Customer Reviews

The Crucible

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

The crucible - the famous allegory for the McCarthyism era - is a thought provoking play, from one of the most eminent American playwrights, based on the ignorance of man which still exists. I will not go into details concerning the relation between McCarthyism and "The Crucible" since I am reviewing the play; for further reference I suggest seeing the movie "Good Night and Good Luck." I liked the concept of the play but found the play itself rather dull for most part, even though the ending slightly reconciled me. The character cast is a miscellany from the grotesque to the simple and is my favourite aspect. Overall the story is quite shocking and I suggest reading it because of its allusion to the common man under excruciating circumstances rather than as literature.

This is a riveting story told with in-depth expression in this book.

The Crucible- A play, I enjoyed reading that had an interesting plot and showed how humans act when faced with life or death depending on their testimonies, and how life is a series of tests until death.
The word crucible means a heat-resistant container or a severe test. I believe Arthur Miller, the author, had called it "The Crucible" because his play is about a severe test or tests. The main characters are Reverend Parris, who has a daughter Betty, John Proctor, who is married to Elizabeth, Abigail Williams, is a teenage that lies, has an affair, and is a niece to Reverend Parris, and Reverend Hale, who is a young minister that claims he is an expert on witchcraft.
I liked this play because it is similar to everyday life of facing good and evil. It gives an outlook for knowing the right things to do and putting words into actions. The play illustrates the effect it can have on someone's life when so much evil has caused damage before learning to be honest and doing what is right. Throughout the play there are times when the character must make a choice, lie and live, or tell the truth and die. The test of lying to live is something I would never want to have to face, especially in that time period when the means of execution was hanging.
John Proctor, a farmer, is truly put to the test. He is a good person, but has an affair with Abigail. When Reverend Parris' daughter is said to be bedridden due to an unknown illness, everyone in town is concerned. The truth of what happened is that Abigail and a few girls did a witchcraft dance around a fire at night and drank blood. Because Betty is feeling so guilty, she stares and doesn't talk while she is bedridden. Abigail wants everyone to lie about what happened around the fire. John Proctors comes to visit Betty. When he arrives, Abigail looks at him with alluring eyes. Proctor states, "Ah, you're wicked yet aren't you!" (22) Here is a test for John Proctor. He has done wrong by having an affair and now alone with his former lover, he is tempted by her to try again. Abigail tries to encourage him, but he refuses her. This part I like in the played because it is a test of what is right.
Elizabeth knows her husband is a good person, even though he has sinned by having the affair. John stops going to church because the guilt of his affair and the dislike he has of the sermons of Rev. Parris about material things. John states to Elizabeth, "He sees no light of God in that man"(58) John recognizes this greed, but also his sorrow for his affair and having to be reminded by it, if he did go to church. Here is another test for John, a test of faith.
Abigail has her group of girls having everyone in town believing that the town is filled with witchcraft. Her followers are: Mary Warren, Ruth Putnam, Mercy Lewis and Betty Parris. They tell everyone that they have seen different people with the devil. Of course, Abigail eventually states that Elizabeth is working with the devil and tried to put a needle in her. The town goes into hysteria and people are brought to trial. During the start of the trial John's wife, Elizabeth begs John to testify in court that Abigail is a liar. Here is another test for John. Should he admit his adultery to the town or let Abigail continue to lie at the cost of others' lives? John states, "My wife will not die! I will bring your guts into your mouth, but that goodness will not die for me!" (76 )John's wife forgave him for the affair but now her life is at risk. John once again is faced with a test, to lie and live or not.
Finally, John admits about his affair with Abigail. Abigail's jealousy and lies have caused the deaths of so many. John is placed in jail. Now John has to decide to cleanse his name or lie. John knows Abigail lies about witchcraft and falsely accusing people from her town as following the devil, caused deaths of innocent people.
Elizabeth cries out at the end, "He have his goodness now, God forbid I take it away from him!" (126) John had a choice to lie and save his life, or tell the truth and die. Elizabeth knows John is a man who is right, even though he has not always done the right thing. Should John lie and save his life? This is the final test for John. To find out the ending, read "The Crucible!"This play is a test about life and finding out how important honesty is to you.

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.

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, 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.

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 Amazon 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.

As much as I love DEATH OF A SALESMAN (my favorite play), A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (a gripping modern Greek tragedy), and ALL MY SONS (a sadly underrated play), I am sometimes convinced that THE CRUCIBLE is Arthur Miller's masterpiece. It is Shakespearean in structure and has a large cast of intriguing characters, the most fascinating of whom is the protagonist, John Proctor. Unlike SALESMAN's Willy Loman, Proctor is a true tragic hero, because his "fall from grace" - his adultery - makes it necessary for him to face a series of trials that test, with ever-increasing severity, his moral character (hence the play's title). In the end, Proctor loses his life but saves his soul - or his "name," as he calls it. I find the final image of Proctor tearing his false confession and following his friends to the gallows extremely moving. Proctor is a hero because, though flawed, he is a basically good man who is tested to his limits and ultimately passes the tests. Proctor does what is right even when it means he must sacrifice his life.
Having read the play four times and seen it twice, I do think that some may find it a bit too "cerebral." This is because Miller has so many IDEAS about the meaning of good and evil and of honor, justice, etc., and his characters spend a lot of time TALKING about them. There is a lack of action in THE CRUCIBLE if one compares it to (say) A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. However, the theatricality of the sequences in which the girls of Salem seem to be possessed by demons more than compensate for static stretches in which the characters talk only (for instance, the scene in which Reverend Hale is questioning the Proctors). Is THE CRUCIBLE Miler's masterpiece, after all? I haven't decided yet. But it is a fascinating drama with a great tragic hero, John Proctor.

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!

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.