Many great works of literature are based off of events that happened in history. For example, The Crucible and We Aren 't Superstitious are all works written based off the Salem Witch Trials, which happened in 1692. The article Are You Now, or Were You Ever? was written about the second Red Scare that happened in the 1940 's and 1950 's. Even though The Crucible, We Aren 't Superstitious and, Are You Now, or Were You Ever? are about two different eras, hundreds of years apart, each of their conflicts and themes are very similar to one another.
The Crucible and the nonfiction essays share the theme of reputation. This theme causes people to act in a way to protect or destroy their reputation. In the beginning of the Crucible, a character …show more content…
In The Crucible, Danforth was intolerant to what everyone was saying for the witch trials. Arthur Miller wrote, "...excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere..." (Crucible 130). Here, Hale is warning Danforth about putting so many people into jail. Even after many people were saying he shouldn 't believe Abigail, he still kept going and ended up putting a lot of people in jail. This went on to the point where many people weren 't there to take care of their cattle, crops and homes, causing a lot of chaos. Another example from The Crucible showing the theme of intolerance involves Abigail. In the Crucible, it says, "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I 'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby..." (Crucible 23). In this quote, Abigail is intolerant toward John Proctor when he rejected her feelings. This causes her to have a reason to target his wife in the witch trials and accuse more people. In the essay Are You Now, or Were You Ever? Miller is accused of being a communist for writing a documentary about gangs in New York. He writes, "...the city must cancel its contract with the producer so long as I was screenwriter... the lady began screaming that I was …show more content…
This causes hysteria and chaos. In The Crucible, Abigail thinks really irrationally and threatens the other girls to play victim with her. Miller writes in The Crucible, "...I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents ' heads on the pillow next to mine..." (Crucible 20). Abigail says she 'll kill all of them if they ever speak of anything more than dancing. This causes hysteria because it is basically the reason why the witch trials started. This irrational thinking causes a whole town to succumb to hysteria. Another example would be when Danforth makes an irrational decision of denying everything Proctor says and sending people to jail. The Crucible says, "...but this child claims the girls are not truthful... surely you do no doubt my justice..." (Crucible 99). Here, Danforth denies Proctor and the others questioning his decision. This causes hysteria because he puts Proctor into jail. Proctor has a good reputation so him in jail causes everyone to think that anyone could be a witch/wizard. This makes everyone cautious of each other and go hysterical. Also, in We Are Superstitious, the judge thinks irrationally and automatically accuses people. In the essay it says, "...why do you hurt these children? A rustle must have gone through the meeting at that... I do not hurt them. I scorn it..."
The Crucible and the nonfiction essays share the theme of reputation. This theme causes people to act in a way to protect or destroy their reputation. In the beginning of the Crucible, a character …show more content…
In The Crucible, Danforth was intolerant to what everyone was saying for the witch trials. Arthur Miller wrote, "...excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere..." (Crucible 130). Here, Hale is warning Danforth about putting so many people into jail. Even after many people were saying he shouldn 't believe Abigail, he still kept going and ended up putting a lot of people in jail. This went on to the point where many people weren 't there to take care of their cattle, crops and homes, causing a lot of chaos. Another example from The Crucible showing the theme of intolerance involves Abigail. In the Crucible, it says, "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I 'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby..." (Crucible 23). In this quote, Abigail is intolerant toward John Proctor when he rejected her feelings. This causes her to have a reason to target his wife in the witch trials and accuse more people. In the essay Are You Now, or Were You Ever? Miller is accused of being a communist for writing a documentary about gangs in New York. He writes, "...the city must cancel its contract with the producer so long as I was screenwriter... the lady began screaming that I was …show more content…
This causes hysteria and chaos. In The Crucible, Abigail thinks really irrationally and threatens the other girls to play victim with her. Miller writes in The Crucible, "...I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents ' heads on the pillow next to mine..." (Crucible 20). Abigail says she 'll kill all of them if they ever speak of anything more than dancing. This causes hysteria because it is basically the reason why the witch trials started. This irrational thinking causes a whole town to succumb to hysteria. Another example would be when Danforth makes an irrational decision of denying everything Proctor says and sending people to jail. The Crucible says, "...but this child claims the girls are not truthful... surely you do no doubt my justice..." (Crucible 99). Here, Danforth denies Proctor and the others questioning his decision. This causes hysteria because he puts Proctor into jail. Proctor has a good reputation so him in jail causes everyone to think that anyone could be a witch/wizard. This makes everyone cautious of each other and go hysterical. Also, in We Are Superstitious, the judge thinks irrationally and automatically accuses people. In the essay it says, "...why do you hurt these children? A rustle must have gone through the meeting at that... I do not hurt them. I scorn it..."