‘Admitting one's own faults is the first step to changing them, and it is a demonstration of true bravery and integrity’ - Philip Johnson.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, staff, students, and guests, and welcome to the Caloundra State High School open day. In this presentation, I will be educating you on Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’. Specifically, how through this story, the writer assists in the theory that ‘Maintaining personal integrity comes at a cost’. In this symbolic piece, Arthur Miller displays that preserving integrity requires strength and sometimes a risk of reputation. He resounds the significance of integrity in an array of circumstances, with his piece highlighting honesty resulting in negative effects, but sustaining good character. Arthur Miller has worked to achieve this through the use of a narrator, a variety of imagery, archaic language, allegory, and many other literary devices. Almost all aspects of his play relate back to integrity, symbolizing it as a very important theme and something to be focused on.
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Miller has aimed to retrieve an empathetic emotion from his readers toward the characters who attain the courage to upkeep their integrity. He was motivated by the events at the time, as stated by Blakesly - ‘Arthur Miller made the play called “The Crucible” during the 1950s as a response to McCarthyism and the U.S. Governments blacklisted people’. There were many parallels between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials, both being events that are viewed as shameful in US history, and both wrongfully accusing innocent people of performing frowned upon actions for the times. The House Un-American Activities Committee (abbreviated to HUAC) was linked directly to the Red Scare, which surrounded a fear of communism, leading to a national witch hunt for suspected communist supporters, which was known as McCarthyism. Senator Joseph McCarthy led this, making a name for himself in history. This all relates back to the Salem Witch Trials, which resulted in more than 200 people being accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 being executed.
An allegory is defined as a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. The writer of ‘The Crucible’ used allegory to touch on hysteria, fear, greed, and, most importantly, integrity and its cost. He focused on greed through situations such as Parris’s desire for the deeds to the minister’s house, showing his mistrust in his own community. He touched on hysteria throughout, an example being the scene where Mary Warren is frightened into re-joining the girls. Fear was focused on through the whole town being wary of the devil, and many characters being scared of one another. Integrity is the main underlying theme and idea, with a focus on this slyly pushing the audience to accept that one’s integrity is almightily important.
A variety of imagery types have also been implemented in the play. Color imagery is linked to good-evil imagery, with black representing the dark and bad and white representing the holy and good. Examples of this directly from the piece include ‘Your name in the town it is entirely white, is it not’ (Act 1), referencing to goodness and ‘… do you keep that black allegiance yet?’ (Act 3) referencing maliciousness. Devil/Hell imagery is also included, such as a fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face!’ (Act 3). By using imagery as a literary technique, Miller has allowed his audience to really visualize the events occurring, and understand the character’s emotions.
Even the title of the play is deliberate as well. A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. By naming the play after this, he has represented the town as being under intense pressure, bubbling, and very hot.
Many more, sometimes subtle, stylistic features have been used in ‘The Crucible’. By using a narrator, Arthur Miller has built tension, addressed the audience directly, and given vital background information. He has also used archaic language, so the audience feels they are transported to the time. All of these references to history have been true to the transcripts of the trials, with a large amount of them being biblical. He has achieved his desired goal, of teaching the reader important lessons through literary techniques like these.
Personal integrity, the way it requires strength to upkeep, and how it impacts our reputation, are all obviously very important themes in ‘The Crucible’. In Miller’s piece, he displays many admirable characters who hold their dignity and do not lie. Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are perfect examples, both insisting on honesty, regardless of the penalties for themselves.
‘The Crucible’ showcases a number of struggles, including the calamities that challenged John Proctor in the last two acts of the piece pushing him to admit to a moral contravention and then accused of another. He confesses that he did indeed have an affair with Abigail, in front of the court, in an attempt to save his wife Elizabeth. This is a problem revolving around integrity. Proctor realizes that if he maintains his confidentiality, he will be acting in timidity, betraying his wife, and failing to take the morally correct action. As a man who has a demanding sense of integrity, Proctor cannot lie, so he confesses. His honesty keeps his integrity whole but damages his reputation. Later, Proctor is faced with another test, being forced to say he performed witchcraft to keep his life. Though he is tempted to lie to save his life, confessing falsely but staying alive, Proctor once again decides that this is an issue of integrity. Through his refusal to put his values aside to save himself in the end, we see his personal integrity shining through. Choosing honesty, and the utmost morals for Proctor is his way of maintaining his integrity.
Another character that is truthful and holds high moral values is Rebecca Nurse. Rebecca displays these assets by saying what’s on her mind and not being self-conscious of these attitudes. This is indicated in Act 1 of ‘The Crucible’ when she discusses the rumors of sorcery circling the town. She displays this quality specifically when giving her opinion on what the young girls are enduring. ‘A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back’ (Act 1). This advice is based on her own experiences and is an example of her genuine beliefs. She trusts in the world, and her religion. At the end of the play, much like Proctor, Rebecca does not confess to witchcraft, accepting imprisonment and later, death. This is a true display of bravery and self-concern for the upkeep of her integrity.
It is clear that in ‘The Crucible’, the writer, Arthur Miller, has shown that preserving integrity requires strength and sometimes a risk of reputation. He linked this story back to McCarthyism and used inspirational characters and skillful stylistic features. Through this, he has taught his audience that honesty and following your morals are the utmost important factors in maintaining a virtuous honor.
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