Puritan society was weak and that many individuals feared speaking out against authority. The entire Puritan society was based on control. By instilling fear in people, the Puritan leaders could maintain leadership over the rest of them. This is a great read if you want to try to understand history and apply it to our world today.

Just as 'High Noon' shows the courage of a man who refused to cut and run from great danger, 'The Crucible' is usually regarded as an allegory which attacks the 1950s intolerance of anti-communist zealots.

Perhaps it is much more. Liberals get a warm fizzy feeling over Miller's portrayal of fundamentalist religious persecution run amok; but, this limited acumen ignores the terrible "engine" of such persecution - - - the American adversarial judicial system.

The play portrays hapless victims accused of imaginary evils and then convicted by a judicial system based not on truth, justice or mercy but on the absolutes of guilt or innocence. No mitigation is allowed. In Act III, Deputy Governor John Danforth states, "But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road between."

It's the same idea used by President George Bush to justify whatever he wants to do, always of course within the law and within the Constitution, in his War on Terror. Likewise, Gov. Danforth in 'The Crucible' always acts within the law. Miller asserts all power corrupts, and the power to kill someone corrupts absolutely.

It sums up the essence of the play; our court system is either win or lose based on adversarial confrontation. It's origins are in ancient "trial by strength" rituals. It was thought God would not allow the guilty to triumph, and so victory was considered proof of absolute innocence with no room for doubt. In Act IV, a plea to delay the executions a week was rejected by Gov. Danforth because, "Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now."

Sound familiar? We are now told that a withdrawal from the War on Iraq "must cast doubt upon the sacrifice of them that died till now." Miller is very clear in portraying the corrupting power of government: Never admit a mistake, regardless of the cost to the innocent.

As the play ends, one condemned man is urged to sign the false confession he has just spoken. He responds, "You have all witnessed it; what more is needed?"

Why sign? One preacher explains it has nothing to do with guilt, innocence or mercy, instead it is solely because "the village must have proof that - - -"

The man responds, "Damn the village! I confess to God, and God has seen my name on this! It is enough!" He tells the governor, "You are the high court, your word is enough!"

But judicial rules reject God. Mercy is not by God's truth, but only by the lie demanded by the court. There is no interest in truth, justice, guilt, innocence or mercy. The man refuses, because personal honour means more than arcane rules. He explains, "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How can I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"

The court refuses. Justice, says Miller, is not truth or fact; it depends solely on court rules. 'The Cruicible' uses real events from 1692 to illustrate the basic weakness of an adversarial judicial system. It applies today, as much as to the McCarthy era.

This is a play for today. It applies to our procedural-bound courts, to religious fundamentalists and to intolerant political extremists. It shows what happens when government officials believe "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice." It applies to us, now.

I surprisingly enjoyed this book though it was assigned reading for school. The obvious parallels of the play's setting, in the time of the Salem Witch Trials, to the Red Scare of Arthur Miller's time actually add to how one may reflect what they've read in this play. In place of Abigail pointing her finger and crying "Witch! Witch!" at anyone who crosses her, one can easily see McCarthy pointing his finger in every direction and crying "Communist! Traitor!"
My favorite thing about this work though are not the parallels to the 20th century Communist scare. It is the realationship between John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth. They suffer the most at Abigail's whims, Proctor having had an affair with the girl and Elizabeth dismissing her from serving in their household when she suspected as much. Even through Proctor's unfaithfulness and the accusation of Elizabeth practicing witchcraft, the couple holds a certain tenderness to each other and maintain it even through tenser scenes. I loved the ending though it was quite sad. It added to the melancholy of the theme.

With its suspenseful plot, melodramatic characters, and excessively strict setting, Arthur Miller's The Crucible expertly captures the helplessness of the wrongfully-accused.
The Crucible follows the story of a stubborn cynic in the midst of his society's chaos and paranoia. Not particularly moral, for he had committed adultery, John Proctor is the typical man struggling with his beliefs that are not accepted in his community. His different thoughts violate the society's unsaid policy of conformity, rendering him the perfect character to play out the pitiful hardships of a heretic. Since he neither entirely good nor completely evil, Proctor's character represents the common man, and the average reader can relate to his thoughts about society. Because of this, readers are more able to sympathize with Proctor, drawing the reader more into the book's plot as it goes on. Because of this, the reader eventually faces the same gnawing conflict Proctor faces in the end. While yielding to his society's chaotic witch-hunting disturbs his conscience, holding fast to his beliefs guarantees death. Throughout the play, Proctor battles it out with his pride when he is forced to choose between his life and his conscience. Instead of just a story of trials, The Crucible represents a moral test -is being honest worth dying for? The reader contemplates this inevitable question as he flips faster and faster (and his heart beats faster and faster!) to reveal the fatal end - his ethics win, and Proctor hangs dead.

Only by placing his story in a strict community would Miller be able to illustrate the overwhelmingly contagious fear of evil -and he did just that. Prior to the introduction of John Proctor's character, the story begins with a young girl's false accusation of another of witchcraft in Salem, a Puritan settlement. The idea of the Devil's work, witchcraft, in their own pious community vastly alarms its citizens. Immediately, this fear spreads like an uncontrollable wildfire in a million acre forest. With this paranoia and fear leading to chaos, which eventually causes its tragic finale, The Crucible disapproves of the Puritan society's intolerance of dissent, almost mocking its gullibility and piety.

Also, characters developed in the play symbolize different aspects of the human nature. Abigail, the girl who initiates these accusations, does so because of her vengeful stubborn nature -a perfect representation of the play's antagonist. Her anger and confusion towards her banishment from Proctor's house motivates her revenge. Goody Proctor, the symbol of moral goodness, is, of course, John Proctor's wife -a daily painful reminder of his past sins. Throughout the play, she reflects a self-less personality, creating a standard for her husband to achieve. These characters help further shape John Proctor's dilemma at the end.

As for context, Miller compares these Salem witch-trials depicted in the play to the 1950s Red Scare in the United States. As the witch-trials begin with one accusation, so does the Red Scare. The piety and overwhelming fear in the Devil in the community allows the witch-hunt to continue throughout the Puritan settlement. Paralleling this fear, the paranoia of Communism in the steadfast Democratic-Republican United States allows the trials and accusations to pervade throughout America.

As readers, we see the absurdity of these Salem witch-trials. With Miller's amazing suspenseful style, we ourselves feel helpless as well because we cannot intervene with the story. Instead, we could only sit back and watch as the ridiculous fear swells out of control within the community. By being able to relate his protagonist to the reader and recreating this very helplessness in the reader as well, Miller thoroughly explores the desperation of the wrongfully accused. Yet, Miller also comments on the ridiculous period of the Red Scare, when people allowed the accusations to get out of hand. This fantastic, discreet but not imperceptible, parallelism between the Salem witch-trials and the Red Scare period adds a historical flair.
The Crucible is an exciting and engaging play, holding suspense until the very satisfying end. Like a Shakespeare play, The Crucible makes a reader fully experience from the initial complications to the final catharsis.

I have always wanted to read this book and I am glad that i finally did. THe Salem witch trials have always intrigued me and this book/play gave me an insight into them. I liked how throughout the book the author gives you details about each character and explains why they are they way they are. It is scary to think that a group of children could wreck havoc on a town with only their imagination and acting skills. I can't help but feel sorry for the victims and their families. Again this is a must read for anybody interested in the witch trials.

When is lying justifiable? Is it good in certain situations but bad in others? The Bible explicitly says, "Thou shall not lie," but most nowadays choose to neglect that rule and seek our own good, whether it be by telling the truth or by lying. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is memorable in that it illustrates the malicious extent of a person's lie. Miller recounts a person's desire to destroy one another by using false accusations to highlight the destructive result of humanity's egoistic nature.

A look at the period in which the book takes place is crucial in understanding the immorality behind the punishments those accused of witchcraft received. Set in the early 17th century America, the enticing play quickly build up climax as the characters struggle to fit in their superficial society of the Puritans. Those latter strongly believed that any contact with evil spirits merits death. The presence of a sinner in the midst of the community would mean danger and melancholy to all. Therefore, it was crucial to spot the guilty and remove him/her.

Since the firm Puritan belief of the seventeenth century upheld witchcraft as a direct contact with devils, and if not Lucifer himself, the accusations of Abigail and her associates cause great hysteria in the calm city of Salem. By falsely accusing others of being involved in witchcraft, Abigail succeeds in fooling the deputy who then orders many venerable citizens to burn at the stake.

It is also interesting to realize that Miller passed through a period that exactly parallels that found in his play. Driven by the impulsive McCarthyism ideology of his era, Miller parallels the anti-Communist fervor of the 1950's with the false accusations of the Salem Witch trials of the 1690's in order to highlight the outlandish prejudice of both eras.

Senator John McCarthy eliminates Communist compellers from the United States by ensuring that all those partaking of the Communistic party be severely punished. As in the case with the Salem Witch Trials, people in the 1950's accused others of Communistic involvement in order to escape their awaited severe punishments.

In both eras, the policy of encouraging others to confess resulted in great hysteria and settled long-held vendettas. In the 1950's, those who refused to confess were forever blacklisted, and in the 1690's, they were condemned and hanged. In both eras, it is evident that the envy of the miserable toward the happy is what caused many people to sell others.

Overall, the book is enticing and holds many moral lessons that the reader must deduce after seeing the consequences of the characters' actions. If you want to discover some history as well as enjoy a book where you will be able to see yourself, then I strongly recommend this play for you.

Truly Artur Miller's greatest work. I own at least three copies of this book and have read it over twelve times. No matter how many times I have read it, watched it live, watched it on tape, or performed in it, the story has never bored me. It constantly reveals something new to me and forces me to look at my world in a slightly new manner after each reading.
By far Miller's best play, it is also his most well-known. It contains strong connections with McCarthy-ism and is therefore relevant to even today. It is important to realize that while it is set in 1692, it has connections to all time periods and thusly, must not be trapped within it's own time period.
A driving piece of work that will blow you away.

Arthur Miller created a timeless classic when he wrote The Crucible. A play composed of themes describing the courage and integrity of those who were trying to remain upright, authorities gaining too much control, hypocrisy overtaking a people, guilt for past sins, revenge that was fueled over generations, and mass hysteria that gripped the Puritan village of Salem in 1692. In addition, being published in 1953, this book reflects the McCarthy era and the Red Scare hysteria that was created from an idea that had no significant evidence. Although this play is set in a time of long ago, the overriding themes and lessons that can be taken from this novel are still relevant for people today.
The small Puritan village of Salem is obsessed with the idea that there are witches residing among them. Since they are resolute about living a life lead by the Bible which states "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), they are overcome with fear that witches will corrupt them. Once the young, promiscuous Abigail Williams begins condemning common people from the town for witchcraft, mass hysteria is created and more and more people are accused of this fatal sin. People are thought to be witches until proven otherwise, and even some of the town's most highly-praised citizens are condemned. John Proctor who once had an affair with Abigail, is condemned of being a witch himself and deals with conflicts within himself of guilt, fear, and even courage as he struggles against what he believes is right and what others are telling him is right. The Crucible provides countless thoughts that provoke the reader to think about society, their beliefs, and examine their own inner selves.
How do people react to crucible situations today? This novel has many connections with the McCarthy Red Scare that completely ruined the trust and reputations of many innocent people in our government and society. It is a play which is easy to understand yet possesses many thought-provoking and deep ideas about how one person can make such a huge impact on so many people's lives as did Abigail Williams. Even when characters in The Crucible knew that what was occurring was wrong, they were either too late to protest or did not have enough courage to stand up for what they believed. The Crucible will benefit anyone who reads it, and encompasses many topics relevant to people today.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great book to read with a mother-daughter book club. It provides an outlet to talk about issues the girls are covering in school, and to find out about how their perspectives differ from those of their moms. The issues of witchcraft and socially sanctioned violence against a targeted group seem eerily relevant to some of the things going on in our world today. This book challenged all of us to think about the most important things in our lives and what we're willing to sacrifice to achieve a higher cause.

The Crucible is one of the most well written and captivating plays I have ever read. It follows the story of the Salem witch trials from start to finish. This is a wonderful work to read because it holds a reader's interest while providing them with an accurate account of historical events.

The play opens with the mysterious illness of young Betty Parris. When no other option presents itself, witchcraft is suspected. The play then follows the accusations of witchcraft made against many of Salem's citizens by a group of teenage girls. After their wives are arrested as witches, a group of men attempt to plead on their behalves: a worthy endeavor that proves disatrous for all involved.

While the play's beginning is slightly confusing, it quickly looses that quality and becomes very entertaining. I recommend The Crucible highly and completely for readers of all ages. {Megan, 2005}

Miller's Crucible is worth reading because of its valuable lessons and interesting plot. The story is suspenseful up until the last moment and is especially intriguing as it is set in the midst of an actual historical event. Exploring the Salem witch trials, Miller recreates the scenario in a vivid way and ponders the conflicts that led to the witch hunt.

Applying this historical event to the McCarthyism of his era, he provides insight upon the Red Scare. Miller chose to use the witch hunts because of the many parallels between it and the Red Scare. Miller saw the strongest resemblance between the procedures of the trials held during the two periods of hysteria. Another area where Miller created more parallels was in the ambiguous evidences used to accuse a person. Because the social events of the time and the witch trials were so alike, Miller was able to use "The Crucible" as a way to express his thoughts of the era.

Also, Miller's style is easy to read and comprehend as he allows the character to speak in a modern fashion.

The Crucible is gives much insight on the Salem witch trials, the Red Scare, and modern events. This play is engaging and one that can be finished in a matter of hours.

esta obra de arthur miller demuestra gran ingenio de su parte, ya que combina un tema antiguo e historico como fue la cazeria de brujas del poblado de salem, hecho que se recuenta en la letra escarlata de hawthorne aunque no directamente y lo une con un hecho presente, la cazeria politica que se vivia cuando se escribio la obra es interesante,porque combina un tema politico con la persecucion religiosa y las mentiras que se tejen alrededor de reputaciones con el fin de terminar con un supuesto enemigo que solo esta en las mentes de los perseguidores.
Luis Mendez

Arthur Miller's The Crucible, a play in four acts, deals with the witch-craze in Salem in the 17th century. A minister from Salem discovers a groups of teenage girls dancing naked around a fire in the woods. As the girls are aware of the fact that they will have to face severe punishment for their action, they claim to have been possessed by evil spirits. This causes a major outcry in the Puritan community of Salem and a court is formed to deal with and investigate the accusations of the girls in further detail.
At first, only a few people are accused of witchcraft but in the course of events over a hundred people are accused of bewitching the girls. Even people with a very good reputation who have never acted against the will of God or the community are sent to prison due to suspicion, gossip or denunciation.
It is clear that in many cases theo girls accuse people with whom they have had some kind of problems or against whom they hold some sort of grievance. Abigail Williams accuses Elizabeth Proctor, her former employer, after having been dismissed from work by Mrs. Proctor. Abigail was the Proctors' servant but had to leave their home because Elizabeth Proctor suspected her of having an affair with her husband.
Elizabeth Proctor is sent to prison but not hanged immediately due to the fact that she is pregnant. As John Proctor tries to come to the rescue of his wife, he himself runs into difficulties because he is suspected of undermining the court.
Some of the accused avoid execution by "confessing" that they have a pact with the devil but 19 people are hanged. John Proctor does not want to confess a crime he has not committed. However, he changes his decision because of his wife and his three children and decides to sign a confession in order to save his life. But he immediately regrets his decision, tears up the confession and is brought to his execution.
The Crucible is a very impressive and powerful play. It illustrates the irrationality of the people which is strongly connected with their fears and superstitious beliefs. Miller manages to show that the people really believed that what they did was right and only done to protect a community of god-fearing people.
By reading The Crucible you can learn to understand the point of view and the world of the accusers. You begin to understand that the actions of the Puritans are very logical in their own way. You start to understand the beliefs of the accusers and even develop a kind of sympathy for them and their fears.
On the whole, The Crucible is easy to read and can also be read in one setting. The plot is easy to follow, extremely exciting and keeps you in its grip from the fist to the last line. I believe that The Crucible is hugely recommendable for everyone who is interested in understanding the witch-craze and the point of view of the accusers as well as the accused.

Arthur Miller's classic play offers an unparalleled view into basic human nature. The story, set during the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s, centers around the relationship between protagonist, John Proctor, antagonist Abigail Williams and Proctor's wife Elizabeth. The beginning of the play portrays the circumstances that caused the trials to begin. As the trials proceed Proctor struggles with his own pride as he debates whether or not to release certain furtive information. The uncovering of which could end the vindictive trials by exposing the leader of the prosecution, Abigail, as a fraud, As progressively more people are accused and incarcerated, the facade of Salem fades as true motivations for the accusations are unveiled. Proctor struggles with his pride as the hangings begin. The lives of the accused come to depend upon whether hubris will prevent Proctor from giving the authorities the truth. Elizabeth's presence is that of a wife who has been shamed by her husband's lust for another, yet she bears this burden as a saint, her presence tempers and guides John through his journey. When Abigail accuses Elizabeth, Elizabeth's life along with that of the others incarcerated depend upon John's confession.
At the time of the play's publication the country was going through another witch-hunt. Miller wrote this play in response to the Red Scare of the 1950s led by Joe McCarthy. Miller himself was asked to give the House Un-American Activities Committee lists of people he knew to be communists. Miller's play is timeless in its ability to relate times of hysteria and irrational discrimination throughout history. Modern examples include: AID's hysteria, McCarthyism, Japanese internment camps, and post 9/11 anti-Middle Eastern sentiments. Human nature is constant and the basic inclinations toward jealousy, vengefulness, pride, vanity, and guilt will always remain. Miller's ability to create characters whose emotions and reactions are ageless creates this classic piece of American Literature.

Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" takes a deep look into some of the ugliest moments in American history. Yes, Miller's melodramatic play depicts the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century, but his sheer brilliance lies within the plays almost perfect parallel to McCarthyism of the 1950s. The underlining theme of this play is moderation-take time to thinks things out. Jumping to conclusions too rapidly is always bad.
The Salem Witch Trials occurred at a time of ripened hysteria. In the small Massachusetts village, the conditions were just right: both politically unstable and economically itchy. The Massachusetts government was a theocracy with a strict Puritan foundation. It is out of this form of government, that the idea of guilt by association rises to the surface. If people did not follow these austere laws, the state came down hard. The thing was in Salem, one could indict another of witchcraft (if it was true or not), and the victim was guilty until proven innocent. Why would someone do such a thing? Ask Putnam, for land of course. Various other economic reasons played part in who was accused. After the landslide of accusations had begun, the floodgates were open. It was a serious and bloodcurdling matter to see your neighbors and loved ones jailed and even killed. At this point in the play, everything was out of control.
When one looks back on this situation, he/she relies its pure stupidity. How could this ever happen again. Well it did! And our beloved Senator McCarthy was the reason. During his reign, McCarthy accused hundreds of being Communists. Almost all of this finger pointing was random. Some to settle grudges. McCarthy stirred up a deep fear in Americans that there could be Communist within them. He damaged the careers of several and ruined those of others. The reasons for the red scare were no different than those for the witch scare. Instead of Puritanism this time, it was patriotism. The patriotism of the McCarthy era was just as unforgiving and vengeful as the Puritanism of the 17th century Salem.

I recommend this because I enjoyed it, and I believe you will like it if you enjoy the most awful chapters in human history. It's a very dark and chilling play. If you enjoy scary and books that give you chills I would't doubt you would like this book.

The play narrative line is the Salem witch trials. There is some violence and some gruesome scenes. The main objective of the play was to show the readers how a lie can change everything even kill people. Also how it is possible to have children run a town.

The main characters were John Proctor, and Abigail Williams. There were other important characters but those two were most important.

The reading level is mature middle school students and above.

"The Crucible" is about a fascinating time in America's early history: The Salem Witch Trials. I found that Miller portrayed everyone as being naive and at times childish, and I found myself focusing on the utter stupidity of events, rather than the complexity of the characters. Until the fourth act, I found myself bored and frustrated. But, the pace picked up by the last act, and true drama surfaced. With very little stage direction, I cannot be fully taken with this play. I think it would have been better as a novel, as that is how it currently reads. You could write a good character analysis, once you get past the yearning to scream at the characters about how wrong they are. But other than that, this play is somewhat of a letdown. I do not recommend.

The Crucible
A witch hunt is what they wanted and a witch hunt is what they got. The small town of Salem is devastated to find out that its own young and seemingly innocent maids, daughters, and even wives are Satan possessed witches.
This story starts out simply enough, in the village pastor's house. His daughter has been odd lately and doctors and ministers have come from far and wide to help the young girl and others suffering from similar symptoms in the town. They will quickly find out that they are dealing with something far more potent than the flu.
I don't usually enjoy reading, but this book had a certain something to it that pulled me right in. Perhaps it was the relationship you develop out of sympathy for Mr. Proctor and his wife. Maybe it's just the curiosity of who will be accused of witch craft next. One would have to read the book for them to find out. The Crucible is a play and is written in the format of a play. This can pose a problem to someone who spaces out or confuses easily. In the beginning of the story the characters run in and out of the scenes so quickly and with such little description that its easy to get lost or completely forget who entire families are until they are completely re-presented to you in later events. Either that or you'll have to go back and re-read everything that confused you.
Other than the mild difficulty I experienced following who was who in the beginning, I found some very interesting quotes and poetic phrases in this book. It is very well written and definitely worth checking out.

The Crucible endures through its timeless messages about the dangers of mass hysteria and labeling those who go against the grain of society. Miller's best, even compared to Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, and The View from the Bridge. There's a reason this book is a staple of American literature coursework so many years after its initial publication.

"The Crucible" was a play that I could really get into. It was very easy for me to visualize the events through Miller's writing. Miller did a very good job of developing the characters. Such characters as Abigail were successfully portrayed as evil. She was corrupt, adulterous, immoral, a liar, and a murderer. Her lies led to the deaths of a number of innocent men and women. On the other hand I was really uplifted by Proctor's character. He was a "good guy" that didn't exemplify the qualities of what most protagonists have. The hero of a story shouldn't be innocent and perfect with no faults as heroes are portrayed in many Disney movies. Proctor made mistakes (his affair with Abigail), isn't a devout Puritan (often skips Church, plows on the Sabbath, and doesn't know ALL the commandments), and he tells it like it is. When questioned about his faith, he tells Hale that the church is corrupt and that he disagrees with Reverend Parris. He well exemplifies a man with good morals, who is sorry for his sins. He dies with dignity. He was smart and knew that the witchhunt was a farce. He knows that he will get his reward in heaven. I believe that despite he didn't fit the qualifications of a prince charming, John Proctor was the hero of "The Crucible."
I think that Miller did a very good job of linking the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s to the Communist Red Scare of the 1950s. Both situations had formidable outside tribes that caused paranoia and trepidation. More than just the factual similarities, Miller is able to go deeper into how people should have reacted. He condemns those who join the bandwagon and try to destroy the heathens or outsiders. Instead he wants us to act as Proctor did and to identify that the chaos is just a farce. He wants us to keep composed and moderate. This play teaches us to look at our own conscience rather than our social status.

"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, was a very intriguing, and exciting book. There were many exciting and unexpected twists and turns in the plot, which kept you on the edge of your seat. The ending was my personal favorite, and one of the most exciting spots in the book. There were many assumed events that were surprising in how they turned out. The characters were also well explained so that you could get a feel for how their personalities were, but vague enough that you could still use your own mind, and imaginaiton to elaborate on them.
I felt that the most intriguing character was John Proctor. Every time you thought that you had an idea of how he might react, or what he would do next, there would always be some twist to keep the book interesting. Reverend John Hale was also an character that was not easy to predict. He never seemed to take a side in the whole matter, he seemed to want to do the right thing, but he would never let his emotions fall to the wayside of the law. As I read the book, I found one character who seemed to be somewhat shakey, and a little shady at times. This was Reverend Paris. He seemed to put out an aire to the townspeople that he was there to help them, and to do God's will, but he never looked to follow it. It appeared as though he would never do anyhting based on what he felt was good and true, he would base his reactions on how it would effect his reputation, and popularity with the townspeople. For example, in the beginning of the book, he is talking to Abigail, and trying to get her to tell him what had happened the previous night that caused Betty to fall into what appeared to be a coma. He tells her that he does not want his name to be soiled with the town, that he doesn't want to be involved with something that is so bad, witchcraft. He also says later on to the others in the room with him, that he should be paid more, because he graduated from a better college, as if to say that he is worth more to them.
The charcaters are what made the book so good, they made the exciting scenes more intriguing, and the riveting scenes seem as though your heart would stop. The plot is built around the characters in the book, and how they react to the incident that is happeneing with the town. They keep the book at top notch.
The developemnt of the chacters in the book, and the plot around them is constantly moving and changing. The book is written so that when you reach the climax, it has been so built up, that you can't even fathom what will happen in the ending. I found it to be a wonderful, and riveting book, and the writing by the author is fabulous, and makes you unable to put it down. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

The Crucible is fantastic fir the English classroom. The characters are complex and interesting, whilst also exemplifying the moral conundrums which permeate through the play. Fantastic for a lively debate in the classroom and great for encouraging students to think critically and passionately about issues.

The Crucible is as twisted a story as any that I've read before. In the late 15th century, Salem, Massachusetts was in the form of a theocracy, which stirred up conflict between government leaders and citizens as well as citizen vs. citizen battles. Witchcraft was the big talk of this play because it played such a huge role in the vast number of trials and executions. When you begin to take in the information of the text, you see that witchcraft became a way that any citizen of Salem could blame their enemies just to have them killed. Several small groups of people (factions) who fought over such topics as land and governmental positions would accuse their opponents of witchcraft and in many cases it would result in imprisonment or death. Examples of battles between two people are Abby and Elizabeth Proctor who fought over John Proctor and Putnam and Francis Nurse, who were in a dispute because Nurse beat out Putnam's brother-in-law to become a member of Salem's ministry. Even though this play may not be historically accurate, it made me realize exactly what was going on in the world 300 years ago and make me appreciate the United States' government today.

In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts was a major conflict between government leaders and citizens arouse. Witchcraft was what everybody began to fear. They (the towns people) all believed witches surrounded them. It all started when a girl named Abigail Williams and a bunch of her friends were discovered in the woods dancing. When Reverend Parris came upon them they were dancing around a kettle of soup, singing song of a different tongue. All of a sudden the next day two of the girls are acting strange. One of them is stricken to bed and is almost in a coma state. The other girl constantly paces and will not eat. This is when the parents demand to know what was going on that night. All of the girls that took part in the activity clamed that they were just dancing, until one of the girls slips and lets out what really happened. They were in the woods and Tituba (Reverend Parris slave) was leading songs in the Barbados language while trying to conjure the sprit of one of the girl's dead sister. This is where the real conflict begins. One of the girls (Reverend Parris's Daughter) was the girl that was bed stricken. It is not socially sound for the daughter of the reverend to be conjuring up sprits. If the daughter had really been conjuring up sprits the Reverend would be pushed out of town. How could he run the church if he can't even control his daughter? This is when the conspiracy begins.
In order to avoid punishment Abigail tells the elected judge that she once sided with the Devil but is now back on Gods side. She would like to tell the town folk the names of the other people that still have a pact with the Devil. If a person is tried for making a pact with the Devil (witchcraft) they would be hung and their belongings would be auctioned off. Not only did Abigail and her friends list some name of people that made a pact with the Devil, they listed most of the Town. This is when the judge start to have trial, but these were not normal criminal trials, these were witchcraft trials. There was no one to defend the accused it was just the girls word against the accused. People seemed to care but not too much until one very important day. The day when John Procter's Wife, Elizabeth, name came up in court. This infuriated John because he knew exactly why his wife name came up in court. Abigail made up a story about Elizabeth because she had once kicked her out of the Procter house. When Elizabeth had gotten sick (after childbirth) Abigail helped John run things around the house. This is until things turned sexual and Elizabeth found out. Knowing why Abigail brought up Elizabeth's name made John furious. This is the point in the story where the action really heats up. But you will have to read to see exactly how hot it gets.

The drama "The Crucible", written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s in respond to the mass hysteria that evolved around Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy who spread the fear of communism among American citizens, deals with witch hangings at the end of the 17th century as a dark spot in American history.
The story is short to tell: Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old servant to Elizabeth Proctor, falls in love with Elizabeth's husband, John, after he has used the long period of his wife's sickness to start a little liaison with Abigail. Thus, the girl is so passionate about John ( who is father to three kids) that she and the other girls of the little town Salem, Massachusetts, dance around a fire and spell curses on John Proctor to make him fall in love with Abigail. This creates a problem since half the people in town are strict Puritans and now start blaming others for seemingly strange events that have occurred in town. Thus, Abigail plays a key role since she could end the witchcraft rumours by stating that there are no witches in Salem that could possibly have any influence on people's fate. In the end, nineteen people were accused of witchcraft and hanged.
Although the book is confusing at first, it is very interesting throughout the story. Especially the author's humour and sensibility he applies to carefully approach the topic make the book worth reading. The tightening tensions are noticeable as well, leaving the reader shocked in the end: The experience that the play is just repeating history indeed is scary.

In Harris' "The Crucible", we are introduced to many interesting and complex characters fit in 1692, Salem. The antagonist, Reverend Parris, is a selfish, power-hungry, father and preacher. He shows his evil ways by using his status as a respected preacher, going around accusing any person who challenges his power. Another great character is the protagonist, John Proctor. A simple, heathen, farmer, he leads the revolt against the leaders of Salem, Reverend Parris and Judge Hawthorne. He saves the day by being martyred for his determination and morals, to save the women of Salem. The farmer is not an avid churchgoer he is accused by Parris, of course, of dealing with the devil. The other minor characters are the Abigail and Goody Putnam. The conniving Abigail plays little ms. innocent who at the start is perceived as a girl who was corrupted by Tituba. However in actuality, Abigail is the leader and instigator, who has a black name in the town because of her titillating encounters with John Proctor. The characters in "The Crucible" make this social drama a great one. It displays all the great characters: the antagonist, the protagonist, and the complex characters.

The small town of Salem is devastated to find out that its own young and charming women in the town are witches of the black art. This story starts out simply enough, in the village pastor's house. His daughter has been odd lately and doctors and such have come to see if they can help the girl with her problems. They soon realize they are dealing with something far more evil then any disease. I personally hate reading unless I have to, but this book had a certain something to it that pulled me right in. Perhaps it was the relationship you develop out of sympathy for the townsmen and their women. Maybe it's curiosity of who will be accused of witchcraft next. Whatever the case, I simply couldn't put down that book. The Crucible is a play and is written in the format of a play. This can pose a problem to someone who doesn't read a lot of literature, or is confused easily. In the beginning of the story the characters run in and out of the scenes so quickly and with little more then mentioning their name. So some might completely forget who entire families are until they are brought back to you later on in the story. Either that or you'll have to go back and read everything again just to make yourself sure you know who they are. I did. Other than the difficulty I experienced following who was who in the beginning. I found myself trapped in this book, and had to find out what happened in the ending. This book is very difficult to read, but if you can make it through the first couple of chapters, this will be one of your favorite books. It is very well written and definitely worth checking out even if you are only moderately interested in these kinds of books. I give it two thumbs up!

I came across this book again recently, having not picked it up since I had to read it for English in Junior High. I actually got a lot more out of it this time, the weighted conversations between John and Elizabeth drawing you into the story.
I love the way Arthur approached the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials - you certainly don't see this perspective very often! Simple, yet deep and poignant, I don't think I'll wait another 15 years before I pick it up again!

Review on „The Crucible"
The movie is about the witch trial that took place in a village called Salem. Several people were accused of making compact with the devil and for committing witchcraft, a capital crime in those days. The reason for the mass hysteria was the fact that some of the girls in the village practised dancing in the woods with the Negro-slave of the town's minister who saw them doing that. They danced around a burning fire and drank blood. Two of the girls fell ill and in fear of the consequences the other ones accused each other. A major character in that context was Abigail Williams. She also accused the wife of John Proctor, a farmer, who she had had sexual interferences with. Several other people were accused and in the end, 19 were hanged.
The movie is about mass hysteria and the unscrupulous behaviour of people who get in trouble.
In my view the movie on "The Crucible" is very good. The producers knew how to create tension very well. The best part in the movie was - from my point of view - the scene when Elizabeth Proctor was led to court to tell Governor the truth about her husband committing the crime of adultery. The music was very dramatic and the excitement rose when the group of people went outside to hear John Proctor.

It has been a Miller Summer. I was already familiar with Death of a Salesman and have taught this play on several occasions. This prompted me to read some more of his works: The Crucible, A View From the Bridge, All My Sons. This man is amazing. He describes the human condition with unbelievable precision, although he does not give his audience much hope. Superb.

When I first picked up this book I had the impression that it would focus more on witchcraft than on politics. The main themes of the book had more to do with trickery, descite and revenge than on witchcraft. The book's main focus is swirled around in how the main characters, such as Abigail and Putnam, get even with people how they dont like or people who they have past quarrels with. The Salem witch trials was just camouflague to what was really going on. People would accuse other people of witchcraft thinking that that was the fastest way to get rid of someone that was causing a problem to them. Most of the time no one had any evidence to back up their daft accusations. Abigail used this thinking to the fullest when she accused just about everyone in the general Salem area of witchcraft. She accused John Proctor's wife of witchcraft because she thought that once she was out of the picture, she could get with Proctor. The Crucible and the Salem witch trials were all about hidden agendas and nothing was what it seemed. This book really didnt do it for me because all that happened was a couple of stupid girls accused people of witchcraft and through the ignorance of the people at the time, those people were put to death. I expected a little more action than what was in the book.

This novel represents a time in history where religion,family, and community tower over all other desires. The Puritan age was a time of harsh discipline towards the human faith.

In the small town of Salem Massachusetts there is a community with overwhelming adversity, and the inhabitants of this place could have never prepared for the times which they would face. Two young girls in the town, Betty and Abagail, get into mischief by choosing to dance in the forest with a black slave woman named Tituba. They end up being caught by the local minister Reverend Parris. After being caught Betty slips into an unexplainable coma, and the word of the community is that whitchcraft is responsible for her condition. The town becomes curious and fearful of what may happen to them. The Reverend chooses to question Abagail about what exactly happened, but she still preaches that the girls were doing nothing but harmless dancing. Whitch trials proceed after this point, and the true identity of the town is revealed.

As the story transpires there is a large question mark throughout the duration of the story as to what happened to Betty and Abagail in the woods, and this constant dragging on made me a bit shy towards the book in the middle of the story. Betty eventually wakes up from her coma and the trials continue.

The town is exposed during the trials as being accused of misduing for some time and the community becomes split among families where whitches are supposivly turning up everywhere.

I gave the story a 3 point review mark because i believe it was a well written novel, but lacked the attention development throughout the middle of the book. The beginning and end were my favorite parts to read, but overall a decent book.

This was supposed to be an unabridged version. It is not. Thus, the audio is not helpful when trying to use it while reading the play -- there is nothing like missing whole sections of the play while trying to find where the cast has skipped to next. Also, the way that the characters are interpreted make the Puritans out to be cartoonish. Perhaps, that is the way that some view the Puritans (or other highly religious people), however, when combined with some of Miller's lines (which can at times come across like a bad church play), the characters lack genuineness. As someone with a theater background, I kept on wondering what Abigail's character would be liked if played straight. Anyway, the main thing, be aware that you aren't buying the entire play.

Arthur Miller's tragic play, The Crucible, is a fascinating depiction of the witch hunts that occurred in Salem during the seventeenth century. It is a must read for individuals who desire to learn more about the causes behind the witch hunts in America during this time. Highly recommend!

This book is an attack by an author of Jewish ancestry on Biblical and Christian beliefs. Its focus is on the Salem witch trials historical period, which is critical to giving the story line traction. The Puritans of Massachusetts used the King James Bible which uses the word "witch" to describe certain pagan practices which the Jewish law of the Bible forbids. The author glosses over this by merely reciting that witches are mentioned in the Bible, arguing without further proof that there are in fact witches. "Witch" and "witchcraft" are merely words the Bible uses to describe, from its point of view, forbidden actions of Jews and Christians. Modern translations use the word "sorceress" for example.

So, the play uses the authority of the Bible to discredit the Bible. Truthfully, I am not a historian of that period of pre-American religious life or history in what later became the United States, with a constitution and a bill of rights.

The play in writing contains an afterword, in which the author says that the incident described in the play was one of many that led to the end of theocracy in America. There's an amazing relevance of this book to contemporary politics of 2016, and that is the current controversy over the definition of the freedom of religion. In the late 17th century, freedom of religion meant burning witches at the stake, or, here in this play, hanging them.

An adventurous student might want to write a paper, if so inclined, comparing the play to the Bill of Rights, and pointing out what freedoms were lacking in that time of history, such as, no prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

I don't remember much about this book as it was something I was assigned to read in English class in high school and it didn't make much of an impression on me. (Several other works did, but this one didn't seem remarkable to me; I was a kid who liked to read, so this isn't one of those "I hate having to read stuff" reviews.)

I do remember that it was about the Salem Witch Trials and the uproar that erupted around accusations; everyone was afraid of witches, and everyone was afraid of being accused of being one. A group of girls caught dancing in the woods furiously look to blame others for bewitching them so they don't get accused of witchcraft themselves. People attack those they don't like if they want to ruin them; there really isn't a good way to deal with being accused of witchcraft, because confessing to it means getting killed and denying it means getting tortured until you confess (or the torture itself kills you). The finger-pointing--and the guilt that drives it--was highlighted as being as absurd as it is--which was very relevant for a book written in an era where being labeled un-American could ruin a person's livelihood. The "message" in this book was not at all hidden--it was something of a frame story--but while that takes away from what characters might be feeling to focus on what their actions represent, I understood why the message was important.

This was a play by Arthur Miller that came out in the early 1950's. It is loosely based around the events of the Salem Witch Trials and has some symbolism to the communist hearings in the U.S. at that time by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

An amazingly lyrical account of the Salem witch trials. Miller brings out the hypocrisy and hysteria of the trials. Brief but memorable, it also includes some digressions where Miller narrates some of his thoughts about the time. Far from being just an indictment of Salem and McCarthyism, this is a book for all times, for all settings -- the evils of common opinion where common opinion and humanity go mad are nowhere better expressed.

This book is a wonderful parallel to the Joe McCarthy trial of the 1900's. For example, if you were associated with someone such as a witch in the Crucible, or a communist in the McCarthy trials, you were pretty much guilty of being a witch or a communist. Strange enough, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible around the time of the Joe McCarthy trials. The Crucible is a story about the Salem witch trials. According to this story, 19 men and women were either lynched, crushed, or suffered to death in jail. This book leads you to believe that the character known as Abigail was the the one who very carefully pinned the blame of witchcraft on everyone else. John Proctor was a man who Abigail titillated and caused Proctor to commit adultry. Through this book, Abigail tries to win Proctor over and get his wife executed for witchcraft. With Witch-Abigails success, Proctor and his wife are in the center of the Salem Witch Trial.

The Crucible provides the reader with insight on, not 1, but 2 periods of American history. The Crucible blatantly compares the Salem witch trials to the tumultous time of Senator Joe McCarthy's (R-WI) "witch hunt for Communists. Arthur Miller provides a thoughtful play that can relate to his contemporaries within Senator Joe McCarthy and the House's Un-American Activites Commitee. There were heroes in such characters as John Proctor that can relate to the people who refused to cooperate with the commitee, thereby ruining their entire reputation throughout the entire industry. There were also Abigail's who would do anything to wipe their hands clean of Communism, including naming the names of innocent people. The Crucible provides us with an interesting perspective on the Red Scare period of American history.

The Crucible

The crucible is a pretty good book. It is not only a good peace of literature but also a good history lesson. It sends a mix of messages throughout the story such as , good vs. evil, why are the towns people so cruel?, why do they put so much judgment on each other and lastly are the townsmen turning other suspected witches in for the sake of the town or to cover their own backs? As you read the book, it gives off a sense of evil and demonic feeling. Although, you probly feel annoyed with certain characters in the book, you soon come to realize that they're only doing what they thought was in the best interest for the town.

The crucible is all about the excommunicating of witches in the early 1900`s. All the people believed excommunicating or even better, burning them at the stake would eliminate the problem. I think for the time it took place and obvious lack of trust that was in the town the people were truly fighting for the best thing in their minds. I also feel like the people are living an unaccomplished life because all they did was fear each other and accuse each other of witchcraft.

In my opinion, the book is a good read and it offers a lot to think about when you put it down. That is if you can put it down. All in all the suspicion , hatred, accusations, and judgmental attitudes turned out to be one of the most interesting parts of American History. This book is a good piece and Id recommend it to anyone.

This play was very titillating, in that the play was very exciting to read, and act out. The play as a whole was very good. I liked how I learned a lot about Salem Mass., and the witchcraft that sappositly happened at that time. My favorite character of the book was Proctor, because he was a ladies man, and stuck up for the town, by saying that he did perform witchcraft, mean while he really did not. The only reason that he did, was because he did not want the whole town to sufure. What it sounded like, was going on in the play, was that everybody was blaming each other for the problem that had occured. People were figthing over land, and about the witch carft thing. Proctor, being the man that he is took part of the blam, to save others.
The play as a whole was good. It had some good morals in it, but it was not great. I learned about many things that happaned back then, like how those kinds of people lived, and how they dealed with with thier problems. The way they did that was blame each other. I liked the play, and would recommend it for others to read.

The subject of witchcraft has always intrigued me. Unfortunately this play did not keep my interest. The biggest reason was because the introduction, written by Christopher Bigsby, gave away the ending of the play. He said that damages were paid to John Proctor's wife Elisabeth after he was executed on August 19,1692. I know the play was for the most part historically accurate. I just didn't understand why he needed to state the anticipated ending of the play on the book on the second page of the book. The rest of the introduction was interesting. I liked how he compared the fear the people in Salem had of witches to the Red Scare. He said the only difference was that communists were real. This analogy helped me to relate the ridiculous fear these people had of withes to something tangible. The play itself was less exciting than I thought it would be. It was a little hard to follow. There were many characters and many things going on at once. I didn't like how there wasn't a single character who you felt like you could relate to. I liked how throughout the play you couldn't help but have a sense of disbelief about what was going on. I was amazed that the people of Salem so easily believed children without proof. It was unbelievable how by simply telling a judge that you saw a person with the devil they were guilty until proven innocent. I gave this play three stars because it was a good story. It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but I think it was more me than the book that was the problem. I would suggest reading the play before reading the introduction.

The Crucible is a great book. Since it is a play, the book is relatively short. I believe that most readers can finish this book peacefully in an afternoon. The plot revolves around the historic events of the Salem Witch Hunt and how one person can start it all. This character, by the name of Abigail, is fiery and very cruel. The way she treats the people around her is astounding and reprimandable. I spent most of the time, trying to express my anger over her actions to John Proctor. The historic base of this novel provides a sense of interest to readers and the plot is quite rudimentary but exciting. It is exciting because of the hysteria and complicated values that run through this play. Though I am instructed not to spoil...I will not discuss the plot but rather the tone of the play in question. Because it is a play, the voice is perhaps unique to every individual reader. You have to read out the lines to live out the plot and characters. Overall, this book astounded me because it provided a ficticious swing over history and really sparked my anger over Abigail. Arthur Miller does a fantastic job doing this.

This was written to honestly give my opinions over this play.

"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller was a powerful peice of literature. Its about which craft in Salem Massachusetts during the 17th century. The two main charactes Proctor and Abigail are too much intertainment for Jerry Springer. Abby had once laid with Proctor. To make things worse Proctor is married Elizabeth. The story dosnt stop there. Abby is telling the town that Elizabeth is a witch. John Proctor is also under suspision. They have trails and so forth..............
Arthur Miller does a great job of summing up the 17th century. New people are coming to America to settle. All the people that come are from different parts of the world with different beleifs. This is how the witch trials started. It starts with one person accusing another because their beleivs are not the "norm". I reccomend this book to any one who is into history or well written literature.....
--------Drag

The Crucible, one of Arthur Miller's best, and most well known books, is based off the Salem witch trials.

John Proctor, a middle aged farmer, is in a town run by the local preachers. Abigail Williams, a 17 year old girl, gets the town to follow her, after accusing many of the town leaders, of being witches. Something happened between John and Abigail, and it obviously hurts John. John tries to stop Abigail, while keeping his secret underwraps dduring the trial.

The play is pretty short, aroung 150 pages, and is in a somewhat old-southern language, so the reader should understand it before reading.

I highly recommend this to any play reader and any avid reader.

"He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him."

I didn't like this book at all!!! I think Arthur Miller tried to be like Shakespeare with this novel in combining high quality drama with torn love and also integrate more feuds into the poor plot of The Crucible in order to add fuel to the fire and of course we can't forget the difficult language as well as the detailed summaries as feedback to the reader on what he/she missed...The play only basically had two lines, in my opinion, throughout the whole novel...."you're a witch" and "you slept with my husband" that's all the novel was about yet there was no build up to these accusations....they just came out of thin air and I could care less about people being witches and affairs between people whose relationship is rocky from the start....I strongly urge you to not read this book...if you have to read this play for school, GET CLIFF NOTES because I can guarantee you that you will fall asleep right away at the slow moving action from this poor excuse of a classic!

This book is a classic. I was assigned to read this book both in high school and in college, and I loved it both times. This is a must read and a book that has a place on my book shelf for years to come.

I was hoping to use this in my 11th grade class to go along with the text of The Crucible, but there's just no way. The readers certainly do express the emotions in the scenes, but it's pretty overstated. Did they record this whole thing in a sauna, or something? Enough with the heavy breathing! If you just want to listen to it for your own purposes, it's great, but in a classroom, expect your students to feel awkward and make jokes about how some parts sound like a bad porno.

Having just read The Scarlet Letter before The Crucible, I found The Crucible less mature and more of anarchic play. It was difficult to follow at times when there are many characters in one scene.
I thought the twist in the plot at the end very surprising and it reveals that not just women are prejudiced for witchcraftery, but men too. Miller's organization of character importance was slightly off balance as he considered some of the more innocent characters such as Abby more important than John Proctor (although he does appear often in the play but the urgency to keep him the spotlight just wasn't there)

Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" is a play that defies all boundaries of time relevancy. It applies not only to the literal period in which it is placed, but also for other time periods most notably the Red Scare of the 1950's, set off by Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI). It deals with the idea of hysteria and the terrible concept of guilt by association, and blindly blaming individuals, or blaming them for one's own financial profit. However, the play in and of itself is a great literary work. Miller does an outstanding job to convey the dark, melancholy atmosphere. He also portrays the hysteria of the town very well, chilling sometimes even his reader. Miller does a good job at showing a variety of characters and an intriguing plot. Miller creates a compelling story that explores the basis of a society powered by fear and greed.

This play is a major must-read. It's about a young girl turned deadly when she is scorned by the married man she wants. Set in the era of the Salem witch trials, the common matter of an adulterous affair becomes a matter of life & death - literally -as the young girl points her finger & cries "Witch!", so to speak, in order to get back at the married man & his wife. It is such a riveting story that you won't want to put the book down until you've reached the end.

THE CRUCIBLE is a book on witch trail during 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts. This book talks about the Puritan community at that time and how people belived in Witches. Proctor fights against himself and Abigail and Elizabeth. Paris fights against his daughter and his neice. All the villagers are wondering whats going on. To find out about this READ the BOOK. I would recommend this book to who is around 14 or older, even the movie.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play on the times of the Salem Witch Trials. It is based in old time Massachusetts before the American Revolution and its about the inhabitants of Salem. Sadly I can only half recommend this book. This book has an interesting story of how a town becomes engulfed in their obsession with Satan and even raises the question of the fallibility of the church. The only thing is that Arthur Miller is an amazing playwright but when he actually tries to write a narrative in the middle of a scene for background information it is just painstaking to read. He will actually make a pause in the scene and say, "as they pause lets go into such and such character." And he'll ramble on for pages and pages. This is a great story but it just starts at so rough because of all the background. Of course one must keep in mind that he took all this story from the records of the trials, so that is an amazing feat. Sadly, Arthur Miller should stick to writing plays. If you have read this book I commend you, but if you want to read Arthur Miller read Death of a Salesman because that was a great story, and even if it did have narratives, the balance was much better. I give this book Three Stars. And that's my final verdict.

What was Miller writing about in this play? Was it an examination of the psychological and social phenomena that led to the Salem witch trials? If so, it failed, because the story departs too much from historic fact and thus changes the motivation of the protagonists. Miller makes Abigail older and Proctor younger than they were in reality, and makes them erstwhile lovers, which they never in fact were. So Abigail is motivated by the jealousy and resentment of a spurned lover. Another character is motivated by a desire to seize the property of the victims. Although greed and the settling of old scores no doubt played a part in the terrible events of 1692, they could not have been the whole story. Deeper and broader religious forces must have been at work to bring about the execution of 20 innocent people. The Crucible does not enlighten us on what those forces were. That play remains to be written.

The conventional interpretation is that Miller was really writing about the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings, and likening them to a witch-hunt. This too is problematic. Miller draws the parallel in the notes in this book and elsewhere, but never explicitly states that it was the real, prime theme of the play. And once again, the essentially domestic and personal themes of the play do not shed light on the political forces that shaped the McCarthy hearings.

What is clear is that the play stands as a dramatic tour de force. It is a gift to actors, being one dramatic, emotional crisis after another. So, if it lacks the intellectual density that Miller said he aimed at after his success with Death of a Salesman, it has the dramatic force to keep it a perennial favorite in theaters. It has one weakness dramatically, and that is an excessively large cast, particularly in the first scene, where all the entrances and exits in Betty's bedroom are rather ludicrous.

The Penguin Classics edition has a good introduction by Christopher Bigsby and incorporates notes by the author. It also includes - as an appendix - Act 2, Scene 2, which is omitted in most productions.

After reading "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller I've begun to realize the importance of children's actions. Assumptions can lead to anything, even death. In "The Crucible" Abigail a young beautiful girl terrorizes a peaceful town in Salem, MA. She accuses her fellow residents of witchcraft, which sparks a fire of assumptions made by the high and mighty factions of the town. These factions are thirsty for greed and land. They'll do anything to acquire land, leaving even the holiest in the community to trepidation. Abigail brings upon an accusation upon John Proctor her one-time lover. He provails morally in his quest to save his family name.

I liked how The Crucible focused on the Salem Witch trials, because the Salem Witch trials fascinate me. I liked how Arthur Miller focused on the young girls playing in the woods trying to conjure spirits from the dead. I found it funny when the girls blamed others for practicing witchcraft. If I would have got in the same situation, I think I would have blamed someone else to. I liked how he let the audience feel like they were witnessing the trials.

I didn't like how Abigail was having an affair with Proctor and tried accusing his wife of witchcraft. It was stupid to do that because, it wasn't Proctor's fault. I didn't like the character Putnam, because he murdered his neighbors and accused them of witchcraft. Just so that he could get their land.

My favorite characters were Proctor, because he was put through a lot. He resembled me in a way, because when he would do something wrong, or something bad would happen, he would try working it out. I like Reverend Parris, because he didn't want to leave even though certain things were happening. I liked Elizabeth proctor, because she was honest. I liked Deputy Governor Danforth the most, because he sentenced the people who refused to confess their crimes to death.

The characters I didn't like were Betty Parris, because when her dad caught her in the woods dancing, she started accusing other people of witchcraft. I didn't like Abigial, because she had an affiar with Proctor, and makes others say they see spirits too, and accused Proctor's wife of witchcraft. I didn't like Thomas Putnam, because he was accusing people of witchcraft so he could have their land.

The development of the play was well organized. Arthur Miller introdcues the four most important themes, which are deception, possession, greed, and the quest for power in the first act. That way his audiences can become aware of what is important. The narrator provides the best background information. The explanatory passes allow the directors and actors to focus on the characters motivation. That helps them have a better understanding of the characters and the historical period. The characters in the play are more engaging because they all have some type of tension between them.

I enjoyed reading the book. At times it can be difficult to follow because is in a play script format but it is laid out well. Some things are different in the book than are in the real life events. Some of the girls ages are changed. This end up just adding more to the drama of the book and makes it more realistic to our time. There are some great characters in the book such as Giles Corey the grumpy old man thinks the who thing is a hoax. He is very dynamic and adds a great contrast to the chaos that goes on in the book with the other characters. Another great aspect that Arthur Millier added to the story was the narration. It helps explain each scene and makes the book much more enjoyable to read. This book also gives a fairly good insight into puritan society. I would recommend anyone who is into the Salem Witch Trails or English Puritans to read this book.

The Crucible is great step into the past. the hardships that the people of salem, massachusetts endured, which were due to witchcraft must have been horrifying. everyday, people were accused of being the devil's advocate. the book itself lets the people of today know that we have to use common sense and not get caught up in the mass histeria. we should be able to realize that mass histeria is highly overrated and never gets anyone, anywhere. if people would actually stop and think about what they are doing, mostly all the misfortunate things that happened in or to this country would have never happened in the first place. it all comes down to using the brain we have and how well we use it without jumping to conclusions.

The Crucible is a book that we are reading in my class these days. I had been waiting for the book to reach my hands since the day the teacher agreed on reading this book as a class syllabus. It was a long wait for me before the book reached my hands.I was mainly interested in the witch craft. The day I got it I promised myself that I will read the whole book in the night before I got to sleep.Well it took me two nights instead to finish the book. But I was and still am very facinated by the book. I even managed to write a poem on the book.Mainly about John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail.The love story between them. It is very suprising that a group of young teenaged girls could be so effective in conspiring again the prominent figures of the Salem Village and be responsible for their crucification. The Crucible is a great book and very thought provoking.I was once haunted by the book in the night when I thought that I could hear something tapping on my window.Actually the book has nothing to do with real witches but it is all about the evil people. I guess I am running out of my word limits here.

This play was a sublime, undertoned attack of McCarthyism. The entire idea of persecution of what is unknown drives the characters to believe witnesses which otherwise would have been untrustworthy. At times the insanity taken so seriously is actually funny. All of the characters have central points of weakness and virtue alike; creating complex interactions. I was required to read it, unoptimistically, but it evolved into one of my favorite plays! I never truly understood the power of the phrase,"Witch, Witch!!!," untill I read THE CRUCIBLE

This is a great example of literature often assigned to later high school students from reading lists that is worthwhile, dramatic, challenging, and sobering. Many will grumble over this play, but it is a fair representation of early American history and it can be enjoyable with the right attitude coming into it. When I was in school, I did enjoy reading and analyzing it myself.

I haven't read this book yet, but both my teenage sons have and continue to talk about it and the history/circumstances of why the author choose to write about this topic. It has created much dialogue between us about the "popular view" and standing up for truth and the consequences of not doing so. They both insist that it is a must read for everyone.

I have always been interesting in the Salem Witch trials, and this book just heightened my interest. I read it in class, and there are so many nuances that you might never pick up on if you read it by yourself. For instance, the title. Another reviewer stated that it didn't make sense, but really, it did (that person's review made no sense at all). A crucible is a small metal container that you use in lab experiments, you place it over the fire, and it gets hot. This refers to the hysteria that was going on in Salem at the time, the heat is the mistrust and accusations being thrown about the town. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction would love this book, and I recommend it to everyone.

I read this book a long time ago, however I still remember this book and the impact it had on me. It was difficult for me to get through this book. I did not like the concept of other people being able to call other witches for their own profit. I thought the main character in the book was vengeful.

If you were accused of being a witch back in the 17 century in Massachusetts then you were one. Very good film about pointing fingers, lying, religion, and cheating. I am actually quite happy I was forced to read this book.

This as one of the better things I have read for school. It kept my interest. It went pretty fast, also. I tend to like things with drama in them. This play was full of drama. The book cleared up a lot of things for me, actually. I had always wanted to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, but I never had time to. It also gave you some background information on how things were when America first started to develop. How similiar it is to today, but also how much differant it is. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about history in a non-history teaching way.

I first read this play in 10th grade. It has a very serious tone as it deals with witchcraft and how people can be manipulated when dealing with such subject type. It really has a lot to do with what horror can overcome people during a time like the Salem Witch Trials, and how the even the innocent could have fingers pointed at them.
If you've ever heard an audio version of this play, the best line has to be "No haaaaang Tituba!"
(Sorry, fond memories of an english teacher's imitation of this scene.)

In the beginning this book was very hard to follow because it is written in the form of a play. However by act 2 it is easier to follow because you get used to reading it like that and the book gets better and you pay more attention. This book is compleatly acurate but it gives a good idea on how the Salem witch trials happened. Toward the end it gets very gripping and you don't want to put it down. I recimend this book for people at least over 12. It is also interesting to read it after you know the history of Salem witch trials.

While this version is a fine audio production, it is labeled incorrectly as the unabridged version. There are several parts that are edited out. I purchased this one as a supplement to the unabridged version in my classroom. However, it simply is no the unabridged version. If you do want this version, you could download this version from itunes in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for it to ship.

This play was a sublime, undertoned attack of McCarthyism. The entire idea of persecution of what is unknown drives the characters to believe witnesses which otherwise would have been untrustworthy. At times the insanity taken so seriously is actually funny. All of the characters have central points of weakness and virtue alike; creating complex interactions. I was required to read it, unoptimistically, but it evolved into one of my favorite plays! I never truly understood the power of the phrase,"Witch, Witch!!!," untill I read THE CRUCIBLE

This is a great example of literature often assigned to later high school students from reading lists that is worthwhile, dramatic, challenging, and sobering. Many will grumble over this play, but it is a fair representation of early American history and it can be enjoyable with the right attitude coming into it. When I was in school, I did enjoy reading and analyzing it myself.

This play draws you in from the beggining, each character begging for your attention and pity. But as you watch the characters and the story unfold, you are forced to pick sides. The confused and manipulated girls can make you burn with anger and feel great sorrow for their entrapment. The adulterous husband first hits you as a cold, unloving man but soon woos you into seeing his honest and passionate character. Arthur Miller masterfully sends his reader on an emotionally journey through his chilling rendition of the sad affair of the Salem witch trials. Beautiful work, very worthy of your time.

I haven't read this book yet, but both my teenage sons have and continue to talk about it and the history/circumstances of why the author choose to write about this topic. It has created much dialogue between us about the "popular view" and standing up for truth and the consequences of not doing so. They both insist that it is a must read for everyone.

I have always been interesting in the Salem Witch trials, and this book just heightened my interest. I read it in class, and there are so many nuances that you might never pick up on if you read it by yourself. For instance, the title. Another reviewer stated that it didn't make sense, but really, it did (that person's review made no sense at all). A crucible is a small metal container that you use in lab experiments, you place it over the fire, and it gets hot. This refers to the hysteria that was going on in Salem at the time, the heat is the mistrust and accusations being thrown about the town. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction would love this book, and I recommend it to everyone.

I read this book a long time ago, however I still remember this book and the impact it had on me. It was difficult for me to get through this book. I did not like the concept of other people being able to call other witches for their own profit. I thought the main character in the book was vengeful.

If you were accused of being a witch back in the 17 century in Massachusetts then you were one. Very good film about pointing fingers, lying, religion, and cheating. I am actually quite happy I was forced to read this book.

This as one of the better things I have read for school. It kept my interest. It went pretty fast, also. I tend to like things with drama in them. This play was full of drama. The book cleared up a lot of things for me, actually. I had always wanted to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, but I never had time to. It also gave you some background information on how things were when America first started to develop. How similiar it is to today, but also how much differant it is. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about history in a non-history teaching way.

I first read this play in 10th grade. It has a very serious tone as it deals with witchcraft and how people can be manipulated when dealing with such subject type. It really has a lot to do with what horror can overcome people during a time like the Salem Witch Trials, and how the even the innocent could have fingers pointed at them.
If you've ever heard an audio version of this play, the best line has to be "No haaaaang Tituba!"
(Sorry, fond memories of an english teacher's imitation of this scene.)

In the beginning this book was very hard to follow because it is written in the form of a play. However by act 2 it is easier to follow because you get used to reading it like that and the book gets better and you pay more attention. This book is compleatly acurate but it gives a good idea on how the Salem witch trials happened. Toward the end it gets very gripping and you don't want to put it down. I recimend this book for people at least over 12. It is also interesting to read it after you know the history of Salem witch trials.

While this version is a fine audio production, it is labeled incorrectly as the unabridged version. There are several parts that are edited out. I purchased this one as a supplement to the unabridged version in my classroom. However, it simply is no the unabridged version. If you do want this version, you could download this version from itunes in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for it to ship.

I used this recording this year while teaching "The Crucible". My students loved it!! The emotion conveyed by the cast is SO much better than the typical monotone voice that students use while reading out loud. Even though there were some small parts that are skipped when following along with our textbook, it was completely worth it (and the parts skipped were very small - it was very easy to read it aloud if necessary).

It was an ok book. Some parts were interesting, but some parts were left to be desired. It was a bit complicated too, too many characters, kind of hard to follow along. But other than that, it was pretty good.

Arthur Miller's most famous of works, The Crucible comes through in ways few plays do. Miller's powerful language portray the chaos and fear of the time in spotless fashion, as the accusations of witchcraft get passed around like a basket of buns at a Thanksgiving table. It's almost as if Miller lived through one of the more perplexing eras in American history. This classic piece of American literature is a must read for any High School student.

this play was really well constructed. It portrayed the characters well back then. It had the radical people that accused left and right. It also had the priests, the judges, the weird suspects and the one noble person. It kept my attention through the whole time. It had very good description of the characters personality that made me keep on reading. The end has a weird twist that makes you wonder if it was a joke or just spooky. overall a good rating of four out of five stars.

Decent writing. Sometimes it was rather esoteric and I was annoyed that he drastically changed some of the facts that caused the story to veer widely from the truth but presented it as though it was merely a slight alteration.

If that's what you think you missed the whole point. Back then if you didn't belive in witches and demons and the devil you didn't believe in God, you cannot have God without the Devil.
I loved this play - I performed in it 2 years ago and I had a blast, but before you read it - read about what really happened and the red scare, since i had to do that for research into my characters, I know it benefit me.
HAVE FUN!!!!

My name is Marissa and this freshman year of my high school career i am playing betty from the crucible. because of this experience, i have become very familiar with the play. based on the salem witch trials, abigail williams is accused of having been owned by the devil. written in a fascinating way, arthur miller really makes this play an extraordinary doing. i reccomend this book for basically anybody, it is a great type of writing for anyone to read.

I absolutley loved this play. I recently re-read it and it was incredible. It's not very long, and it is definitly something everyone should read. You feel like your at the trials, and you can just see the wretched abigail..
Buy it, borrow it, get it from the library. just read the play.

This is not an unabridged version of the Crucible. I am having to use this version since my copy broke and I am frustrated because this version skips so much of the dialogue that it is hard to follow at times. In addition, the dialogue that has been left out skips over some of the relationship issues that need to be understood in order to understand the characters motivation. Furthermore, the actors voices sound so similar that it is hard to distinguish which character is talking a lot of the time. The person reading for Rebecca Nurse sounds like a man reading a woman's part.

At first I read this play because it's on the recommended reading list of English Honor, but dain this is good stuff. I hate it that most of the other high schoolers are gonna miss this great piece of work. Since then I read almost all of Miller's plays and they are all good if not fantastic. Miller brings humanity and morality to literature, and makes it interesting and exciting at the same time. I guess that's why he's great.

Arthur Miller writes another classic. This time, it's about a village during the Salem Witch Trials. It revolves around characters closely related to people during the McCarthy Era in the 50s. This play show what would happen if mob mentality came into power, like it did during the Salem Witch trials. Overall, this is a great play with highly developed characters, setting, and history. A must-read!

Showing affliction in almost every character, this play shows you the consequences that many people faced for their beliefs. The Crucible was a very well written play. Arthur Miller chose an excellent topic to write about. Learning about the Salem witch trials and the ways of that time period was interesting and very informative. While getting boring at times with the same scene, I enjoyed reading it.

The Crucible, a play written by Author Miller in the 1953. It is a drama about The Salem, Massachusetts witch hunt in the 1692 and people were accused of doing witchcraft without any solid proof because lots of people were being killed. I've noticed that the world has seriously changed from the 1692 till today. In the present days, who would still believe in witchcraft? Almost no one talks about it. But during the 1692, people believed in witchcrafts, they even believe that their relatives are witch. Men, Women, teenagers, child, anyone, any age! If you have any certain strange action, people will assume you are a witch. For example, Abigail and the girls were dancing around the fire. Well, the village people saw it and they started accusing that Abigail and the girls are witches. If more than two people think that you are a witch than that is it, everyone will treat you as if you were a witch. I've never read a play before. And this drama really caught my attention. I was amazed by what one person will do to save his reputation and others lives.

I first read this play in high school and was struck by the limited vision and narrow thinking of the characters. With a few wonderful exceptions, these are not people you really want to know. Many moons later I've re-read it and found it as interesting a character study as ever.

When in high school in the 60's, we weren't told about Arthur Miller's disguising of the Mcarthy "witch" hunts in this play. Much like the T.V. show "M.A.S.H." was really about Vietnam, this is about another embarassing time in American history. Although well veiled, it's really does point out the extremes those driven by their own delusional dogma will go to to be considered "right" and righteous.

This book is typically easy to read however the first act is a little har to get though because of the format. the author will stop every once in a while to talk about the history of the town or the charcters backround. Once you get to the second act the book begins to pick up and get a lot better. i am in high school and had to read this for a summer reading assignment. Once u get to the second act the author is past the exposition of the plot and it is easier to understand what is going on.

Arthur Miller's play "THE CRUCIBLE" is fantastic. It gives a true insight to the time of hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials.I have never read a piece of work of literature in which human nature during hysteria is so well portrayed. Abigail is one person whom I disliked because she's cold-hearted, selfish and wicked. I did enjoy the book's social message because the entire Salem scenario repeated itself in the 1950s.

I bought this cd set to read the play along with my students. It's very theatrical and there are a lot of sound effects. The actors go so fast, that it's hard to follow along if you're reading the play. There's a lot of mumbling, sighing, heavy-breathing. Anyway, if you are wanting to just listen to it, this is a great purchase. If you want to read along, I would try a different cd set.

An obvious metaphorical look at the McCarthyist 1950s, this play is stark and no fun. I think this is one of the best retellings of what happened in Salem. Students should read this, but need a good history lesson before hand.

Can anyone say, "this book sucks"? I mean, like, oh my god--like, gag me with a wooden spoon! What kind of crack was Arthur Miller smoking when he wrote this tripe? Like, geeze...my stupid English teacher assigned this text to me (I would've preferred to have just read Harry Potter), and I barely finished it...kinda like my boyfriend Rob. He never finishes anything (hah hah hah...lol Rob :) ).

I understand that "The Crucible" serves as an allegorical attack on McCarthyism and Black Listing and I praise Arthur Miller for his wonderful use of allegory in the Salem Witch Trials. I personally, had a hard time reading this piece of drama. It was forced reading for English class and I may have found it more interesting if we, as a class, read it aloud with different students reading different parts, etc. However, my English teacher felt it best to assign an act a night leaving me confused and tired. I didn't find the story that interesting.

It's an entertaining fantasy, but the fact is we now know beyond any doubt (see Venona) there were hundreds of Communist spies at all levels of our government. Every single person McCarthy identified as a Communist was, in fact, a Communist and far from having their lives ruined, most went on to prestigious positions at Leftist-leaning institutions. If anything, McCarthy wasn't zealous enough. Yet to this day, he is reviled by Leftists and their sympathizers, his very name a malediction. Where are the mea culpas from the supporters of I.F. Stone and Walter Duranty, both proven Soviet propagandists complicit in covering up tens of millions of murders? Where is the morality play that teaches us mass starvation of civilians is a terrible weapon and those who cover for mass mega-murderers are no better themselves?
It's time for Americans to recognize the truth: McCarthy was a hero, and those in the press and entertainment industries like Arthur Miller that worked to discredit and defame him did a terrible disservice to this great country and committed a horrible atrocity on a patriotic American who was trying to protect his country from the greatest threat it ever faced.

The Crucible is one of the most powerful plays I've ever read . I'm only 14, but that still says a lot. Right from the beginning , I was addicted and couldn't get away from it. Arthur Miller is incredible.READ THIS & you will thank me!!!

I think that "The Crucible" is a good book. It was a bit hard for me to follow because of the type of text used (middle english). I really got into the book though because of the suspence and all of the surprises and twists that Miller wrote.

Arthur Millers, The Crucibal, is a wonderfully written dramatic play. It is intersting and absorbing. The history of the play begins from the communist "witch-hunts", which inspired Miller to write the book. An easy reader, but very thought provoking. Worth reading at any age!

The book "The Crucible" is interesting. In the beginning, this book was a little bit boring, but then it got interesting. This book talks about lies and adultery. This book will be good for people who like history because it's a historical book. This book is about 152 pages long and it's intended for the intermediate reader.

The Crucible is very touching in places as Abigail strives and does everything in her grasp to get Proctor for herself, and ends up going too far. I am only 15 and yet I know a good book when I read one and this is a good book.

All of these reviews appear to apply to the L.A. Theater Works reading of The Crucible. I wanted to read reviews about the Lincoln Center version. Co-mingling can be confusing. The Lincoln Center is unabridged and the reviews for the L.A. Theater Works make it sound abridged. I wonder if this review will end up in the L.A. Theater Works version reviews as well.

I really enjoyed reading this classic tale. I found it interesting from an historical and literary point of view. It forces you to think about very real moral dilemmas, like what you might or might not give your life for.

I find that books on CD help my 17 year old get an edge on his English projects. He has a reading disability that makes conventional book reading difficult so books on tape or CD are an answer to his problems.

I really enjoyed this play even though it was a class assignment. It gives you a feel of this huge chunk of our worlds history that no one can fully understand. I wasn't really into ready anything of this sort, but it was really cool. I liked it a lot :)

I was all set to give this play five stars, because I thought the author did a phenomenal job of portraying the horror and helplessness of the Salem witch trials. However, I did a little research, and the author used real people from these trials, but he changed their stories to make his play more sensational. John Proctor, who has an affair with Abigail in the play, was actually 60 years old at the time and Abigail was 11. It doesn't appear that anything of the sort actually occurred.

Another 'classic' about the Salem Witch Trials. Like most classics, it sucks. The crazy Puritans accuse and argue each other. Then they go to court to argue and accuse different people. Then everyone gets hung. The end.

The Crucible is a book about a parish and community inSalem,Mass. during the Salem witch trials. I thought that it was verydry and uninteresting. It also had no definite conclusion and was very long. END

The printing is of poor quality, some pages are genuinely difficult to read. Since I was unable to view pages on the website I was unaware of the print quality. I would choose a different edition, if I had it to do again.

I was first assigned the Crucible to read in my English class, and every single page was torture. I hated this book with the intensity of a thousand suns. From the get-go the book is more caught up in describeing the situatin than the characters and often gets way off subject. Also many of the characters are so far-fected it is hard to take this book seriously. Many of the characters, like Abigail Williams, are so caught up in their lies that they are believe them and the play is more about a mentaly unstable, oversexed girl, and a guy who dosen't know how to keep it in his pants.
Also durring the play, many of the characters, like Tituba, just drop out and you don't know what happened to them. I also found the plot to be extermly dull and lacking real thought. The main idea of the play is the main character, Abigail Williams, is so caught up in revenge on the wife of the guy that she got into bed that she goes crazy. The entire village of Salem say that her madness is caused by the devil, and Abibail uses that to her advantage and manipulates them to believe her far-fecthed story about being bewithed by the devil and her lies got nineteen people and two dogs hung. Even though this play was meant to mirror the Red Scare that was going on when Miller wrote this and represent the real Salem Witch trials, I found this play boring and had a lack of plot and characters.
I would not recomend this play for a monkey to read, and the main reason I held it together when reading this was my English grade was depending on that book, and it was short. Don't waist your money.

I found the crucible to boring with a capital B. All it is is monotonous interactions that would be thrown out in the modern court except for the possible request for the plaintiff to have psychiatric evalution. It is stupid, the only part you have to look forward to is when Hale quits the court and denounces the proceedings. It was an oblivious cry for help that shouldn't even be used as and example of anything except for monotonous hysteria.

All you people who think this work accurately represents the historical context of the "Red Scare" really need to join the rest of us in the 21st century. Earth to readers - the Communists were invading our government. All this hysteria against those who sought to keep that invasion from happening is so misplaced it would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.

Try catching up with what has been learned since the 1950's. A good place to start would be learning what the Venona Intercepts were and what they showed. They proved conclusively that the Communists were highly infiltrated into the US State Department and that many knew they were at the time the so called "Red Scare" was taking place. That was the reason there was so much effort put in to rooting out these influences.

Then you could read up on what was learned from the KGB archives after the fall of the Soviet Union. All the heroes of the left like Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs were guilty as all get out. There is concrete evidence to back this up.

If you are one of the people still railing against the "Red Scare" you are proving you haven't learned a thing in the last 50 years. The left in the US has so much credibility staked on these issues that many refuse to admit the obvious truth but it is the truth anyway. Anyone who continues the hysterical crusade against those who sought to root out communism from the US government might as well be screaming that the earth really is flat. You would be just as wrong as the members of the Flat Earth Society were when they were ignoring mountains of evidence.