The Crucible is a 1953 play written by Arthur Miller, an American playwright, on the Salem tragedy that occurred in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The play is dramatized and somewhat fictionalized the story of these trials through which it provides a parable that extends across centuries. In the dramatized play, the author implies that the relationship between Abigail Williams and John Proctor is the major cause of the witch hunt. However, Miller also points a finger at Thomas and Ann Putman, Reverend John Hale, and Reverend Samuel Parris. This paper seeks to identify which of these characters is the most culpable for the tragedy based on the textual evidence provided by the author. Notably, the town of Salem is not as holy as one would think. One important theme in The Crucible is religion and keeping up with it. Witchcraft is looked down upon and is completely prohibited in this town.
Religion and Witchcraft in The Crucible
As previously mentioned, one of the most important theme presented by Arthur Miller in The Crucible is religion. Religion is knitted into the social fabric and daily life of people in Salem since they practiced a form of Christianity. Miller portrays the idea that townsfolk in Salem practice a form of Christianity that is based on a clearly established set of rules. Some of these rules that characterize the lives of people in Salem include going to church every Sunday, resting on the Sabbath, believing the Gospel, and respecting the minister’s word like its God’s word or instruction. In The Crucible people in Salem often use religion to justify, cover, or excuse their actions (Norman p.1). For example, Salem people illegally took land from Natives on the premise that Natives were not Christians.
“The parochial snobbery of these people was partly responsible for their failure to convert Indians. Probably they also preferred to take land from the heathens rather than from fellow Christians. At any rate, very few Indians were converted, and the Salem folk believed that the virgin forest was the Devil’s last preserve, his home base, and the citadel of his final stand” (Miller, p.3).
As portrayed by Miller, religion played an influential role in the decisions, actions and life of folks in Salem. Religion influenced intolerance for individualism by Salem people as evident in the fact that illegally took land from Natives on the basis that the latter were not Christians. Additionally, religion influenced these...
Works Cited
Johansson, Tobias. "The Crucible and the Reasons for the Salem Witch Hunt." Department of Language and Culture. Lulea University of Technology, 2004. Web. 09 July 2018. .
Lai, Chloe. "The Influential Role of Religion in 'The Crucible'." Prezi. Prezi Inc., 16 June 2013. Web. 09 July 2018. .
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1992. Print.
Norman, Destan. "The Crucible: Religion." Prezi. Prezi Inc., 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 09 July 2018. .
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