Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Why Is The Crucible So Called - Online Essays

Why Is The Crucible So Called


How is ‘The Crucible’ appropriately titled?
The word ‘crucible’ is used by Arthur Miller in his play as a metaphor. The first definition of the word crucible is: a melting pot especially for metals. In the play this is first acknowledged during the first act, as we gradually piece together the information concerning the girls dancing. The ‘kettle’ viewed by Reverend Parris mirrors a crucible. We are told that the girls had made a brew which contained a little frog and blood is therefore viewed by the characters involved as a potent, fearsome mixture and this signifies the beginning of the Salem tragedy. It seems that from this ‘brew’ a ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

were an offence not only against God but also against the community. Therefore there was pressure for neighbours to reveal other’s sin. The desire for privacy makes one suspect others because if they do not convict others it looks as if they themselves might have something to hide. It is ironic that Reverend Parris says that the witchcraft investigation might reveal the source of all the community’s problems ‘Why, Rebecca, we may open up the boil of all our troubles today’ because in the end the witchcraft investigation provokes the burning down and destruction of the community.
The witch trials are also metaphorically a melting pot, again, for people’s grudges, and their seeking of revenge. The play shows us also how people can give into their fear and superstition. The trials are not really about witchcraft, Abigail admits to John in private how the witchery is a hoax ‘We were dancing in the woods last night and my uncle leaped out on ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login

to jail.
The purpose of a crucible is to melt things in and for this you need very high temperatures. This is illustrated in the play, when the judge Danforth says to Proctor in Act Three ‘We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment’. The court scenes were times of tension, intensity, pressure and conflicts between powerful authority refusing to realise they have signed away innocent lives on the strength of a lie. Also things are permanently and physically changed in a crucible, they are turned from one thing into another. This is reflected in the play by the fact that many things in the play are exerted to high pressure and pushed to the limits of reason due ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.


CITE THIS PAGE:

Why Is The Crucible So Called. (2006, September 16). Retrieved March 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Why-Is-The-Crucible-So-Called/52452
"Why Is The Crucible So Called." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 16 Sep. 2006. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Why-Is-The-Crucible-So-Called/52452>
"Why Is The Crucible So Called." Essayworld.com. September 16, 2006. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Why-Is-The-Crucible-So-Called/52452.
"Why Is The Crucible So Called." Essayworld.com. September 16, 2006. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Why-Is-The-Crucible-So-Called/52452.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 9/16/2006 03:03:00 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 2265
Pages: 9

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» The Crucible 7
» The Crucible - Witch Trials
» The Crucible By Arthur Miller
» McCarthyism and The Crucible
» Why The Crucible?
» Arthur Miller And "The Crucible...
» The Crucible: Hidden Darkness
» The Crucible 2
» The Crucible 9
» The Crucible: Issues
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved