Attack on elements of society Essay

The Crucible is set in a puritan town in New England, Salem Massachusetts. The girls are caught dancing by the Reverend Parris the parish minister. This then start of a witch-hunt, which gets the town talking. People that are innocent are accused and the term ‘name names or else’ is being used by the courts. The innocent people of Salem get accused, and punished. This is an allegory of McCarthyism because this is what happened in the trials in 1950’s, society was shattered by a rumour and fingers were pointed at innocent people. It’s also an allegory of McCarthyism because it shows the court officials being unfair and unjust, just how they were in ‘The Crucible.’ The first way in which the setting of Act 3 can be interpreted as an attack on the severity of the authorities in Salem and 1950’s America is shown through the stage directions Arthur Miller presents us with. Firstly uses the adjectives ‘forbidding’, ’empty’ and ‘solemn’ to describe the room on the stage. The effect this has on the audience is curiosity and concern and this builds up a sense of tension within the audience. Also while we see all of this there is silence. In drama, silence is more powerful then words of actions. The silence and appearance surrounding the stage would build up a very strong sense of tension within the audience. Another reason for silence maybe that Miller wants to convey the presence of or the sign of evil in the court and probably that something is wrong, not right, or something bad is going to happen. The other way Arthur Miller has an impact on the audience is by using symbolism and imagery. In the opening of act 3 Arthur Miller has ‘two high windows.’ This makes the room sound very familiar to a prison cell and again a prison cell is where you don’t want to be and maybe Miller’s trying to sat that the courts were like a prison. Also not forgetting the ‘sunlight pouring through.’ Back in the days traditionally sunlight was meant to be good luck and also it was meant to be the representative of God and truth. This can have a great effect on the audience because it gets them thinking and into the mood, and that the current problems surrounding Salem aren’t going to get any better but maybe worse. Again this an attack on the elements of society because it shows that the court was a place where people weren’t treated fairly in the 1950’s and that the authorities in America were harsh and wanted people to get into all sorts of problems and trouble and this is what exactly Arthur Miller went through and trying to get across by writing ‘The Crucible’. The second way that Act 3 can be interpreted as an attack on the severity of the authorities in Salem is by Miller’s exposure of the characters in The Crucible. The way they dress and act. In the actual film most of the men are seen wearing black clothes, this may put forward that Salem is a holy religious society and believe very strongly in Christianity. If you take Judge Danforth, he adopts a blinkered attitude and refuses to use common sense and logic in dealing with these cases. His ‘exact loyalty’ blinds him from the truth and if he believe that the people accused were ‘with God’ and announced them innocent he would be accusing the girls of lying, and also fact that he is too worried of calling of the witch trials because what would the people of Salem think of him and the fact that is reputation is at stake. This can be interpreted as an attack on elements of society because it shows that even the authorities in this case the Judge aren’t always fair even if they are people of high authority or religious. This is how Arthur Miller got his point across that the authorities of America in the 1950’s were unfair and unjust and wanted to put down as many people as possible, on the whole the authorities were very harsh and severe on punishments. The third way in which the setting of act 3 can be interpreted as an attack on the severity of the authorities in Salem and 1950’s America is by the language Arthur Miller has used in the opening lines in the scene. Judge Hathorne asks Martha Corey if she denies being a witch. Martha Corey claims she knows not what a witch is, to which he replies, â€Å"how do you know then that you are not a witch.† We see Hathorne’s question after question on Martha Corey gets her paranoid and the pressure is huge on her, to come up with the answers quickly but if she takes too long she maybe considered more of a witch and therefore this sets the mood and tone for the scene. It’s as if Judge Hathorn’s trying to possibly trick into saying that she’s a witch rather then finding out the exact truth.