CompleteMartialArts.com - The Crucible (Penguin Classics)
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Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.52
EAN: 9780142437339
ISBN: 0142437336
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 176
Publication Date: 2003-03-25
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Release Date: 2003-03-25
Studio: Penguin Classics
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Editorial Reviews:
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Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller's play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism.
Introduction by Christopher Bigsby
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com
Comment: The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great book to read with a mother-daughter book club. It provides an outlet to talk about issues the girls are covering in school, and to find out about how their perspectives differ from those of their moms. The issues of witchcraft and socially sanctioned violence against a targeted group seem eerily relevant to some of the things going on in our world today. This book challenged all of us to think about the most important things in our lives and what we're willing to sacrifice to achieve a higher cause.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Prompt service
Comment: Daughter needed it for a project for an accelerated class. It came in time and she was able to complete her assignments with a new book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Devil is Precise
Comment: On my walk through the LoA edition of Arthur Miller plays I bypass The Enemy of the People, the Ibsen adaptation, which I think is a waste of everyone's time, and go straight to the Crucible, which I had never read, nor watched on stage or screen. Very odd. It is a truly gripping piece of modern classic stage writing.
Of course AM needed to educate us always, so this story is not just a story about the witch trials of Salem, when perfectly harmless people, including some citizens of standing in the community, got identified as witches and hanged for it. (Which somehow looks like progress over the burnings in Europe.)
No, this is generally about fundamentalism and totalitarianism and theocracy, and more specifically about McCarthy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about the Ayatollah Khomeini, whatever you may say regarding anachronisms, and the Taliban. Let's not forget the Cultural Revolution of China.
If I seem to mock the play just a little bit, I haven't made up my mind yet, not quite. There is something strangely wrong in the tone of the dialogues. Can't quite nail it. Anachronistic for sure; is that all? Have to think about it.
The message that AM put into his morality tale is that power and property interests are behind the maddest manifestations of disinterestedness and righteousness. That was sure true in the other historical witch hunts that we know about. Whether it is an accurate reflection of the Salem case, I do not know. (I will definitely look for the DVD and give DDL a chance for redemption in my eyes.)
Customer Rating:
Summary: moving and thought-provoking
Comment: I really enjoyed reading this classic tale. I found it interesting from an historical and literary point of view. It forces you to think about very real moral dilemmas, like what you might or might not give your life for.
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Summary: Insightful Play
Comment: This short play dives deep into the minds of those who participated in the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600's. Miller focuses entirely on human emotions as he attempts to discover the real reason for these ridiculous witch accusations. "The Crucible" is intriguing and mind-bottling as readers realize the severity of the trials. Many people's lives were changed and it leaves one to question: "Why didn't anyone verify the claims?" The play centers around a man named John Proctor and his relationship with the young Abigail Williams. John commits adultery, cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. In the Puritan society, adultery is a major sin in which the individual would face a severe punishment if convicted. When Proctor tells Abigail he does not love her, she takes revenge by accusing Elizabeth of doing witchcraft. The claims are absurd, yet not a single person in the town attempts to clear Elizabeth's name. Abigail uses her manipulative powers to get the other girls in on her plan. The play shows that both fear and revenge can cause people to do horrible things. The townspeople are involved in this "witch hunt" and add to society's ignorance. They fail to challenge authority even though they know what is right. I found this book engaging as I tried to fathom the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller does an excellent job of trying to understand why this happened. I learned that Puritan society was weak and that many individuals feared speaking out against authority. The entire Puritan society was based on control. By instilling fear in people, the Puritan leaders could maintain leadership over the rest of them. This is a great read if you want to try to understand history and apply it to our world today.
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