The Crucible
by Arthur Miller
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.60 You Save: $8.40 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.77 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Crucible
Book Review: Insightful Play
Summary: 4 Stars
This short play dives deep into the minds of those who participated in the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600's. Miller focuses entirely on human emotions as he attempts to discover the real reason for these ridiculous witch accusations. "The Crucible" is intriguing and mind-bottling as readers realize the severity of the trials. Many people's lives were changed and it leaves one to question: "Why didn't anyone verify the claims?" The play centers around a man named John Proctor and his relationship with the young Abigail Williams. John commits adultery, cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. In the Puritan society, adultery is a major sin in which the individual would face a severe punishment if convicted. When Proctor tells Abigail he does not love her, she takes revenge by accusing Elizabeth of doing witchcraft. The claims are absurd, yet not a single person in the town attempts to clear Elizabeth's name. Abigail uses her manipulative powers to get the other girls in on her plan. The play shows that both fear and revenge can cause people to do horrible things. The townspeople are involved in this "witch hunt" and add to society's ignorance. They fail to challenge authority even though they know what is right. I found this book engaging as I tried to fathom the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller does an excellent job of trying to understand why this happened. I learned that Puritan society was weak and that many individuals feared speaking out against authority. The entire Puritan society was based on control. By instilling fear in people, the Puritan leaders could maintain leadership over the rest of them. This is a great read if you want to try to understand history and apply it to our world today.Book Review: The Crucible; dont read the introduction.
Summary: 3 Stars
The subject of witchcraft has always intrigued me. Unfortunately this play did not keep my interest. The biggest reason was because the introduction, written by Christopher Bigsby, gave away the ending of the play. He said that damages were paid to John Proctor's wife Elisabeth after he was executed on August 19,1692. I know the play was for the most part historically accurate. I just didn't understand why he needed to state the anticipated ending of the play on the book on the second page of the book. The rest of the introduction was interesting. I liked how he compared the fear the people in Salem had of witches to the Red Scare. He said the only difference was that communists were real. This analogy helped me to relate the ridiculous fear these people had of withes to something tangible. The play itself was less exciting than I thought it would be. It was a little hard to follow. There were many characters and many things going on at once. I didn't like how there wasn't a single character who you felt like you could relate to. I liked how throughout the play you couldn't help but have a sense of disbelief about what was going on. I was amazed that the people of Salem so easily believed children without proof. It was unbelievable how by simply telling a judge that you saw a person with the devil they were guilty until proven innocent. I gave this play three stars because it was a good story. It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but I think it was more me than the book that was the problem. I would suggest reading the play before reading the introduction.Book Review: The Devil is Precise
Summary: 5 Stars
On my walk through the LoA edition of Arthur Miller plays I bypass The Enemy of the People, the Ibsen adaptation, which I think is a waste of everyone's time, and go straight to the Crucible, which I had never read, nor watched on stage or screen. Very odd. It is a truly gripping piece of modern classic stage writing.
Of course AM needed to educate us always, so this story is not just a story about the witch trials of Salem, when perfectly harmless people, including some citizens of standing in the community, got identified as witches and hanged for it. (Which somehow looks like progress over the burnings in Europe.)
No, this is generally about fundamentalism and totalitarianism and theocracy, and more specifically about McCarthy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about the Ayatollah Khomeini, whatever you may say regarding anachronisms, and the Taliban. Let's not forget the Cultural Revolution of China.
If I seem to mock the play just a little bit, I haven't made up my mind yet, not quite. There is something strangely wrong in the tone of the dialogues. Can't quite nail it. Anachronistic for sure; is that all? Have to think about it.
The message that AM put into his morality tale is that power and property interests are behind the maddest manifestations of disinterestedness and righteousness. That was sure true in the other historical witch hunts that we know about. Whether it is an accurate reflection of the Salem case, I do not know. (I will definitely look for the DVD and give DDL a chance for redemption in my eyes.)
Book Review: Well Played
Summary: 5 Stars
Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", a four act play about the Salem witch trials in 1692, is a wonderful drama that speaks about intolerance and authoritarian power in society.
The heart of the play is not about the accusations of witchcraft, but about the conditions that led to the accusations and how quickly people will take advantage of one another during hysteria. It is a historical reminder (and a warning) that people died because of hysterical fanaticism in an authoritarian culture. Miller takes this important lesson in history, adds words to the historic figures, and makes a darn good fictional drama depicting their roles in this historic event. The action inside the court room is beautifully constructed and explores the idea of injustices being perpetuated in a sanctuary designed to create justice.
Miller does a great job creating scenes that evoke outrage and indignation while keeping the characters real and human. John Procter is not be looked upon as the "hero" or "victim" because of his past indiscretions and ignorance, just as Abigail Williams is not to be looked upon as the "villain" because her actions are perpetuated by a persecuted youth who is suddenly granted power by the courts. The characters are an interesting mix of people caught-up in a blizzard of conditions that were just right to give innuendos truth and superstitions law.
I found the play very enjoyable and entertaining even without all the parallels to what was happening in the 1950's when it was written.
Book Review: Happy that it is short
Summary: 3 Stars
Personally, I do not like plays at all, and I still do not; however, I do like the plot and ideas behind the Crucible. I was met with mixed feelings about this book because there are many good and bad things about this piece.
The fact that this was a play does hold some significance in my not liking the Crucible. Plays require much more energy to visualize and see. I often found myself reading out loud every line trying to figure out what was happening. Also, without text, there is nothing to praise about Arthur Miller's skill in writing. Although there is a character that serves the narrator function in this piece, I like reading character actions in sentences rather than in quotation marks. The book also lacks a sense of imagery. Being a play, Miller gives a few sentences to provide a brief location or background. Descriptions are straightforward and just bland.
The storyline itself is great. Arthur Miller skillfully criticizes the paranoia that results from unwarranted superstition. I just love the complexity of the plot, with people accusing each other through petty bitterness and hatred. The Crucible illustrates a society with no emotional control. I also found some of the irony humorous, chuckling at the mention of having the minister's daughter be accused a witch. I loved the poignant ending that taught me an important value of being truthful. The plot had substance, but I think that it would have been better as a novel.The Crucible will be sufficient for a quick afternoon read, but nothing more than that.