Bullying In The Crucible

Superior Essays
Today, several novels are written for the purpose of implicitly mentioning a real world event by portraying a real world event as something that occurs in the plot. Even though some of the plot is changed, the reader is able to interpret the story as the real world event. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller portrays the society of Salem, a small town located in Massachusetts during the witchcraft period as the idea of McCarthyism. Miller also portrayed the play as the several types of bullying as well as the location that type can exist in society, In the play, the types of bullying demonstrated is bullying in school which is threatening and using scapegoats, in a relationship which is criticism, and in the workplace which is manipulation. …show more content…
Bullying in The Crucible is shown in the court. When Mary is trying to testify, all of the other girls respond, “Girls, raising their fists: Stop it! Mary Warren, utterly confounded and becoming overwhelmed by Abby’s [Abigail’s] utter conviction, starts to whimper” (Miller 116). The word “confounded” relates to the topic of bedazzlement since Mary was not able to control the girls. This demonstrates her losing strength. When Miller writes the word “confounded”, he illustrates that Mary is an example of the victim because she is astonished. The word “overwhelmed” relates to the topic of Mary being pushed to the limit. Since Mary has been confounded by the other girls, she cannot take it anymore. The author specifically uses the words “overwhelming” to mention how tired Mary is. This now makes Mary very vulnerable to bullying. The word “whimper” relates to the subject of defeat and weakness since whimpering is directly related to weakness. When the author writes the word “whimpering”, this illustrates that Mary’s personality is changed dramatically from cheerful to crazy. This is due to her getting a meltdown since she could not stand it anymore. In addition, there are several websites that are devoted to listing all of the signs of this type of bullying. A website reports, “Kids who are bullied are more likely to experience, Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood” (Source 3). Here, the words “Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness” relate to the topic of depression since increased feelings of sadness will equate to depression. The author specifically uses the words “Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness” because

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller Is much more than just a dramatization of a Witch Hunt but instead is an example of human weakness, hypocrisy and vindictiveness. Throughout the Witch Trials people in Salem were able to seek revenge on their enemies, human weakness, and show the outright hypocrisy of the witch trials as a whole. Throughout The Crucible you see examples of these three elements through Abigail, Mrs.Putnam, Parris, and many other characters. Quotes and examples from the text will show how The Crucible was a clear illustration of these elements through the storyline, conflicts between characters and the play itself. The Crucible as a whole is a pure example of hypocrisy through some of the main characters.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Massachusetts, McCarthyism, and Mass Hysteria Humankind has expressed throughout time how easy and destructive it can be to accuse others without proper evidence or a truly reliable investigation. First occurring in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, innocent individuals were unjustly persecuted as a result of their seemingly abnormal actions or personal affiliations. Behavior such as this was rekindled, witnessed during McCarthyism in the early 1950’s and the treatment of homosexuals during the subsequent Lavender Scare. Many lost their jobs, relationships, and lives due to uninformed people with a substantial amount of power and influence. As the newly Westernized American land provided a home for the residents of Salem, Massachusetts,…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, tells the story about a tangle of lies, misunderstandings, and deaths in the town of Salem during the time of witch trials. In the story, Abigail Williams along with a group of girls who follow her, between they Mary Warren, are responsible for falsely accusing the vast majority of people in the town of alleged relationships with the Devil, an act that the highest authorities believe. In this occasion, Miller treats topics such as integrity, revenge, guilt, and intolerance among others, issues that are related to the context of paranoia because of communism in which the play was written and which in fact can still be seen today. In the play, Mary Warren is one of the girls who follow the fraud of Abigail to end up being an example of how lack of character causes the death of the virtuous and the victory of the liar. Mary Warren “is seventeen, a subservient, naive lonely girl” (Miller 1267).…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mary was seemed fine when Patrick came home and was ready to go out, but when he told her the bad news, her attitude completely flipped. She went from normal to cross. The bad news triggered her thoughts and emotions to be uncontrollable and it caused to act out. She did not expect to hear the news and did not know how to express her emotions. Her first thought was that if she could not have him, then no one could.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible, a historical fiction play written by Arthur Miller, focusses on the horrific Salem Witch Trials that ran rampage in 1692. The disastrous events which took place shattered the Puritan society, and destroyed many of the religious values that the Puritans hold so dear. Even though this play was written in 1953, Arthur Miller includes many stylistic devices to give the play an authentic feel. Miller uses a plethora of these devices in order to make readers feel as if they are actually in the 1690s, however, the most prominent devices are syntax and diction, and biblical allusions. The syntax and diction that Arthur Miller uses in The Crucible tricks readers into thinking that they are actually reading a piece from the 1600s.…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sebastian Khaloghli Mrs. Allen Period 3 English Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible displays the hysteria that took place in Salem in 1692. Although the act is fiction, Miller established the plot of his play on historical events and his characters show how fear and paranoia can amplify into something beyond its might. A number of characters used this fear to perk and they showed selfishness and impropriety. The two most contemptible characters in the play were Rev. Parris and Judge Danforth.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows how a simple game can turn violent in the small puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. The inhabitants of Salem are confused and very terrified as they see their longtime friends and trusty neighbors turn their backs on each other. Salem, a once peaceful town, has now been placed in what many of the people of Salem are sure are the hands of the devil. The Crucible tells the story of how accusations of witchcraft came to be during the real world event of the Salem Witch Trials on which the play is based off of. Scientists, along with historians, have tried to find the real motives behind the accusations but the world may never really know the complete truth of how and why the people of Salem…

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Playwright, Arthur Miller, in his allegorical play, The Crucible, recounts a story of the Salem witch trials which took place between 1692 and 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller’s purpose is to narrate a fictional account of a story of the Salem witch trials in third-person omniscient as a metaphorical statement against the spread of McCarthyism during the 1950s in America. In order to appeal to similar feelings and experience in his audience, a critical tone is adopted. Miller begins his allegorical play by acknowledging that John Proctor tries to obtain an understanding among parties in a discussion by pointing out simple facts. In Act 1 with Reverend Parris and further in the text with Putnam Miller displays this.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Accuracy Of The Crucible

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1952, tells of the Salem Witch Trials and what the Puritan people endured. The story mainly focuses on the accusers, afflicted, and the accused showing how they got away with what they stated to the court as well as how the accused plead their innocence. The Crucible follows very distinct parts of the Salem Witch Trials, some of which are very accurate, and others which are morphed to fit the storyline. Miller changes the details or leave them out in order to make The Crucible more logical and understanding to the reader on top of making it more interesting to add to the plot. .Although…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A crucial theme Arthur Miller discusses in his play, The Crucible, is repression of individual freedom. While John Proctor represents individuality, the Puritan theocracy symbolizes the repressiveness of a body of government. The most prominent representation of individuality in Miller’s play is John Proctor. Proctor’s idiosyncratic mind within Salem is not apparent to the reader until he stops agreeing with the courts and his peers.…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fear In The Crucible

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    She also promises Abby “I’ll never hurt you more” and runs right to the person that is the cause of this debacle. She does this because that is where, she is going to be the most safe. Mary’s faults are so prevalent that even other characters in the play start to take…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible: A Play About A Twisted Lie The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play regarding the Salem witch trial, a grim period of time in the United States’ history. The play talks about a group of young girls that create a lie that affects an entire community of people and leads to what we know as the Salem witch trials. Throughout the story Abigail manipulates the girls into not telling the truth while Reverend Hale tries to control the situation. Throughout the story as people begin to be accused and the situation worsens the characters are brought to show their real selves. Abigail and Reverend Hale grow and devolve in moral stature as a result of new information and selfish acts.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play, The Crucible, there are many different elements to the plot that make the excerpt unique. Arthur Miller uses the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials to show how manipulative people can be by only using their words. He demonstrates elements like mass hysteria, revenge, and superstition to express how easily people can hurt and turn on each other without physical harm. MASS HYSTERIA One of Arthur Miller’s key elements in The Crucible is mass hysteria. By definition, mass hysteria is a condition affecting a large group of people, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Allegory In The Crucible

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Crucible Essay The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the red scare in the McCarthyism era because on The Crucible people get accused of witchcraft as the same as people whom were accused of communism. People in The Crucible did all they could to reject the false accusation of witchcraft what was dealt upon them, but everytime they denied the false fact, they would be tortured until they come clean, same went for communism when they denied of being a communist they would be imprisoned. What makes The Crucible an allegory to McCarthyism is the accusations that were made, the torture to the accused, and the consequences for if you were accused. First topic is Accusations. Back in Salem, people were accused of witchcraft, during the Red scare, people were accused of communism.…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction and Thesis Statement – Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a novel set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Its primary focus is the description of the chaos, struggles and difficulties which arise as a result of the witch trials taking place during this time. The Crucible has been referred to as a “Morality” play. A morality play is a drama in which the characters personify qualities or concepts such a having virtues or vices and generally involves a conflict between right and wrong or good and evil from which a moral lesson may be drawn. There are numerous characters and circumstances in The Crucible that support the assertion that it does indeed represent a morality play.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays