A close focus on act III of ‘The Crucible’ Essay

The play, The crucible, shows how people react to grass hysteria ca drilld by a group of people, as people did during the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. The House un-American activities committee searched for communist sympathisers because they were felt to be a threat to the state. Mevery Americans were wrongly accused of being communist sympathisers and were convicted and sentenced with bug out any real evidence of them having committed a crime. Mere suspicion was classed as evidence. And like the during the witch hunts, any unmatchable who spoke out was accused which do defend yourself a death wish. This is how McCarthyism was linked with the witch-hunts that had taken place in Salem, mummy in 1692.The title of the play describes exactly what was happening at the measure of the witch-hunts. A crucible is a container in which metals ar heated to extracted the unalloyed element from impurities, and crucible is an another(prenominal) word for a cauldron that witches use to bre w their magic potions in. So the word crucible could metaphorically be used to explain how the activities in Salem were like a potion create from raw material in a cauldron with the potion being mixed to separate the witches (impurities) from the good, god-loving citizens (element).The orifice scene of the play shows the girls dancing in the timbers around a cauldron, they are spotted by Parris who also sees that one of them is naked.The people of Salem were Puritans and so dancing was perceived as a sin.The morning after the dancing, two of the youngest girls cannot wake from bed. A doctor is called to friend the girls but he cannot diagnose what is wrong with them or how they can be helped, His only advice is to look to the unnatural. The girls do not confess to their activities until Parris confronts them. Abigail says all that they did was bound and strongly denies that any of them were naked, Uncle, we did dance. There is nothin more(prenominal). I swear it, uncle.Mrs Put nam, the mother of the other ill child, believes that her daughter Ruth and Parriss daughter Bettys illnesses are caused by the devil. Parris calls for squash who is an expert on demonic artsParris is the attend of the Village, much to the Putnams dismay. Mr Putnams brother was in competition with Parris for the frame of minister and so the Putnams have a grudge against not only Parris, but the Nurse family who prevented him from being minister and many of there neighbours for various springs. Especially with Giles Corey who has worked out that the Putnams will do anything to micturate their hands on other peoples land, This man is killing his neighbours for their land commode Proctor also has a grudge against Parris.Hale arrives in Salem, He is a confident and well education young man who believes he has all the answers. As he is examining Betty Giles Corey distracts him by asking him questions about his married adult female. Giles says that his wife reads strange books whi lst they are in bed and while she is reading, he cannot pray. Hale carries on trying to help Betty with little effect. Parris tells Hale that he thinks he maxim a kettle in the grass with the girls in the wood with something moving inside it. Hale questions Abigail but she denies that she drank blood and called the devil. Abigail then realises that if the law is found out she will get in a get by of trouble and so she passes the blame onto Tituba, Parriss black slave, by reflexion that Tituba forced her to drink blood and even blames her wicked dreams on the slave.Tituba confesses to uphold herself from being hung. She mentions four peoples name calling that she supposedly saw with the devil. Abigail mentions more and more names and then the rest of the girls join in, mentioning the names of anyone they hate, have a grudge against or just dislike. As the girls cried out more names, the hysteria began to grow.By accusing others of witchcraft they are comical attention away from their original misdemeanours.We can see that the Proctors relationship is not very strong, they make petty small talk over dinner party and dont appear to be happy together. One reason for this may be that Elizabeth has not forgiven John for having an affair with Abigail whilst she was ill.Whilst Mary was at chat up with the other girls where people were being tried for witchcraft she made a poppet for Elizabeth. Abigail was sitting next to Mary whilst she made it.By now 39 women had been arrested and Goody Osborn was sentenced to hanging.Mary, who had always been a very shy, light girl was now becoming very easily led on by Abigail and just as confused between fact and envisage as the other girls and. This is apparent when she tells the Proctors that Sarah Good had confessed to having made contact with Lucifer, and that Sarah Goods nature tried to choke her in the courtroom. Mary then speaks of even more fantasy when she says that terrible stomach pains had been inflicted upo n her when she had turned the old woman away whilst she was begging. Mary also accused the old woman of talk a spell to her, but Sarah Good claimed it was not a spell, it were her commandments. The court asked her to repeat the commandments, but she could not.