The Crucible and

            "Literature opens a dark window on the soul, revealing more about what is bad in human nature than what is good." Authors frequently focus on the wicked, malevolent and dissolute aspects of life, often to expose to the reader their view of the man's true nature. This is certainly true for both Arthur Miller's drama, The Crucible, and Emily Dickinson's "Much Madness is Divinest Sense." Both works use elements such as theme, metaphor, and irony to convey their meanings, and to point out humanity's flaws. .
             In The Crucible, Miller uses his theme to reveal the adverse aspects of human nature. The Crucible is set in a theocratic society, in which the church and the state are one, and the religion is a strict, austere form of Protestantism known as Puritanism. Because of the theocratic nature of the society, moral laws and state laws are indistinguishable: sin and the status of an individual's soul are matters of public concern. There is no room for deviation from social norms, since any individual whose private life does not conform to the established moral laws represents a threat not only to the public good but also to the rule of God and true religion. The witch trials are the ultimate expression of intolerance; the trials brand all social deviants with the taint of devil-worship and thus necessitate their elimination from the community. It is also through the use of irony that Miller suggests the evils of human nature. Because of her actions, the people of Salem think Abigail Williams to be a saint, acting as the finger of God. However, the audience knows her accusations to be false, and her actions initiated only to seek vengeance. Using such elements as theme and irony, Miller is able to focus on the evils of human nature, and even force the reader to examine their own soul.
             Because of her life as a recluse, Emily Dickinson grew to distrust society, describing her observations and thoughts in her poetry.