Puritan society Essays

Puritan society Essays Puritan society Essay Puritan society Essay Arthur Millers Crucible is set in the deeply religious society of Salem in 1692. When the McCarthyism incident arose in America in the 1950s, Miller decided to write an allegory that would draw parallels between what was happening then and what was happening in the 1950s. the trumped-up witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts, deteriorated the rational, and emotional stability of its citizens. This exploited populations weakest qualities and insecurities. The obvious breakdown in Salems social order led to the tragedy which saw twenty innocent people hung on the accusation of witchcraft. Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, used hysteria to introduce personality flaws in venerable characters. A ridged social system, fear and confusion were evident conditions that became prevalent before and during the witch trials. These conditions only contributed to the tragedy in Salem. The isolation of the Puritan society created a rigid social system that did not allow for any variation in lifestyle. The society of Salem was fixed around the idea that life is to be lived serving God, whether it be working in the fields or going to church at every opportunity. Salems attitude to leisure and free time would be considered somewhat different to modern day preferences. They would not have permitted reading, unless the words read about God and prayer against enjoyment such as visiting the theatre. Such Christians did not even celebrate Christmas, as a break from work would be just another opportunity to concentrate on prayer. Salem was afraid that if the work routine were broken so would be Salems morals of keeping the place from spoiling. Looking closely at the text in The Crucible we can explore how Arthur Miller uses language and dramatic devices to emphasise the importance of religion to the community of Salem. Because religious language is used in almost every conversation, be this at home, during the trials or even in a simple chat towards one another, this shows how Salem is surrounded by religion and it is a part of everyday life, but some people use it a lot more often then others and for several reasons. One reason is to put other characters under pressure and to create tension. We can see this in Hales questioning of the Proctors. The first sense of tension is seen when Hale asks Goody Proctor if she knows her commandments. From the stage directions we can tell how this is said to have made Elizabeth feel under pressure. Then, with the voice of one administering a secret test. Calling it a secret test is correct and a clever way of putting Hales questioning, in the sense that Hale is testing the Proctors religious knowledge and giving them a chance to prove that although they have their faults they are both good Christians.