The protagonist John Proctor is one of those that decides to defy the courts and sacrifices his life towards the end of the play, ending the play on a quiet note in contrast with its frenzied conflict throughout the acts. People start scapegoating others to escape prosecution and falsely accuse others to gain power and land, facilitating mass hysteria which ultimately leads to the downfall of the Salem theocracy. It starts off with the girls dancing in the woods and Betty’s unconsciousness, which causes the people of Salem to look for unnatural causes. As an allegory of McCarthyism, the play primarily focuses on criticising the ways in which innocent people are prosecuted without any founded evidence, reflecting the unjust nature of the corrupted authoritarian system that governs Salem. These rumors are largely encouraged by Abigail, a 17-year-old girl, in order to frame Elizabeth Proctor as a witch, so that she can win over her husband John Proctor.The Crucible is a four-act play that portrays the atmosphere of the witch trials in Salem. In 1962, accusations of witchcraft wreak havoc in the isolated and theocratic society of Salem. It premiered in Germany in 1949 and in the U.S. exile Lion Feuchtwanger wrote Wahn, Oder der Teufel in Boston in 1947, and he used the witch trials as an allegory for persecutions against suspected communists. Fun Fact: Another Salem-themed play was circulating when The Crucible premiered.Notable Adaptations: 1996 movie with a screenplay by Miller himself, starring Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams and Daniel Day Lewis as John Proctor Ivo van Hove’s 2016 Broadway revival set in a classroom, with Saoirse Ronan as Abigail Williams.Major Characters: John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Proctor, John Hathorne, Jonathan Danforth.Themes: Mass hysteria and fear, reputation, conflict with authority, faith vs.
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