Catastrophe and Chaos: The Crucible
In books, irony is a subtle way of adding hidden gems of opinion into literature. Often, authors use it to develop a deeper, less literal meaning to their writings, creating what is called "layers of meaning" (literal meaning, figurative meaning, etc). Specifically in The Crucible, irony is expressed consistently throughout, and furthers the social commentary that the author, Arthur Miller, is making about the Red Scare of the 1950’s. Arthur Miller uses irony to illustrate to his audience how the justice system rewarded the wrong people in both the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials. He primarily applies dramatic irony to draw these parallels.
The play’s main conflict is about the affair that John Proctor …show more content…
The dramatic irony of the situation was that it was unexpected by the reader to have this young girl be able to manipulate an entire town for her own desires. It is also obvious to the audience that Abigail is lying but she is still able to convict 70+ people. Abigail is only 17 in this book, yet she has control over others as would someone who is much older than her. In the book, she convinces Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis to lie about what they did in the forest with Tituba. Abigail uses fear and manipulation to get her way, telling the girls that “I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (59). As someone who lived during the reign of McCarthy, Miller experienced a similar manipulation. Miller connected the little girl with this big strong politician, opposite in looks but almost the same in personality. Despite the weak pretenses that the girls set up, it’s no easy feat to convince them to do what Abigail wants. She’s mainly able to do this by providing a solution to a problem that is causing hysterics in this town. A scapegoat for the weird events that have taken place. McCarthy used his power as a United States Senator to intimidate witnesses and to cast doubt on the loyalty of certain citizens. Miller, through …show more content…
John Proctor goes on the stand in court to announce the errors of not believing what Elizabeth says. He states that “ In her life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep - my wife cannot lie” (113). And then, the next day, Elizabeth goes to court and tells the judge a lie about the reason behind the firing of Abigail as the family servant. She says, “She -- dissatisfied me. And my husband” (115). The real reason Abigail was fired was due to the discovery of her covert relationship with John, but Elizabeth lied to save the name of their family in the community. In this play, Miller implies that the reputation of oneself is more important than God himself, because in a small town, once a reputation is soiled there is no recovery. Similarly, during the Red Scare, many authors and directors would sell out their friends and colleagues in order to save their own
In books, irony is a subtle way of adding hidden gems of opinion into literature. Often, authors use it to develop a deeper, less literal meaning to their writings, creating what is called "layers of meaning" (literal meaning, figurative meaning, etc). Specifically in The Crucible, irony is expressed consistently throughout, and furthers the social commentary that the author, Arthur Miller, is making about the Red Scare of the 1950’s. Arthur Miller uses irony to illustrate to his audience how the justice system rewarded the wrong people in both the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials. He primarily applies dramatic irony to draw these parallels.
The play’s main conflict is about the affair that John Proctor …show more content…
The dramatic irony of the situation was that it was unexpected by the reader to have this young girl be able to manipulate an entire town for her own desires. It is also obvious to the audience that Abigail is lying but she is still able to convict 70+ people. Abigail is only 17 in this book, yet she has control over others as would someone who is much older than her. In the book, she convinces Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis to lie about what they did in the forest with Tituba. Abigail uses fear and manipulation to get her way, telling the girls that “I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (59). As someone who lived during the reign of McCarthy, Miller experienced a similar manipulation. Miller connected the little girl with this big strong politician, opposite in looks but almost the same in personality. Despite the weak pretenses that the girls set up, it’s no easy feat to convince them to do what Abigail wants. She’s mainly able to do this by providing a solution to a problem that is causing hysterics in this town. A scapegoat for the weird events that have taken place. McCarthy used his power as a United States Senator to intimidate witnesses and to cast doubt on the loyalty of certain citizens. Miller, through …show more content…
John Proctor goes on the stand in court to announce the errors of not believing what Elizabeth says. He states that “ In her life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep - my wife cannot lie” (113). And then, the next day, Elizabeth goes to court and tells the judge a lie about the reason behind the firing of Abigail as the family servant. She says, “She -- dissatisfied me. And my husband” (115). The real reason Abigail was fired was due to the discovery of her covert relationship with John, but Elizabeth lied to save the name of their family in the community. In this play, Miller implies that the reputation of oneself is more important than God himself, because in a small town, once a reputation is soiled there is no recovery. Similarly, during the Red Scare, many authors and directors would sell out their friends and colleagues in order to save their own