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The Crucible

 

            The Crucible was a very entertaining and educational movie. In the Puritan New England town of Salem, Massachusetts, a group of young girls go dancing in the forest with a slave named Tituba. While dancing, they got caught by the minister, Reverend Parris. One of the gang, Parris's daughter Betty falls into a long sleep-like coma. A crowd gathers in the Parris home while rumors of witchcraft spread around the town. Parris sent for Reverend Hale, an expert on witchcraft. He also questions Abigail Williams, the leader of the pack, about what took place in the forest. Abigail, who is Parris's niece and maid, admits to doing nothing but "dancing.".
             This story is very accurate about the witch-hunts and the Puritans, and the characters are remarkably real. Abigail Williams, for example, is a young teenage girl who let lust for power and desire get the best of her. Being one of the main characters, Abigail is the least complicated. She is clearly the villain of the story; she tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends nineteen innocent people to hang. The people of the town once shunned her because they had heard rumors of her affair with John Proctor. Abigail now finds that she has influence over people, and she takes full advantage of it.
             In a sense I think The Crucible is a classic tragedy, John Proctor being the story's tragic hero. Honest and upright, Proctor is a good man, but has a secret. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair, and created Abigail's jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth. Once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail's rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery, which he does.
             The setting plays a very important role in this story. Being based on true events that happened in 1692 in Salem, I do not think the story would not make sense being anywhere else.
             The Crucible is obviously a fictional retelling of the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century.


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