Second Quarter/Blog 4: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Second Quarter/Blog 4: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The last Act and ending of The Crucible can be best described as doom and gloom.  Many people have been hanged and others are to be hanged.  The town is falling apart.  The townspeople are a wreck.  Proctor and his wife are still in jail and the end centers around whether or not Proctor can be saved from death by confessing.  He confesses, but then refuses to sign a confession.  Therefore, he must die and he does.  I guess standing up for himself now is to be thought of as heroic, but I do not see him as a hero.  I think his situation and the rest of the accusations, trials, and hangings are tragic.  A lot of blood shed because of lies and paranoia.

So what did I come away with from reading this literary work?  Well, I looked up the word crucible.  It is defined as a pot or metal container in which metals or other substances are heated to high temperatures or melted.  Not sure that helps me understand what I read, but then I found that “crucible” could also refer to the literary technique in which characters are placed in an inescapable situation and are forced to change or make difficult decisions.  The characters in this book were definitely in an inescapable situation and forced to change or make difficult decisions.  And their decisions were life or death and most ended in death.  A very morbid plot.

If I go back to why I picked this book, it was because a friend said reading this changed their love of books.   I have say that I do not agree.  I was rather disappointed with the lack of plot and lack of suspense.  There is no witchcraft or spells or excitement at all.  Instead, it is full of false accusations and unfortunate circumstances.  Probably a lot of the interest in this book came from its intended parallel to McCarthyism, but that message was completely lost on me.  The good news is that it was short and once I made it past the first Act it was very easy to read, but unfortunately it did not change my feelings about reading.  I will keep trying.