From the historical perspective, ​The Crucible ​by Arthur Miller​ ​relates to certain historical

and modern events that occured in the past and present. Similar event that the author used in the

play that relate to history was Salem’s witch trials, characters and individual's reputation in

history, and instances of hysteria such as the dancing plague, red scare, rain terror, and etc. These

events helped contribute in the play by developing themes throughout the whole play.

According to smithsonianmag.com, The Salem's witch trials occurred in colonial

Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing

witchcraft, the Devil's magic, and 20 were executed. Additionally, in the website

www.history.com, it states, “Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of

other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the

power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A “witchcraft craze” rippled through Europe

from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches mostly women

were executed.” Similar to what has occurred in history, witchcraft is presented in the play The

Crucible as well. Several characters in the play like, Abigail Williams, were accused of

witchcraft. The Crucible is not with whether the one that is accused actually is a witch, but rather

with the unwillingness of the court officials to believe that one is not. Abigail williams states in

Act 1, “I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I

danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw

Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the

Devil!” After Tituba confessed to witchcraft, Abigail in the first act was terrified about being

disgraced for what she has done in the forest. But Tituba’s confession benefited Abigail. So

Abigail lies and confesses to communicating with the Devil, and according to the ideology of
Salem, this means she’s free from guilt. She accuses others of being witches to protect herself

from being accused. Hysteria and accusations helped the witchcraft trials both in the play and in

history.

During the time of the Salem witch trials, Characters and individual's reputation in

history, present day, and in the play are very significant and important. According to

neworld.org/salemwitchtrials it states, “The Salem Witch Trials demonstrated the weakness of a

judicial system that relied on hearsay testimony and encouraged accusations, while providing no

adequate means of rebuttal. Yet, after a time conscientious magistrates did step in to stop the

trials, and in subsequent years the reputations, if not the lives, of those falsely accused had been

rehabilitated.” A person reputation in history was their identity and how they were presented in

society. People cared and tried to protect their reputations in history relating to characters in ​The

Crucible. ​Characters in the novel​ ​face tough decisions in order to protect their reputation just like

people in history did. A bad reputation in Salem can result to a social and physical punishment.

Individuals are willing to do or say anything in order to protect and save themselves physically,

and save their reputation. In the play, the character named John proctor, desires to keep his good

name leads to his death. In the ending of Act four page 133, he says, “(with a cry of his whole

soul) Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign

myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live

without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” Proctor states these lines

when he fears the guilt of cheating over whether to confess witchcraft and save himself from

being executed and hanged. In the beginning of the play, Proctor’s desire to keep his good name

keeps him from testifying against Abigail to save his wife. But towards the ending of the novel
he has understood what a good reputation is and what actions or motives need to be played,

which is to tell the truth and not lie in order to save himself. When he states “I have given you

my soul; leave me my name!”, he is angry and makes it clear that he has courage and is brave to

die in order to keep his good name, this shows integrity. Proctor values his reputation and his

name to a point where his is willing to risk his safety and die.

Reputation in present day still has a great significance in society. In the website

‘www.psychologytoday.com/’, it states “Your reputation lives a very real existence apart from

you, representing the collective mental construct everyone ​but you​ shares ​about​ you, a construct

based partially on your own actions but also on the perceptions others have about ​others'

perceptions of your actions. We only ever have ​influence​ over our reputation—never control—as

is the case with all things external to us, but it remains one of our most precious assets (far more

important than any one job, house, car, or even, some would argue, money). Just why it's so

important and how to positively influence it is the subject of this post.” This statement proves

that even though ‘The Crucible’ was written in the eighteen hundreds, an individual's reputation

will remain precious for centuries.

The Crucible ​by Arthur Miller​ ​relates to certain historical events that occured in the past

and present day. Similar event that the author used in the play that relate to history was Salem’s

witch trials, characters and individual's reputation in history.

Resources:
Smithsonianmag.com

www.psychologytoday.com/

neworld.org/salemwitchtrials