Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Miller

19 reviews

noellegrace8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Because it's a classic, there's not much more I can add to the conversation. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering how the trials and the issues between the Proctors and Abigail were going to turn out. I must say, maybe it's because people told me I would be surprised, but I wasn't very surprised by the ending. I enjoyed the morally gray status of most of the characters against obviously corrupt, fear-mongering religious and law leaders. It brought to mind something I've been thinking about recently - that it's difficult to make "the correct" decision once someone else has made a poor one. Lastly, the misogyny was a bit difficult to ignore, especially since Abigail was considered a "child" in many ways yet also the seductress, and the end paints her as a harlot, while John Proctor isn't apparently. But this wasn't an uncommon viewpoint, even for the '50s.

I don't factor performance into overall story rating, but I would give this cast 5/5⭐.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

witchintherain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death

Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Racism

ifweweresorrows's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infidelity and Racism

Minor: Death and Torture

amayapapaya's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

avasbookmark's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Pregnancy

Minor: Torture

leehillier's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy

storyorc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Was shaking like a shitting dog for the entire last two acts, this is the scariest book I've ever read not written by Steven King. Made this athiest more uneasy about how many commandments I could rhyme off than I have been since Sunday school.

I hate to say it but the spiralling hysteria does seem especially sobering given today's 'cancel culture'. Again and again, the truth seemed to be that many characters are guilty of some things, but that the consequences flew out of all proportion, rationality and due process be damned. Good to remember too, that in Salem young women were accusing innocent wives every bit as much as their male counterparts in positions of power condemned them. Hysteria can turn anyone into a monster. Seems like

men die of pride and women of loyalty

.

This edition specifically, yellow Penguin classic with the black and white still from the play on the cover, had fascinating little asides every time a main character was introduced that explained Miller's research into them and the official court records available to play testament to their character. It also includes a scene that was dropped from the official productions which humanises Abigail Williams in a way that really reminds you she is a traumatised, terrified eighteen year old possibly undergoing some kind of mental break. The play is fairer to her with it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Blood, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Classism

soph30000's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, and Sexism

wandering_recorder's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It is no wonder that this play has earned its place among the classics, in large part due to the profound effect it has had on its readers and the world. The story itself details the dramatized version of the Salem Witch Trials, studying the unique situation that happened on a relatively small scale when panic and certain ideologies are pedaled by society and how individuals in that community react accordingly. Not only that, but the narrative features amazingly fleshed out characters that opens the questions to the reader of who they are as a person, what they believe, and what they stand for. Although given much anguish due to its forced reading in various schools, this story has nonetheless been one that has changed the way I look at the world around me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship