Remembering Arthur Miller: 'The Crucible'

Please post your thoughts/questions regarding The Crucible here and join our poll! Hapyy reading! :)

Ok, I have the book.

Ok, I have the book booked :p

hmmmmmmm.... are people messing with me?? or am I just paranoid.

nah, I'm the paranoid one :D

Is anyone else amazed that how quickly the hysteria spreads and how readily people believe in girls' claims without taking a moment to question things?

I liked the play a lot, so I voted the 5 stars option :)

It's really weird how the people are guliable (spell?). Gets one wondering if the witchcraft was really what they were after. It gave them a lot of power and people like to have power. Also what in any other time would have been called something else, like for example ... can't think of an example, but suddenly all that's suspicious is called witchcraft. When one has an opinion that 'doesn't fit', they're suddenly Satan's followers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Miller

Danforth: ...But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.

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This sums up the feeling very well, I think. And also the political atmosphere in many cases, even in present times ;) Creating a common enemy -Satan in this case- and causing public hysteria till noone can argue or disagree with you seem to be a wonderful tactic while dealing with sensitive issues.

Any thoughts on the relationship between Elizabeth and John?

You don't know what you have until you lose it (or come near to losing it) comes to mind...

you guys are way ahead of me....I just reached Act 2.

You're way ahead with Orlando :)
The Crucible almost reads itself, it's one of those books you can't put away before finishing it... so I read it in a day, liked it.
What do you think about it as far, Papaya?

ok, I finished it last night. It was pretty good, only problem I have is that it was hard keeping the characters straight (but it kinda didn't matter all that much). It's quite an interesting term: "Your either with the court or your against the court". It would have been good to see what happened to the girls after the hysteria had died down.

An interesting link about Salem trials:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/

Quote Scheherazade---This sums up the feeling very well, I think. And also the political atmosphere in many cases, even in present times ;) Creating a common enemy -Satan in this case- and causing public hysteria till noone can argue or disagree with you seem to be a wonderful tactic while dealing with sensitive issues.


How 'bout McCarthyism? Isn't that why he wrote The Crucible? To criticize Joseph McCarthy?

Has anyone read of "Memorable Providences"? I was told this was the book that came out about witchcraft just before the first girl became "ill", the people of Salem referenced it, in a way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lhaeber

How 'bout McCarthyism? Isn't that why he wrote The Crucible? To criticize Joseph McCarthy?

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It is true that Miller had McCarthy's anti-Communist 'which hunts' in mind while writing 'The Crucible'; however, the value of the play lies with the fact that the political points it makes are universal and timeless. We can still see the examples of public hysteria, "common enemy" and 'a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it' sentiment (I do not wish to bring politics into this but have a look at recent world history).


How do you feel about the fact that Miller took the liberty of changing certain facts while re-telling a historical events? (e.g., Abigail was only 11 and Proctor was in his 60s at the time of the trial, which makes their affair rather unlikely).