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Arthur Miller writes another classic. This play show what would happen if mob mentality came into power, like it did during the Salem Witch trials. This time, it's about a village during the Salem Witch Trials. It revolves around characters closely related to people during the McCarthy Era in the 50s. Overall, this is a great play with highly developed characters, setting, and history. A must-read.
When Abigail would never confess, other characters began to pay punishment such as being hung, stoned to death and many more ways for doing nothing wrong. It starts off when one character begins hysteria all throughout the town by accusing others for different objections. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a very well written play that is placed during the Salem Witch Trials times. After reading the story, I enjoyed it a lot due to the suspense that was being created and how the ending turned out. Mr. Hale was brought into the town to find who is causing all of this. When the movie came out for this story, it helped clear any confusion for the story because it showed a visual on how the town was being destroyed by witchcraft. I recommend this story to anyone because even though you may not enjoy old stories, this one will always want to make you keep reading.
Arthur Miller's classic play based on the Salem Witch trials of 1692 demonstrates superstition, hysteria, and control. The gallows await the imprisoned, thought they may win a reduced sentence by confessing their guilt. Those that grimace at the willingness of the judges to trust superstition and obvious frauds should consider the power dynamics of a fundamentalist, church-ruled society. Under pressure, the girls soon confess to communing with the devil. This play is well worth your time, as is the stirring 1996 film with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis. Young Abigail Williams senses her power as lead confessor, and milks the opportunity. After being discovered dancing in the woods (strictly forbidden) one girl refuses to wake, and suspicions arise. A couple skeptics led by John Proctor speak up, but the tables turn and they soon find themselves shackeled.
Soon many stand accused, special judges arrive from Boston, and the town is quick to condemn. Hysteria reigns, and none are safe from its blows. Those that understand the hysteria of McCarthyism in the early 1950's should see clear parallels from this moving demonstration.
What we did have was the up and rising freshman actress to play Abigail Proctor. Gone from the picture in spite of the presence of a minister is any sense of the religious fervor and fear which also played a significant role then. I probably got the part of Tituba because I am Chinese and they didn't have a more authentic applicant. It was instead produced by this second-year student and performed in a church and performed by people who answered an ad in Varsity.
And the copy we used was not footnoted or anything, nor did it have an introduction. Not "Death of a Salesman" though. By "Indie" I mean that it was not produced by either the of the two drama societies the Amateur Dramatic Club and the Mummers, nor by a college drama society. We happened to be reading English at Griton in the same year. This went beyond orthodox political thinking.
Certainly they were never mentioned at any rehearsal I ever attended. I also was a member of the ADC. She was a much better actress. It was also the last time I acted in Cambridge.
When I was up at Cambridge back in the olden days when there were only three women's colleges and men's colleges were single sex, I tried my hand at acting and ended up joining an "indie" production of "The Crucible. I don't think that we ever quite got the crying-out scene right, but I don't think there was all that much guidance either. And actually, looking back now, I am not so sure that the rest of the cast were quite as aware of the McCarthy trials as perhaps they should have been. All this indicates to me that Miller's play did not travel all that well, as is the case with a few others I have read. I didn't know about the trials first-hand but I was certainly aware that they had happened and the kind of hysteria behind it. I didn't figure there were going to be too many opportunities for a not-so-wonderful Chinese actress (of course I didn't think so then) and started working for the newspaper rather more seriously. That was how I got into it.
But I still have the play, and I read it again every so often. But one thing that really struck me when I was reading this play was how it was basically the McCarthy Treason trials and Miller's take on them. Having said that, I also did not think that Miller was trying to portray Salem, Massachusetts when those trials took place. That little production did all right though.
the book was ok, its used bud if just need to read it its perfect.
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