The Crucible: Society Versus the Individual

Arthur Miller's The Crucible focuses on the fearful relationship between society and the individual ("Readings on Arthur Miller" 145). Individual: being a witch in the seventeenth century or being a Communist in the 1950's. Miller states: The Crucible is involved essentially with the social relations of human beings, and consequently, the predominant emphasis in writing the play was on the conflict ("Readings on Arthur Miller" 145). Although, both situations coincide with inquisition and mass hysteria, they conflict …

…Communism existed in the McCarthy Era, but witchcraft only existed among the Salem townspeople because they were forced to believe that it existed among themselves. Arthur Miller was able to reflect the same dilemmas that existed on both time periods. However, they differ in the actual existence of the "bad" individuals. Many innocent lives and worklives were claimed as a result of these trials, yet, Arthur Miller was able to expound this through his works.