Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Crucible

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

18 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I actually liked a book school made me read? Wild, I know. But despite the sexism and the raging historical inaccuracies, it was fun to read. Maybe it was made more enjoyable by the fact that I got to watch my classmates read it out loud in horror and shame. The best thing you can do is make a bunch of high schoolers read out the lines of a horned up 17th-century character lol.

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ly6's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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zakcebulski's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

So, I read this play originally back in 10th grade, which, at the time of writing this review was about 10 years ago. That is only giving me a little bit of existential dread.
Anyway.
When I read this play originally I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. I thought it was fine. And, largely, I feel the same way about it now, having read it again.
I think if I was to feel warmer or colder about this play, I would feel warmer, as I have a greater schema with which to view the plot, and the historical context.

Arthur Miller wrote this play as a direct allegory to McCarthyism which was rampant during the 1940s-50s where the US government accused and persecuted people of practicing communism.
I think that this allegorical knowledge actually proves to make this story even scarier, because it is something that not only happened before, but can and likely will happen again.
The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts wherein a group of young girls accuse many townspeople of being in league with the devil, afflicted by the evils of Satan.
These people are tried and executed in what amounts to a religious zealotry in the form of a kangaroo court.
These people are tried and convicted with the evidence being the fear and ignorance of the powers that were.

I think that Miller, first and foremost, does a great job of establishing all of the characters and their personalities. While this play obviously shines when acted out on stage, it is still interesting to read, and I think that he makes all of the characters interesting and diverse enough to understand them.
While there are people who are truly deplorable- Samuel Parris and Abigail Williams to be sure- you can still understand partially why they are acting this way.
You can gather an understanding of why the Judges are so reticent to accept only a verbal confession, and why people like John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey will not cast away their name for life.

I appreciate that Miller wrote this play in a way that feels akin to a verbal sparring. You have characters who are using logical arguments to prove their innocence, but, which are shut down by the complete illogical stance of religious people at the time.
He also writes in a way that at times feels very consistent with what you probably would see around this time period, but, at other times I felt like it was on the side of more modern spoken English. This, to me, broke the immersion just a bit.

I think that the ending scene wherein all of the girls are chanting the mimicked words of Betty Parris is truly one of the most frightening things which I have read recently. It is truly a scary moment which could actually blur the lines between apathy about the existence of the devil. I thought that it was truly well executed and shows why Abigail is, to me, the true villain of this play.
Her character arc shows her as a young girl who has a romantic tryst with John Proctor, an older local farmer. When things start to unravel and accusations start to fly, Abigail accuses John's wife of witchcraft as a means to get Elizabeth out of the picture, so Abigail can take her place.
I think that her uncle, Samuel Parris is such a fucking sniveling little goddamn weeny, I couldn't stand reading this guy. He is such a coward and it calls to mind the banality of evil by Arendt, wherein a person acts in a way society deems evil because they cannot think or stand for themselves.
UGH.
Overall, I thought that this play was good, not exceptional. I think that if you are looking to get in to works by Arthur Miller, I would recommend to read Death of a Salesman that is truly outstanding.
I will say that when I read this in high school, I felt like it was weighed down by all of the arbitrary work which was assigned to be done in tandem with this play. I would have much preferred had we sat down and looked at the allegorical reading of this book and the history which it is related to, and how Miller actually could be a stand-in for someone like a John Proctor or a Giles Corey.

#RIPGiles

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roadki77's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Everything about the Crucible feels off, wrong, and shady. Not necessarily bad, but on the verge of an eerie, uncanny feeling. Lots of unlikable characters.

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