ENLL 121

The Crucible as a tragedy

Piotrowska, C. 2020. Vanderbijlpark: North-West University.

The Crucible as a Modern Tragedy
Questions

 Which elements of classical or Greek tragedy are present within this

drama?
 How does it differ from classical Greek tragedy?
 How does Arthur Miller adapt the idea of a chorus in The Crucible?
 Is there a tragic hero in The Crucible? Who is it?
 Does the tragic hero have a tragic flaw? How has the
conceptualisation of a tragic flaw changed in this play?
 How is the tragic struggle presented in The Crucible?
 Does The Crucible have an ending that is prototypical for tragedy?
Miller’s Tragedy and the Common Man
 Arthur Miller views the theatre as a place where people are not only entertained, but
must be made to think
 Makes us ask questions about the nature of society, family, and self-fulfilment
 He is concerned with truth and man’s unrelenting yet doomed search for recognition as
a human being. Man has a compulsion to lift himself up in society – to be respected,
admired, etc.
 Miller believes that the common man is a fit hero (rather than a noble hero as seen in
Greek tragedy), someone who is part of a family and part of society.
 Individuals suffer for what they naturally are and desire, rather than for what they do
 Society is frequently a destructive force, a false system, which claims all of its victims.
 To Miller, a tragic flaw is not necessarily a weakness. It is sometimes just the
unwillingness to remain passive in the face of a challenge to your dignity, image, or
status.
 Protagonist makes an active attempt to achieve his “rightful” position in society, which
often results in an onslaught against the environment around him
 A tragic hero cannot accept his lot in life, or that he might have failed in life.
 Fear of being displaced – being torn away from who and what you think you are in the
world.
(see Study Guide page 24-25)
The Crucible Dramatis Personae
Act I: Act II onwards:
Reverend Parris Elizabeth Proctor
Betty Parris Francis
Tituba Ezekiel Cheever
 Abigail Williams Marshal Herrick
 Susanna Walcott Judge Hawthorne
 Mercy Lewis Deputy Governor Danforth
 Mary Warren Sarah Good
Mrs. Ann Putnam
Thomas Putnam
John Proctor
Rebecca Nurse
Giles Corey
Martha Corey
Reverend John Hale
The Crucible as a Tragedy
 Miller’s primary concern is with truth
 The Crucible portrays the effects of distorting the truth
with false dreams, perceived misconceptions, personal
hallucinations, etc.
 Truth in this play is trampled by the confusions caused
by the witch accusations and suspicion
 The hero, instead of being representative of society,
stands against it
 Forces audience to re-evaluate the world around them,
and to draw parallels between what happened in 1692
and what was currently happening in the USA (1950s)
 Cathartic – we live through the fear and terror which
the town’s people and the accused feel.
Questions
 Before proceeding to the next slide, attempt to answer the
following:

1. How does this play compare to a traditional Greek

tragedy?

2. Who is the tragic hero?

 Findfour quotes that give us insight into this character’s
personality.

3. What is the tragic hero’s fatal flaw?

How does it differ from traditional
Greek tragedy?
Similarities:
 Serious play which showcases human suffering
 Tragic flaw is still linked to the hero’s hubris
 Ending is typical of a tragedy – death of the tragic hero & others
 Obeys Aristotle’s unities of action, time, and place
 Violent acts are not depicted (we hear about them from messengers)
Differences:
 Tragic hero is not noble, but a common man
 Tragic hero is not governed by fate, but has free will
 There is no chorus. Narrator that gives historical notes and commentary
 Large cast of characters (Greek tragedy typically only had 2-3 actors
in masks)
The Crucible plot structure
 Act I
 Exposition: Betty has fallen ill, people gather at Parris’ house.
 Conflicts: The Putnams suspect witch craft. Abigail threatens Betty and the
girls. Proctor confronts Abigail. Rev. Hale arrives and interrogates them.
 Climax of Act I: Tituba confesses, names other witches
 Act II
 Conflicts: Mary Warren tells us of more arrests and convictions. Rev. Hale
questions Proctor.
 Climax of Act II: Elizabeth is arrested
 Act III
 Conflicts: John and Mary disrupt the proceeding; Mary admits to pretending.
Proctor confesses to adultery. Abigail and the girls accuse Mary of being a
witch. Mary joins Abigail against Proctor.
 Climax of Act III: Proctor is arrested
 Act IV
 Conflicts: John is in prison but will not confess, Hale and Danforth convince
Elizabeth to speak with him.
 Climax of Act IV: John refuses to sign his name to the confession. He is hanged.
 Denouement: Epilogue (fate of Salem)
John Proctor as a Tragic Hero
 John Proctor can be identified as the tragic hero in this drama
 He is an upright, honest, reasonable man, who judges himself and
others very harshly according to a strict moral code.
 John had an affair with Abigail. His lust for her lead to him
committing adultery. He feels overwhelmingly guilty for it.
 The act of adultery sets off a chain of events: Abigail gets dismissed from
the Proctor household, she wants to take revenge on Elizabeth. Witchcraft
is a convenient way of getting rid of her.
 He has an internal/ moral struggle – he cannot expose Abigail unless he
exposes himself
 He does not want to admit to adultery, and therefore does not reveal this
information until he feels he has absolutely no choice
 By then however, it is too late to save him
 His good name and social standing is too important to him (hubris &
hamartia)
 He challenges authority (hubris) by confronting the judges and trying
to stop the trials
John Proctor as a Tragic Hero
 His identity is more important to him than survival
 John Proctor dies as an act of self-preservation
 He wants to preserve the truth of himself and the others
 He refuses to sign his name to the confession because he knows that the
information therein is a lie
 “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my
name!”
 He would rather die than live a lie – he knows he is not a witch and did
not make any pacts with the devil. He will not confess just to be pardoned.
 He does not want to be remembered like this
 Without a name, integrity or dignity, we become animals. Our morality
makes us human.
 His flaw is therefore his unwillingness to remain passive – to accept the
circumstances around him
 Intervenes and disrupts the trials, leading to his own arrest. Had he not
said anything, he would have survived.
 This ultimately leads to his downfall and his death.
References and further reading
 Li, H. 2018. The idea of tragedy in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
and A View from the Bridge. English Language and Literature
Studies, 8(2):115-120.
 Mhayyal, B. M. 2013. Arthur Miller’s Tragedy as Reflected in
The Crucible. J College of Education for Women, 24(3): 917-
928.