What Is The Meaning Of The Crucible

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American playwright Arthur Miller finished his classical play The Crucible, a dramatized story of the infamous Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693, in 1953. The Crucible explores the vulnerableness of society and the tribulations of doing good in the face of evil. Miller’s characters endure extensive social pressures at both the social and the personal level. The word “crucible” carries the various definitions: a vessel of a very refractory material used for melting a substance that requires a high degree of heat; a severe test; a situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause development. Miller intentionally selected this word for the title as the former two definitions fits every aspect of the play, with each meaning tackling the…show more content…
The title foreshadows the numerous soon-will-happen events occurring within Salem and the overall direction the play is heading. A crucible is “a vessel of refractory material used for melting a substance that requires high degrees of temperature.” It is used for the purification of substances. In a way, the town of Salem is a crucible. The fire that is used for purification is represented by the strict puritan society within Salem. The evil in which is purified is represented by the witch hunt. Ironically, instead of being the fire that purifies all evil, the fire brought upon chaos and disruption within the town. Salem falls into its own prejudices of this so-called “sorcery” and becomes a container that contains all the hysteria and violence caused by the witch trials. Pressurized by all the chaos, the town is finally brought upon its “melting point”. People start accusing each other for witchcraft for their own

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