Power inThe Crcucible
The Crucible is a play which delivers an astute philosophical discourse about the power of collective consciousness and the over bearing strength and control of a deluded ecclesiastical oligarchy. Miller achieves the powerful impact of such a universal theme by focusing on the personal. We observe the sense of struggle and dramatic conflict that arises out of the tension between individual characters and the power and demands of such a society. The power of the Crucible is that we become thoroughly involved in the use of emotional words and the actions of the characters.Throughout, 'The Crucible' we see the desperation of the state to demonstrate its power controlling and repressing the individual. According to Miller this reflects the modern world of capitalism and communism - the power of big governments. His central figure to oppose this power is John Procter, a spokesmen for rational feeling and the disinterested intelligence. Procter is so patently the enemy of the states power that his very existence is a challenge to the fanatic temperament; and he is consumed by its malice. However, the dramatic strength of the play is reliant upon his ambiguities: the dilemma of a man. Fallible, subject to pride, but forced to choose b
Procter's struggle internally to 'have his own goodness now' is made most powerful to the audience through the emotions depicted and lighting used. Thus the dramatic power of Miller's 'The Crucible', is reliant on the building tension throughout. 'The girls sir, the girls are frauds' exclaims Francis Nurse only to be accused of 'contempt of the court'. In act three, Procter and some of his company appeal to the court over the 'nonsense of Salems' belief that 'theology is a fortress'. Particularly in the final scene, the constant references to the sunrise ('sun is soon up' 'he will die at sunrise') serves to heighten the dramatic tension (internal conflict of Procter) and increase suspense. A bulk of evidence comes from the girls, most of whom are clearly unreliable by virtue of their age and the abundant evidence of complicity, yet it is they that have the power to incriminate. 'We burn a hot fire here, it melts down all concealment' says Judge Danforth, totally oblivious to the fact that all courts are burning is rationality, mercy and innocence. The dramatic power of this 'ironic mode' makes us feel so devastated and caught up in all these characters' struggles as we realise every attempt they make to remove Salem's blindfold in "you are pulling down heaven and raising up a whore" only functions to further damm them. 'The Crucible', has the primitive power to compel the audiences attention. Miller skillfully employs language for us to realise the growing power of his play and the social statements entailed. 'The Crucible' is a brilliantly crafted play, in which we see a suffocating world of the fanatic, against which the intellect and will are powerless. etween the "negative good" of truth and morality, and the "positive good" of human life under any dispensation. The theme of power is also explored, for the audience, in the realisation that 'children', can be so evil and the catalyst for so many deaths.
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Acceptance Essays
