The Crucible act one reflection

The Crucible is a story about the life in Salem.  It is the story of a Reverend who's daughters are being "possessed" by the devil or participating in witchcraft.  It is a very interesting story compared to the other works relating to Puritan values.  It is a more interesting story that is meant to entertain.  It shows Puritan value because it has to do with the battle between God's people and these girls that are similar to witches and they seem to be showing signs of the devil dealing with them. The reverend tries to create sermons that show that his daughters are not showing signs of devil worship.  He tries to deny that anything is happening to his daughters.  His daughters also try and deny these happenings by saying that they were just being normal or they were too old for this childishness.  However, this shows the other end of the Puritan belief system.  This shows the dark side to what happens when you do not give your whole self to God.  This is such a different side to the stories we have been studying because it does not just show peoples love and respect for God, it shows their fear and denial to the believing of the devil.  It shows that not all puritans are good and pure.  It shows that some let the devil tempt them and they cannot change once they let him in. Parris says this about witchcraft in the play:

"Thomas, Thomas, I pray you, leap not to witchcraft. I know that you--you least of all, Thomas, would ever wish so disastrous a charge laid upon me. We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house." (Miller 14).

This shows that everyone was concerned with this problem of witchcraft.  Everyone fears the signs of witchcraft and Parris begs Thomas not to trust witchcraft.  This desperate plea from Parris shows how much he fears the fact that witchcraft is happening in Salem.

Another quote was from Mrs. Putnam;

"But I must! You think it God's work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I bury all but one?" (Miller 28).


This was also a different side to Puritan beliefs because it shows Mrs. Putnam is losing faith in God because she lost all of her children.  She thinks it is unfair for Putnam to think that he should keep all of his family and think that it would be God's will to keep him so fortunate, while God does not treat her as well as him.   She does not believe that Putnam should think of himself to be so lucky.  He does not deserve God's mercy more than anyone else in Mrs. Putnam's opinion.

My opinion of this play/story is way more positive compared to the other stories.  The other stories by Puritan writers were dull and lacked detail.  They could not express too much opinion without overstepping their Holy rules.  They were straight to the point and had no elaboration.  They just said what happened and moved along.  This story, however, is great.  It shows opinions, emotions, and actually has a good story line. It is telling an entertaining story rather then just reciting an event.  It is a way better change to be reading something that might actually be interesting to read!

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. Print