The Crucible: Epilogue

SUMMARY

Finally the Crucible is coming to an end.  The Salem Witch Trials have left the town haggard and sparse.  Havoc is rife, and the infrastructure is tumbling down upon its self.  Parris is in jail, accused of witchcraft,  and John Proctor goes to visit him.  Hale then appears, begging them to set the prisoners free because they will not confess to witchcraft.  Over 100 people in this small town have been accused of witchcraft, and many of them have been hanged, stoned, or killed in other means.  John Proctor confesses, and is hanged at the gallows, ultimately ending the witch trials.

ANALYSIS

As the end of the book approaches, the girls who started the whole series of events leading up to the trials are beginning to realize that their power to accuse people as witches in the fearful society is leading to the collapse of the society in question.  The power of being able to accuse people that you don't like has spread to the far corners of Salem, meaning that the whole town has this power.  Not even the rich are safe, because if the poor people have a grudge or dislike of them, then they can attack them in ways that they could not before.  The already small society is made even smaller by people turning on their neighbors who they could stand not a year before.  Then John Proctor realizes that he can stop the attacks by confessing.  He finally recognizes the system, and looks at it from a secular viewpoint.  This stopped the attacks dead in their tracks.  Many people, however, fled the town where so much had gone wrong, all in the name of radical religions and God.

The Crucible: The Third Post

In "The Crucible," things are getting wild.  Witches and wizards are being falsely accused every which way in Salem.  The funny thing though, is that the witches have to confess to avoid being hanged.  Every time one so called witch confesses, many more are accused and sentenced to hang.  By Act II, this viscious cycle has led to fourteen witches and wizards about to be hanged.  There are also some troubles between the women, and claims are arising that Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft to steal John away.  This gives away the secular views that drive religious accusations.  John Proctor believes that the mess is his fault, and by the middle of the second act, approximately 40 have been accused of being witches.  When an accused person is being tried of magic, they attempt to go out in a blaze of glory and take down people that they have grudges against in secular life.  Reverend Hale then visits the Proctor's home, and asks John Proctor to recite the ten commandments.  John Proctor recites them, but forgets one.  As a result, Reverend Hale believes John Proctor to be "less holy."

The Crucible Post Two

In this section of the book, reverend Hale has already arrived.  Hale deems himself intelligent, and is both respected and feared in the village because of his study of witchcraft.  I'd like to talk about Hale for a second.  Is  it really intelligent for someone to believe in something of which he has no proof?  Hale speaks of checking behind the ears for dark goo, and has many books pertaining to witchcraft.  He had convicted many people before these, and, as such, most definitely enjoyed the power that came with being able to make whole theocracies tremor before him and fold in on each other.

The chapter goes on to prove that Hale and the community charge two local outcasts, Sarah Good, and Goody Osborne.  The fact that their names share a common word is not unimportant to the story!  In fact, these poor women, one of whom midwifed three of one accusers unborn children, were very likely innocent and new of no witch craft.  The funny thing to me is that two things happened before they, and everyone else in this story were convicted of witchcraft.  The first being that someone called them a local outcast, and then criticized them of doing something strange in the community.  Then, someone accused of being a witch would repent to save their own hides and accuse one of the town's outcasts of standing with the devil!

This story is a perfect example of what happens when fear takes over altruism and conscience.

"The Crucible" First Entry

For readers unaware of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," it is a three act play.  The scene opens in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 16th century.  The character of focus at the beginning is Parris, a Salem reverend.  His daughter is lying in bed, unmoving and sick.  She is ten years old.  Evidently, Parris' servant is a practitioner of witchcraft, and Revered Parris saw his girls dancing in the forest with her.  In the colonial day and age, Parris accuses Tituba, his servant, of bewitching the girl.  He sends for John Hale, a minister and witch hunter, to heal his daughter, and find the true background story of the witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

Thus far, The Crucible's themes have been those warning against theocracy and narrow minded thinking.  Judging that this came out around the era of McCarthyism, it may be that Senator Joseph McCarthy's biased views toward communism influenced the state of affairs in this Massachusetts town.

All in all an interesting read so far, and finally one I can sympathize with.