How Is 'The Crucible' an Allegory: Analytical Essay

Introduction:

The crucible, By Arthur Miller, has been relevant to many different groups across the world, throughout history. The conception of corruption prevailing and the truth being disregarded are the main focuses of the text. They relate to the major human experience that shapes our responses and reactions to heavy-weight world conflicts. That in the face of conflict true human motivations are unveiled for the world to see. This is seen in both The crucible and to kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee. In both these texts, there are ultimate inner conflicts that the characters need to either overcome or succumb to. The characters need to decide whether to stand against a villainous system or forfeit their beliefs and values in the urge to save themselves. The conflicts in these texts are the Salem witch trials and racism in early 20th-century America. The purpose of these conflicts by the composers is to challenge the audience's behavior, perceptions, values, beliefs, and reactions to similar conflicts that have arisen in our society.

Context: (Include author allegory)

At the time that Arthur Miller wrote The crucible, in 1953 America was going through major social change. It was still recovering from the effects of the second world war, and struggling with the paranoia surrounding the imposing doom of the soviet union and the cold war. The climate of the world was surrounded by hysteria and fear which ultimately influenced Millers' writing. A big political movement that affected Arthur Miller greatly was “the red scare”. A movement from the late 1940s through the 1950s when American senator Joseph McCarthy started a “witch hunt” for communists and leftist sympathizers in America. He specifically targeted Hollywood and the American government. Miller was questioned by McCarthy on if he was a communist, he was also asked to name any communists that he knew, an action he did not participate in, unlike numerous other people. This caused him to become blacklisted in the film industry.

This experience and conflict shaped his writing of the crucible, this is seen through the numerous political allegory that he has included in the crucible. An example of this is seen in Act one when Miller states in an authorial note, “a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims.” This quote perfectly symbolizes the conflict that Miller faced with McCarthyism, that people he knew and respected would pass the blame from each other in order to protect themselves. That’s the reason that Miller chooses to write about the Salem witch trials. For the townspeople to help themselves they would have to blame others so they wouldn’t face suspension for being involved with witchcraft.

This also exposes the people’s motivations to blame others, as to what they can gain from falsely accusing others. A character's inner motivation that we see partially is Thomas Putman. He is exposed when Giles Corey within act 3 states specifically that, “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeits up his property – that’s the law!” which is then ironically countered when Danforth states, “But the proof, sir, proof.” Miller’s use of dramatic irony in this scene sets the tone for the play. Throughout the whole text, there has been no solid evidence to convict the people of witchcraft but they do anyway, so Danforth asking for proof of Corey’s accusations is ironic as he has convicted people for less. It also reveals the inner motivations that the characters have.

When To kill a mockingbird was written, America was also going through great social change but of a different caliber than Miller. It was written in the 1960s, a time of extensive civil rights movement for the African-American community. The desegregation of America was viewed by many white Americans to be immoral, and dangerous. While Lee was growing up in the 1930s the attitudes towards African-Americans were even worse, with no civil rights, the institutions did not have any mindfulness towards African-Americans often blaming them for crimes that they did not commit, like Tom Robinson. A conflict that is still relevant today. This is demonstrated in the film, the movie is set in the 1930s, in Alabama when racism was at its highest prevalence. That’s the reason why Lee chose to set the text in this time period and area, as it would be the best setting for the story to take place in, a racist community.

A great example of the underlying differentiations between the community throughout the film is the use of chiaroscuro (black and white). The director, Robert Mulligan stated that he choose to film the movie in black and white even though at the time color was becoming increasingly popular. Not only did the lack of color truly convey the dichotomous world that Maycomb truly was, but it also signified the differences between the people. In one scene (1hr 4 min), Atticus Finch is seen standing guard in front of Tom Robinson’s jail cell, a black man that he has chosen to represent in a court case that the Maycomb community fully discouraged him from doing when a group of countrymen arrive hoping to kill Robinson. Atticus is shown with a light sitting beside him as the men confront him. This scene symbolizes that Atticus is the hope and light in this world that is surrounded by hysteria and darkness. When the men eventually leave due to scout, the men turn away from the light, which foreshadows the further mania that will take place in the future at the time of the trial.

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Another scene that shows the difference between Atticus and the others is when the father, of the daughter that accused Robinson of raping her, Robert Ewell, went to see Atticus at Robinson’s house. As Ewell staggers onto the scene, the tone is set by the non-diegetic menacing music that is playing as he approaches the car, a sound that we never hear unless Mr. Ewell is in the scene, signifying the danger that he brings not only Atticus and his children by the whole community. In the same scene, Jem is shown with a shadow cast on his face that was caused by Ewell reaching out. Lee utilizes this imagery to represent Jem and scout being exposed to the cruel reality of life, about the conflicts that he is involved in due to Atticus and his moral stance, that the danger this puts him in.

The specific scenes comparable in both texts are Act 3 in the Crucible, the trial scene in To kill a mockingbird, and the relationships that characters have with the institutions that they are supposed to have faith in, also with others in their community. Both John Proctor and Atticus Finch are men of consciousness and justice. This is seen through the inner conflict that Proctors goes through the whole play on whether he should confess to the shameful crime of cheating on his wife with a young girl and saving the people convicted, or stay silent in the hope to save his reputation and family life, and also seen with Atticus fight for justice in a corrupted institution and the communities reaction to him standing up for someone who doesn’t have a voice in society, Tom Robinson.

The Crucible and To kill a mockingbird both incorporate the conflict of race in the texts this is also connected to scapegoating, a frequent political tool used both in the text and in reality. The first person in the Crucible to be charged with witchcraft is the slave that Reverend Parris took with him from Barbados, Tituba. Abagail and the others accused Tituba of witchcraft as a means to escape their punishment, they also knew that Tituba would be easy to blame for her race, as she is not white and a slave. This is also the same argument used for Tom Robinson. Because he is a black man living in the racist Maycomb community there was no chance for someone to believe his word over two white people’s.

When Tituba is being questioned about performing witchcraft, Reverend Parris, and Hale both take part in the breakdown of Tituba’s thoughts causing her to go into hysterics. They do this by feeding thoughts into her mind like, “Perhaps another person in the village? Someone, you know?” The metafictional world that Miller is creating is forming a juxtaposition to the real punishments that people accused will have to suffer as they are convicted for these crimes.

Tituba starts fabricating the lies that she has heard from the “Devil” saying things like, “He says Mr. Parris must be killed,” and “I give you pretty dress to wear.” The hyperbole used in these quotes further emphasizes the exaggeration that Tituba is placing on the story. The motion of race and scapegoating is also seen in To kill a mockingbird in Atticus’s closing speech to the jury he states, “Now, gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's not ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!” in this quote Lee uses Atticus to convey the message of values in Atticus’s mind. That he has faith in the legal system, but this is seen as dramatic irony that Miller also uses in the Crucible because even though all courts are supposed to be ethical, they have been tainted by race, religion, corruption, and differences within individuals. A feature that is also seen in the multiple trials in the Crucible, a feature that ultimately causes the wrongful conviction of Tom Robison, and those accused of witchcraft including John Proctor.

Hysteria is frequently represented in both texts, through the use of high modality, and imagery. It is seen when Mayella Ewell on the stand has an outburst while Atticus is poking holes in her testimony. She yells out into the crowd, “He took advantage of me. And if you find, fancy gentlemen ain’t gonna do notin’ about it then you’re just a bunch of lousy, yellow stinking cowards! The whole bunch of you! And your fancy airs don’t come to anything! you’re “Ma’am” and your “Miss Mayella”, Don’t come to nothin', Mr. Finch!” Lees's (Mulligan?) use of high modality in this scene represents the breaking down of individuals due to conflict in society, and the hysteria that can arise from these conflicts, as it has a drastic effect on individuals and communities.

Hysteria in Crucible

These texts offer the audience a reflection of their own experiences, emotions, motivations, and behaviors. Composers of different texts use human experiences to challenge the audience's own perceptions and introduce new understanding and reflect on their own behavior in times of conflict. The Crucible and To kill a mockingbird are great texts that can be used to analyze order to understand the different human emotions, behaviors, motivations, and values that occur to individuals in different human experiences through conflict.