Deeply Moving

This play draws you in from the beggining, each character begging for your attention and pity. But as you watch the characters and the story unfold, you are forced to pick sides. The confused and manipulated girls can make you burn with anger and feel great sorrow for their entrapment. The adulterous husband first hits you as a cold, unloving man but soon woos you into seeing his honest and passionate character. Arthur Miller masterfully sends his reader on an emotionally journey through his chilling rendition of the sad affair of the Salem witch trials. Beautiful work, very worthy of your time.

A must read!

This play is set during the time of the Salem witch trails in Salem, Massachusetts.Abigail is the leader of a group of young girls who start accusing other people in the town of being witches. Even though there was no real proof any of these people were witches, they were arrested, tried, and found guilty. The ones that confessed were allowed to live, but the ones that refused to confess were hung.

When Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, her husband, John, goes to the judge and tells him that Abigail accused Elizabeth of this crime because Elizabeth had discovered that he and Abigail were having an affair. The judge has Elizabeth brought to the courthouse, and he asks her if her husband had been unfaithful. She doesn't know John has admitted to this, and she lies in order to protect him. Then John is accused of being a witch and he is arrested.

John agrees to confess so that he can live, but he refuses to accuse anyone else of being a witch. But when they ask him to sign a public confession, which they plan to hang in the church, he refuses and retracts his confession.

I first read this book over 20 years ago in high school and recently re-read it. This was one of the few 'classics' that I was able to fully appreciate when I read it as a teen-ager.

The story is fascinating, even more so because it's based on real historical events and people, although some facts were changed. For example: In reality, Abigail was 11 and John was 60 (in the play their ages were 17 and 40) and they never had an affair.

The Crucible is a story of injustice resulting from mass hysteria. It's also about courage and honor. It took a great deal of courage for these people to die rather than to tell a lie so that they could live.

Review for PRmalato

Arthur Miller's most famous of works, The Crucible comes through in ways few plays do. Miller's powerful language portray the chaos and fear of the time in spotless fashion, as the accusations of witchcraft get passed around like a basket of buns at a Thanksgiving table. It's almost as if Miller lived through one of the more perplexing eras in American history. This classic piece of American literature is a must read for any High School student.