he Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a crucible as, “a vessel of a very refractory material used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat.” Other interpretations of the word mean, “a severe test,” and “a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development.” The Crucible by Arthur Miller and today’s society are very much like the inside of a crucible because they have social pressures, private pressures, and pressure from fear. Everyone is changed by being inside a crucible one way or another. In both The Crucible and society today, everyone feels as if they are in crucible of social pressure. “You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to
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“God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat” (98). He is constantly scrutinizing his own failures. He looks for any little sin as a good Puritan will do, hoping to make himself a better person for his own standards and before God. “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts” (Proverbs 17:3 ESV Bible). This is to say that the good hearts and souls will be refined and made better in a crucible like silver, but the people made of weak materials such as hay will burn. Proctor inspected himself to see whether he would burn or be glorified. People in the 21st century do this too. Humans still look to purify themselves of their immoral behavior, but they also look at themselves as being successful or failing. They aspire to become great beings of wealth, fame, and power. Happiness to them is determined by things such as this. Mortals put so much pressure on themselves to do great things that they can’t be happy with a mundane life. People are also galvanized into feeling pressured from …show more content…
Death is not a stranger to fear “There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear it, I fear it” (33). Nineteen people were hanged and one man pressed to death in The Crucible due to the fear of witches. The community of Salem had very little knowledge of witches, and the fear of the unknown grasped them. They melted in the flames of the crucible they were in. They responded by taking people’s lives instead of reacting rationally. In the United States, we have also have the fear of being attacked by North Korea. The citizens of the USA are very suspicious of the North Koreans as the people in The Crucible were suspicious of the witches. Many people in the United States would attack North Korea right now if they had the opportunity, but the wisdom of the government prevails. The USA will not attack countries on merely speculation as the courts of Salem did in the novel. The whole Cold War was fought over fear of the Russians. Fear is just another thing that can cause a person to change into a different being as a crucible changes the precious metals inside
“God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat” (98). He is constantly scrutinizing his own failures. He looks for any little sin as a good Puritan will do, hoping to make himself a better person for his own standards and before God. “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts” (Proverbs 17:3 ESV Bible). This is to say that the good hearts and souls will be refined and made better in a crucible like silver, but the people made of weak materials such as hay will burn. Proctor inspected himself to see whether he would burn or be glorified. People in the 21st century do this too. Humans still look to purify themselves of their immoral behavior, but they also look at themselves as being successful or failing. They aspire to become great beings of wealth, fame, and power. Happiness to them is determined by things such as this. Mortals put so much pressure on themselves to do great things that they can’t be happy with a mundane life. People are also galvanized into feeling pressured from …show more content…
Death is not a stranger to fear “There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear it, I fear it” (33). Nineteen people were hanged and one man pressed to death in The Crucible due to the fear of witches. The community of Salem had very little knowledge of witches, and the fear of the unknown grasped them. They melted in the flames of the crucible they were in. They responded by taking people’s lives instead of reacting rationally. In the United States, we have also have the fear of being attacked by North Korea. The citizens of the USA are very suspicious of the North Koreans as the people in The Crucible were suspicious of the witches. Many people in the United States would attack North Korea right now if they had the opportunity, but the wisdom of the government prevails. The USA will not attack countries on merely speculation as the courts of Salem did in the novel. The whole Cold War was fought over fear of the Russians. Fear is just another thing that can cause a person to change into a different being as a crucible changes the precious metals inside