Literary Elements In The Crucible

The Crucible by Arthur Miller provides a historical fiction account of the Salem witch trials. The play, written in the 1950’s, has many similarities to the McCarthyism that swept across the United States at the time. Arthur Miller uses many different literary elements to tell the story of the trials including Irony, Allusions and Archetypes. One element used in The Crucible is Irony. “Irony is a literary technique that involves a difference between appearance and reality, expectations and actions, and meaning and intention.”(“The Crucible”, Honors English 11, Davies, 2016, p. 22). There are three different types of Irony used by Arthur miller; Verbal irony where what is spoken is the opposite of what is meant, Dramatic Irony when the audience …show more content…
These allusions compare the characters of the play to the lessons found in the bible. For instance, in Act 3 when Mary Warren is facing the court, Proctor tells her, “Now remember what the angel Raphael said to the boy Tobias. Remember it…”do that which is good and no harm shall come to thee” “(1194). This saying is meant to give strength to an unstable Mary Warren as she faces the court and Abigail. Proctor hopes that by comforting Mary she will testify against Abigail. As a very religious community, the people of Salem would have been familiar with the Bible and the lessons it teaches. Similarly, in Act Two the Reverend Hale and Elizabeth both allude to passages in the Bible. When talking about the possibility of Rebecca Nurse being a witch Hale states, “Man, remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven” (1175). Hale, referring to the accused, speaks how the Devil was a former angel who fell from Heaven after turning against God. Alluding to the witches of Salem, who after living good lives, could have turned from God and signed the Devil’s book. Elizabeth also alludes to the Bible in Act 2, “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel” (1163). Abigail has garnered a new sense of renown in the town for her witch allegations. Elizabeth compares Abigail's power …show more content…
In the play there are characters that represent The tragic Hero, The Villain, and the Scapegoat. The tragic Hero in The Crucible is John Proctor. Proctor is able to look past the hysteria of witchcraft while others are consumed by it, but in the end his principles are his own downfall. In the final act Parris talks of Proctor, “John Proctor is not Isaac Ward that drank his family to ruin. I would to God it were not so, Excellence, but these people have great weight yet in the town” (1221). Parris’s description of Proctor shows that despite his downfall, he is still liked and respected by the townspeople. Although he is hanged, Proctor represented goodness during a dark time in Salem. A Villain is a character whose undertaking is to defy the hero. Proctor’s opposite is Parris, a man who is fueled by care only for himself. In the final act as Salem is in uproar, the reader sees how egocentric Parris truly is, “You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night”(1222). Parris pleads with the judges to spare Proctor, not so he may live, but so that Parris will not be attacked by the villagers. Tituba is the scapegoat in The Crucible. From the beginning of the play Tituba is condemned for being a witch. In Act 1, Abigail accuses Tituba of bewitching her and Betty, something the reader knows is untrue. “She made me do it!