PLAYS - THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur MIller - THEMES - FEAR

THEMES FROM ‘THE CRUCIBLE’ by Arthur Miller

FEAR

‘The Crucible’ highlights the issues in Colonial Times in the New World America, in the recently-arrived Puritan community, particularly in this case, Salem.

The play demonstrates the following regarding FEAR.

FEAR can:

·         Take over a person

·         Cause people to act strangely/unusually

·         Reveal the frailty and instability of the human mind, especially when under unusual stressors

RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PLAY FEAR IS REVEALED.

·         Reverend Parris’s mind is filled with fear – why? If people knew his daughter Betty was part of a sinful act, he might be punished as well, so his fear is predominately selfish.

·         The girls are afraid – if they’re found out they might be severely punished

·         Fear causes Abigail to threaten Betty to stay quiet – “I will come to you in the black…night…”

·         The girls are more afraid of Abigail and her threats than anyone else in the town – unusual in a village where men reign supreme and women are regarded as powerless

·         Fear is infectious

·         Fear results in hysteria

·         Fear destroys order – order becomes disorder/chaos

·         Fear causes loss of rational thought