Whats The Crucible about?

Its about human weakness in many forms: pride, fear, prejudice, lust, vengefulness, cowardice, desire for power, arrogance, greed, suspicion, foolishness, hysteria, mistrust, and ambition, to name a few. Its also about strength in many forms: integrity, honesty, resilience, loyalty, trust, faith, decency, seeking the truth, reason. Its about how easily reason can become madness. Its about how honest, apparently unimportant decisions can have terrible consequences. Its about how peoples fear can overcome reason. Its about how people can exploit fear and hysteria to serve their own ends. Its about how people ignore truths which challenge their perception of the world. Its about how integrity and honesty can come into conflict with dogma and politics Its about what it means to be a good citizen: to serve government or follow your principles. Its about how high ideals can become the means by which people are repressed. Its about how hard it is to let go of ideas which you have held to for years, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Its about how people interpret what they see to fit their prejudices and preconceptions, ignoring things which may challenge those prejudices. Its about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Its about how the downtrodden, the oppressed, those who have no voice or identity, can be given voices and identities for the wrong reasons. Its about how people will say anything to protect themselves. Its about how letting go of your principles can be the most principled thing you can do. Its about how forgiveness is the hardest thing you can do. Its about how weak power can be. Its about how honesty is not always a virtue: it can sometimes bespeak pride and arrogance.