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Tiffany Wu
Mr. Kirkendall
English 306
1 September 2014
The Crucible Essay
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller brings us back to Salem in the end of the seventeenth
century. At that time, the whole American society was in the fear of “Red Scare” bringing by
the communists, which influenced people to be suspicious and fearful. The situation inspired
Miller to compose a play about that. In the hundred pages of the play, it shows the power of
jealously and selfishness, lies and misunderstandings, faith and integrity. In Miller's work, the
whole turmoil in the small town was based on people's fear and suspicion, including
Reverend Parris's fear of losing his position as a minister, John Proctor's fear of losing his
good name, and people's fear of witchcraft and death.
The fear of Reverend Parris actually was one of the main reasons of the tragedy of
Salem. Parris is a selfish man who is obsessed with power and fame. He takes charge of the
church, and at the same time he does many throng things, that is accused by John Proctor for
many times. Since his daughter, Betty, passes out after the “party” in the forest, he starts to
worry about his figure might be ruined because people started to discuss about the witchcraft
in his house. He doesn't want this whole witchcraft thing shake his social status, and his
intention to hide the thing becomes the blasting fuse of the lies and misunderstandings
happening next. His insecurity about his behavior causes his hatred towards John Proctor,
and fosters him to accuse many innocent people wrongly.
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Besides Reverend Parris, John Proctor also has his own worry. Although John Proctor
is an upright man, he makes mistake. He has an affair with the nineteen-year-old, beautiful
Abigail Williams. He is very regret and self-condemned about his behavior; moreover, he is
worried that his good name in the community will be ruined. His concern and hesitation keep
him from uncovering abigail’s real intention...