Whether you liked
The Crucible of not, why do you think it is considered an important American play
? Think in terms of the history it reveals and also the more universal themes that lie at its heart. Feel free to take issue with each other if need be, but do so politely.
I think The Crucible is an important American play because it depicts an essential part of the decline of Puritanism, but also because it describes a flawed system of justice that we have since abandoned. Maybe Puritanism was on the decline as soon as the first Puritans got off the boat, but the witch trials were a pretty big indicator that people didn't believe as strongly in those values. Though the girls may have at first thought that the devil was at work, but it's clear they accused people for their own gain eventually.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that it also is an example of why our justice system works the way it does. In Salem - and thus in The Crucible - people were guilty until proven innocent, and this attitude caused the conviction and death of innocents. Furthermore, most of the evidence was just the words of the supposedly possessed girls, and it didn't turn out well. Today, we have a system in which a jury convicts, not a judge, and only if there's hard evidence to support guilt. I think that The Crucible is so important because it reminds us of why our system works the way it does, and what would happen if it didn't.
The Crucible is a classic American play because it shows power of mass hysteria. The witch trials show that once one person can start accusing others without being questioned for legitimacy its a recipe for disaster. It shows that fear brings people to do things that they normally wouldn't. Why did all those people go along with the girls to began with? The could have been legitimately afraid of the devil or afraid of the repercussions if they stood up for what they believed in. When people are in fear mass hysteria begins. This isn't just in Puritan society it has happened throughout history. In the Introduction to this book they compare The Crucible to the Second Red Scar (1947-1957), where people were afraid of a communist takeover. In that instance people were afraid of communism and the justice system went crazy trying to prove people were guilty to abate the fear. This idea of mass hysteria being created from a response to try and suppress a growing fear, witchcraft or communism, is not limited to one time period. This makes this novel a classic, everyone no matter what time time they live in can relate to it. (Not to get too political here but why did we invade Iraq after 9/11?)
ReplyDeleteI think The Crucible is an important American Play because it shows a kind of 'evolution of ideals'. In The Crucible the key ideal of the people was Puritanism. When the Puritans first arrived in America I believe their Puritan ideals were a good thing. Their willpower and devotion obviously paid off in keeping their colonies alive. However, the 'Puritan Ideal' obviously grew and developed to a point at which it was so extreme that it created more problems than it did good things (e.g. The Salem Witch Trials). This kind of 'evolution of ideals' I think is an important lesson when it comes to American values. For example, a big aspect of American values is the idea of equality. However, I believe equality is evolving to a point where it's starting to kind of create problems. Nowadays many people can't even make a light-hearted and good-intentioned joke without being condemned for it being 'racist' or 'sexist' or some similar charge (e.g. Don Imus Incident & NYT Incident). An interesting way to think about it is: Equality tries to make everyone, every minority, and everything happy and equal. However, the smallest minority is the self. There’s only one me and only one you and its impossible to make everyone happy. It’s an interesting concept to think about I think…
ReplyDeleteI believe that The Crucible is considered an important American play because it shows, as Joe stated, an evolution of ideals. The play depicts how, over time, with younger generations, the original ideals began to dissolve. The Puritans came to America after beign persecuted; therefore the newer generations never knew the pain and struggle that the older generations felt, which caused the young generations to question the authority of the elders and begin to change their own values and ideals. This "new" mentality shows the transition of the colony from being focused and centered on religion to becoming a diverse, cosmopolitan colony. These ideals will, with time, also grow and change, making way for the American Revolution. Therefore, I see this play as being important for showing the beginnings of the American Revolution...
ReplyDeleteThe Crucible is an important American play because it shows how modern American government was shaped and how values evolved over time. The Crucible is an excellent non-example of what government should be like. In this case, The Crucible shows the dangers of having no separation between church and state. Quite literally, the church is the court, the ministers are the judges, and the Bible is the law - and vice versa. Our original lawmakers clearly learned a lesson from history and decided (thankfully) not to try that same thing again. It is clear in the Constitution that there is to be a separation between church and state. What would America be like today, as the proud supporter of the "melting pot"? Would we be as diverse and tolerant towards all race, regions, and ethnicity if our government was based on the word of God? Even more, would we even be a country? The Puritan society did not last long built around religion. Would America even have been founded if religion was the foundation? The Crucible brings up many questions about the importance of religion in government and helps us realize how necessary it is to have a separation between church and state. I mean, the very fact that the words "In God We Trust" are on the dollar bill causes a commotion. Think about the uproar if suddenly our entire legal system was based on the Bible.
ReplyDeletefor me the Crucible is much more than an American play. I see it as a human play. The behavior of those responsible and those who took part in the Salem witch trials shows so much more about human nature than about American culture. The first and arguably most important thing that it shows is the psychology of lies and of believing lies. The people of Salem genuinely believed in witches, and thus the instant a member of their community uttered the word “witch”, they could not help but believe what they heard. the question is why did they believe this. There are two answers the first being that they feared that it was true, the second being that some of them wanted it to be true so that they could execute their own personal gain. Other than genuine trust (which it seems is completely void in the life of the people of Salem) these are the greatest factors that cause people to believe lies without having any genuine proof.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Abi. Even though the ideas that the public gets hysterical about have changed considerably over time, and often are no longer based on religion, the essence of mob mentality stays the same. The Crucible teaches an important lesson about how situations get out of hand and how good people, in an attempt to avoid self-incrimination, can destroy the lives of others. The girls began accusing people of witchcraft to cover up their own sins. It quickly grew into a power struggle when they realized how much influence they held over the community, but the initial motivation is one that still exists today. People lie to protect themselves, and The Crucible demonstrates what real and deadly consequences dishonesty can have.
ReplyDeleteAs well, people listen to those in power and follow the traditional chain of command without question. In The Crucible, people took for granted that the people in power, the land-owning church members, knew what to do. In reality, no one was in control. The situation got out of hand because people deferred their opinions to those above them. It is an important lesson for modern readers to be able to question those in power and evaluate their decisions.
The Crucible is an American classic because the themes of this play constantly reoccur though out America's history. Just as Abi and Jocelyn clearly stated, the idea of mass hysteria and paranoia reveals itself multiple times in America's own history. Whether it be the Japanese Internment in WWII, McCarthyism during the red fear, or even nowadays with there fear of terrorism right after 9/11; Americans always have a feeling of impending doom, and would believe just about anything that satisfies their fear, even if it's at the expense of the innocent. instability and discomfort are evident prior to all of these moment in history (including the scenario described in the Crucible) and all it takes is a spark to send the country in to total chaos. The government fan these hysterias by incriminating supposed witches, Communists, or terrorists. Just as the people in The Crucible, citizens will allow the harsh legal and politcal measures to be taken because they feel that they need protection from an often "invisable" threat, while others resent the measures taken by the government, but fear prosecution. There are countless examples of mass hysteria, and the extreme measures the government takes to satisfy the dicontent of the frenzied population in America's history that all link to one major theme in The Crucible. People will accept anything without question, no matter how radical, if it's meant to comfort their fear and paranoia (as long as they're not the ones being falsely accused).
ReplyDeleteI think the reason the Crucible is an important play because it shows how radical beliefs can cause people to react in ways that would not. For example if the constant fear of not attaining salvation and the idea that someone was always monitoring your actions, the girls wouldn't have been guilted into admitting to witchery when they had not done anything wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Joe that the Crucible is an evolution of ideas. In the beginning the Puritans had the goal of bringing up their children as proper Puritans, but when you bring over a group of people into a land where nothing has been established, it promotes many thoughts and ideas that would never have occured in the established land. Some of these evolved ideas would be challenging authority, the meaning of eqauality, or challenging established beliefs.In the Crucible it definitely shows the struggle between the generations because of these evolving ideas and beliefs.
I think The Crucible is an important American play because it shows how far America has progressed over time as a country. In the play, many people were accused without substantial evidence to prove them guilty. And they died because they did not want to confess a lie. This issue does not seem relevant today. However, I also think there are some issues in the play that are very applicable to our lives. For example, there are still people who have affairs, people who lie in the court, and there are people who have trouble accepting all of the aspects of their religion. This book reveals many conflicts that Americans have to deal with and insights into our past that we can learn from.
ReplyDeleteThe Crucible is one of America's most important plays because it portrays a universal, moral message in the form of irony. Throughout the 17th-18th century the decline of Puritanism became more and more predictable through the materialism of commercial enterprise and events such as the "Half-Way Covenant." Although the early Puritan congregation stressed simplicity and their covenant with God as the pinnacle of their religion over time, beliefs drifted. Aurthur Miller's play addresses this decline specifically in his portrayal of the Salem witch trials. Although the Puritans' sole purpose was to remain loyal to their faith, commercial enterprise, and agricultural pressure made social hysteria virtually impossible. Originally established as by a covenant with God, the Puritan religion ended in social chaos where success was judged economically, not through the devoutness of their faith.
ReplyDeleteThe Crucible is an American play because of its appeal to a larger image of manipulation through the judiciary system. Our society feeds on finding problems or corruption in the courts. (Law and Order, CSI, OJ Simpson) While I read this play I became extremely annoyed with how ridiculously flawed every aspect of the witch trials was. Between the lack of evidence and hysteria, I was both annoyed and captivated by the proceedings. Americans are taught to question the government, and this book truly highlights a certain point in our history that we can be critical and reflective of. This play highlights how imperfect a government can be. Americans are encouraged by this play to be inquisitive of society's institutions, and the theme of political corruption is always present and important for an American audience to analyze.
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