Emotions In The Crucible Analysis Essay

Arthur Miller’s play 'The Crucible' reveals the dangerous consequences of decisions based purely on emotions.To what extent do you agree?

Arthur Miller’s captivating playwright The Crucible acts as a Talisman as it reminds readers of just how dangerous it is to make decisions based purely on emotions. Based on the 1692-93 witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts, the crucible incorporates the themes of passion, self-admiration, and unrequited love, as desire, reputation, and moral standards tremendously impact the gullible community of Salem. The playwright also displays many similarities to the red scare as McCarthyism and blaming take over. From the beginning of this awful tale, it becomes evident that the mistakes and superstition first began due to the boredom and simplicity of the lives of the teenage girls in Salem. As the community strives to add some excitement to their ‘perfect’, simplistic town its true colors are shown as paranoia and malice takeover culminating in a violent climax. The terrifying power of false accusations contributes to the town’s overall mistaken decisions, inspiring hysteria and creating an eerie, frightening neighborhood. Overall, the main aspects of the Crucible include Love, Fear, and Boredom as each emotion contributes to the culminating climax of the playwright.

Throughout The Crucible Miller emphasizes that love is a dangerous emotion to have whilst making judgments. Abigail continues to harass and manipulate Proctor with her love for him however, it is blatantly obvious that Proctor and Abigail’s feelings aren’t mutual as he strongly adheres to Elizabeth that ‘the promise [he gave her was what a] stallion gives a mare.’ John refuses to accept the truth and in turn, Elizabeth tries to convince him that ‘there is a promise made in any bed.’ Abigail is in denial as she informs John that ‘he loves [s her yet]’ as John confirms that in his mind, ‘[they] never touched.’ However, Elizabeth’s love for John never falters as she refuses to call John anything but a ‘good and righteous man,’ and stands up for him when Danforth accuses him of ‘lechery.’ Procter ends up confessing to Witcraft as he proclaims that ‘[he] wants his life,’ as he confirms that ‘It is pretence for [him],’ that his ‘children are ke[pt] out of the wind.’ He clearly wishes to continue living alongside Elizabeth and his children. Parental love is also portrayed as Paris confesses his love for his daughter, Betty, by ‘weep[ing] and pray[ing],’ and it seems there is no way for him to help his daughter as she ‘does not stir on the bed.’ To summarize, the crucible incorporates unrequited love, marital love, and parental which all contribute the overall decision-making of the town.

Miller condemns that the impacts of authentic fear can lead to catastrophic conclusions as paranoia, anxiety, and angst take over the Salem community. An overarching form of fear in The Crucible includes the fear of bad reputation as it is believed that the higher their reputation the higher the chance for survival. Proctor aims to put an end to the ‘adultery,’ that he has been committing with Abigail as he encourages her to ‘wipe it out of mind.’ Abigail urges John to believe that ‘[Elizabeth] is blackening [her] name in the village,’ so reputation plays a key part in ‘the village,’ and she confirms that ‘[her] name is good in the village,’ and that ‘[she] will not have it said ‘[that her] name is soiled!’ The consequences of news of their affair would ruin both Proctor and Abby as Abigails uncle would disown her and Proctor would be looked down upon by every single person in the village. Similarly, Paris fears for his reputation as his daughter and niece were found ‘dancing like heathen[s] in the forest,’ and he is afraid that [his] enemies will, ruin [him] with [that information].’ Tituba and Mary Warren both are terrified of physical retribution as they become blackmailed by the court and by Abigail if they fail to confess. No choice is given to Mary as Proctor threatens to ‘whip the devil out of [her],’ if she doesn’t confess. The community of Salem also holds a lot of fear towards witchcraft as the town looks to condemning, hanging, and blame to remove witchcraft from the small convented town.It is evident the town is afraid of witchcraft as they call it the ‘powers of the dark.’ In conclusion, the townspeople are emotionally derailed as fear of bad reputation, physical retribution, and witchcraft are all emitted to make decisions and threats.

The events at Salem are depicted from the start as emotional reactions to fear as a result of living in a strict puritanical society. Uncontrolled emotion and excitement might result in untrustworthy "accusing finger points!" and avoidable murders. Abigail is interrogated and uses Tituba as a scapegoat at the close of Act 1. Betty then   began shouting frantically that '[she] saw George Jacobs with the devil [and] Goody Howe,' '[Betty] wakes.' This demonstrates that Betty is overly enthusiastic about the prospect of a witch trial and is unaware of the potential implications if all hell breaks free. John Proctor refuses to forget about Abigail as he exposes that '[he] may think of [her] softly from time to time.' This sparked the notion of making a charm and as a  result, the toppling repercussions of the hysteria pandemic began. As the play progresses, the full scope of Salem's frenzy is revealed as the number of hangings escalates from 'fourteen [people] to thirty-nine.' The hysteria was heightened by the astronomically enormous number of false confessions that appeared to corroborate the existence of witches in Salem. Hale adds to the confusion by confirming that "the devil is wild in Salem." Even Giles Corey, who appears to be the most level-headed character in the crucible, gets caught up in the excitement when he accidentally accuses his wife by exclaiming that ‘[he] never had no wife that be so taken with books.’ In summary, hysteria's consequences were out of hand as overexcitement and false charges wreaked havoc on the Puritan community of Salem.

Ultimately, Arthur Miller's Play, the crucible serves as a Talisman, reminding readers of the dangers of making judgments based solely on emotions. Miller also emphasizes that love is a dangerous emotion to have whilst making judgments, marital love, parental love and unrequited love also impact tremendously upon the overall hysteria of the town as decisions are made with terrible judgment. Throughout The Crucible Miller emphasizes that love is a dangerous emotion to have whilst making judgments. The events at Salem are depicted from the start as emotional reactions to fear as a result of living in a strict puritanical society.