The word "crucible" has multiple meanings, including trial, ordeal, and test. Crucibles are pots or vessels made of a refractory substance, such as graphite or porcelain, to melt and purify metals at high temperatures. Arthur Miller chose to title his play "The Crucible" because most of the themes and issues of the play relate directly to the title.
             During the Salem witch trials (1692-1693), someone accused of witchcraft would be tried in a court of law. Unfortunately, these trials followed a code that can be described by the phrase "guilty until proven innocent." Because play took place during early colonial times, the people of Salem were devoted Puritans and believed God acts directly in the world. They also thought Abigail was touched by God and accepted her every word as truth. Elizabeth Proctor depicts the town's ridiculous behavior to her husband when she quotes, "The town's gone wild, I think. She speaks of Abigail, and I thought she was a saint, to hear her. Abigail brings the girls into the court, and where she walks, the crowd will part like the sea for Israel." Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to criticize that people were blocked in the 1950s for being communists without a fair trial or substantial evidence. The Salem witch trials made an ideal subject because an unadorned accusation or mentioning a person's name was all it took to convict them.
             An ordeal is an ancient test or trial used to determine guilt or innocence by appealing to a supernatural decision. Usually, in these ordeals, the person on the go was obliged to do something harmful or fatal, such as jump off a cliff. If the person dropped and died, it was a sign of innocence, but if the person flew, it was a sign of possession by an evil spirit. This is similar to the confessions in the play, where if the people on trial confessed, they would lose all their land and possessions. If they didn't reveal, it was considered that Satan was in their hearts,...