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The Conclusion of The Crucible

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What is the summary of the play?

Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the play focuses on the protagonist John Proctor as he struggles to overcome his past transgressions, prior to the play, when he committed adultery with Abigail Williams which subsequently controls and influences the outcome of the play. Abigail charges various citizens of practising witchcraft, leading to Proctor’s death.

What is the introduction to the play for the question - Choose a play in which there is a central character brings about his or her downfall because of a weakness within their character.

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ explores a character who possess a significant weakness. John Proctor, the antagonist, is unwilling to forgive himself after committing adultery with Abigail Williams. It is this inability to forgive himself that prevents him from revealing Abigail’s lies before they gather momentum and ultimately lead to his downfall in the play’s denouement.

What is the introduction to the play for the question - For a play you have studied, choose a scene in which a character is forced to face up to the truth about himself/herself?

Arthur Millers ‘The Crucible’ is a play where a character is forced to face up to the truth about themselves. John Proctor is a crucial character in the play who’s actions influence the outcome of everyone else. John’s struggles and worries of his tainted past are clearly shown throughout the play. Only through the personal sacrifice and matyrdrom can the constraints of Salem’s society be broken

What is the sentence for the techniques to convey the ideas in the play?

Through the use of characterisation, key scene and dialogue Arthur Miller successfully conveys/demonstrates and refer back to question.

What is the introduction to the play for a question about setting?

Arthur Miller’s the crucible is a play that makes use of setting to make the main ideas of the play more comprehensible and believable. After accusations of witchcraft, hysteria breaks out in Salem. Only through the use of setting can the main ideas be conveyed to the reader and the outcome of the play be explained.

What is the introduction to the play for a question on choose a play in which a central character struggles to cope with social convention or financial difficulties or family duties?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a central character who struggles to cope with social convention. The protagonist John Proctor, is unwilling to forgive himself after committing adultery - an act frowned upon by the Puritan community. It is his inability to forgive himself and need for self preservation that subsequently controls and influences the outcome of the play, resulting in Proctors death.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which the concluding scene provides effective clarification of the central concerns?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘ The Crucible ‘ concludes with a scene that provides effective clarification of the central concerns in the play. The protagonist John Proctor, is unwilling to forgive himself for committing adultery with Abigail Williams. Proctors need for self preservation and unwillingness to forgive himself influence the outcome of the play and result in his death in the denouement of the play.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which the conflict between two characters is an important feature?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ explores a conflict between two important characters which influence the outcome of the play. John Proctor ,the protagonist, is tortured and weighed down by the guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Due to this, Proctor life is influenced by Abigail who is ultimately the cause of his death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play which focuses on a relationship which is destructive or is in crisis?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ focuses on a relationship which is destructive. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, ultimately leading to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which a major character behaves in an impulsive or calculating or emotional manner?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ focuses on a character who behaves in a calculating way.The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, ultimately leading to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which there is a scene which influences the course of future events?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a scene which influences the course of future events.The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft, ultimately leading to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play which deals with the theme of honour or shame or betrayal?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ explores the theme of betrayal. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life and not betray his wife again. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft, ultimately leading to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play which has an effective opening scene or concluding scene?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘ The Crucible ‘ which has an effective opening scene. The protagonist John Proctor, is unwilling to forgive himself for committing adultery with Abigail Williams. Proctors need for self preservation and unwillingness to forgive himself influence the outcome of the play and result in his death in the denouement of the play.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which a major character’s actions influence the emotions of others?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a major character who influences the emotions of others. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft, ultimately leading to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play in which there is a scene involving a moment of conflict or of resolution to conflict?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a scene involving a moment of conflict. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured and weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft. Proctor attends court in the hope of pleading his wife’s innocence, which results in a conflict, that ultimately leads to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for choose a play which explores an important issue or issues within society?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ explores the issue of suppressed desire in the Puritan community of the 1690s. The protagonist John Proctor, is unwilling to forgive himself after committing adultery - an act frowned upon by the Puritan community. It is his inability to forgive himself and need for self preservation that subsequently controls and influences the outcome of the play, resulting in Proctors death.

What is the introduction for a character who, makes a vital error?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a scene where a character makes a vital error. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured and weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft. Proctor attends court in the hope of pleading his wife’s innocence but when presented with the chance to save herself and her husband, Elizabeth’s natural lie to protect her husband ultimately leads to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the introduction for a scene that acts as a clear turning point?

What is the introduction for choose a play where the emotions of one or more characters reach a climax?

Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ contains a scene involving a moment of conflict. The protagonist, John Proctor, is tortured and weighed down with guilt of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tries his hardest to remove Abigail from his life. However it is his rejection of her that results in Abigail seeking revenge on his wife, by accusing her of witchcraft. Proctor attends court in the hope of pleading his wife’s innocence, which results in a climax of his emotions, that ultimately leads to Proctors death in the plays denouement.

What is the conclusion to the play?

To conclude - refer to question. Had Proctor been able to overcome his excessive pride and forgive himself for the the adultery he committed and not been so preoccupied with his past transgressions and reputation in Salem, he could have revealed his knowledge of Abigail earlier in the play and prevented the deaths of many people, as well as his own. Ultimately his inhabiting to forgive himself which was his fatal weakness and Miller successfully conveys the power conscience has over us. The play as a whole provides a powerful message about the dangers of being swept up in hysteria as well as the difficulties placed upon an individual to conform to society.

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87 The Crucible Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for The Crucible essay examples? Arthur Miller’s play is worth writing about!

🏆 A+ The Crucible Essay Examples

📌 interesting essay topics for the crucible, 🔝 best the crucible essay topics, 👍 most catchy the crucible essay titles, ❓ the crucible essay questions.

The Crucible is a play by famous American playwright Arthur Miller that premiered in 1953 in NYC. It is based on a true story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the late 17th century.

In your The Crucible essay, you might want to make a literary analysis of the play. Another option is to focus on one of the themes or symbols used by Miller. Whether you need to write a short 5-paragraph essay or a longer argumentative paper on the play, this article will be helpful. It contains catchy titles, research questions, and essay topics for The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Free essay examples are added to inspire you even more.

• A. Miller’s “The Crucible” Play: Who Is to Blame? The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is a play focusing on the topic of the Salem witch of the last decade of the 1600s in Massachusetts.
• Analysis of the Movie The Crucible Arthur Miller’s play and movie was a reflection of what used to happen in the United States of America. It was a situation where reason was not used in the judicial system and people were […]
• Salem’s Puritans in “The Crucible” Play by Arthur Miller Parris is described as a man in his forties and the author adds that there is “very little good to be said for him”. The land is not very fertile and the town is surrounded […]
• Goodness as a Central Theme of “The Crucible” In the play “The Crucible”, Artur Miller raises the topic of Salem witch accusations taking place in Massachusetts during the end of the seventeenth century.
• “The Crucible” by Arthur Williams John may be considered the protagonist of the play, however, the interrelation of the two main female characters of the play are, certainly, of great use for the development of the action and realization of […]
• Witches Against Corruption in Miller’s The Crucible Play Through their portrayal in the play, the accused witches have become powerful symbols of strength and resistance for women who want to take a stand against corruption and injustice.
• Shakespeare’s “Othello” and Miller’s “The Crucible” The villains in both “Othello” and “The Crucible” are unique in their proficiency in the use of language for manipulating others and their ability to use the current setting for achieving their goals; Abigail is […]
• Arthur Miller: Hypocrisy, Guilt, Authority, and Hysteria in “The Crucible” The cruel persecution of minorities and the interference of the state in the individual’s conscience became the key concerns of Miller’s criticism of this people’s actions and beliefs.
• “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller Answer: Hale comes to Salem with the intention of finding concrete proof of witchcraft and using it to condemn the people guilty of the crime.
• John Hale’s Image in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller The book is concerned with the topic of witch trials taking place in the city of Salem, the Province of Massachusetts Bay, 1692-1693; it features a number of characters, some of whom depict the real […]
• “The Crucible” a Play by Arthur Miller In both cases, it can clearly be seen that it is fear that allows unreasonable and unlawful actions to continue under the guise of lawful actions that are for the common good.
• Literature as a Protest: The Lottery and The Crucible Thus, in the case of “the lottery” it can be seen that it is a form of protest against the practice of blindly following “tradition” without taking into consideration the full logic of the actions […]
• The Salem Witch Trials in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller Though Miller has made a range of changes to the original, the alterations did not prevent from understanding the case better; instead, these changes allowed for updating the story so that it would be interesting […]
• “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller: Play Analysis The scenario calls for the need to investigate the villagers on issues pertaining to witchcraft, a take that finds many of them victims of the evil doing ready to be judged. First, the plot of […]
• The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner Although Miller has never consented to the historical accuracy of the story, most of the events in the story match up with the occurrences in Salem, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century.
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller The plays interweaves Christ’s crucifixion with the picture of a bubbling crucible in it a man and a society: the predicament of arriving to the right choice of morality and the inevitability of attaining redemption […]
• Informative Synthesis on Movie: The Crucible The writer of the play version of the film, Arthur Miller, takes charge of the screenplay while Nicholas Hytner is the director.
• The Madness of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Theme of Sacrifice in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorn
• The Society and the Individual in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Social Breakdown That Allowed the Witch Hunt Paranoia in Salem in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Victory of Morality Over Cowardice in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• Values and Morality in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Valuable Reasons of Abigail Williams in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Significance and Role of Abigail Williams and Tituba in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Witch Hearings in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Influence of the McCarthy Hearings of the 1950’s in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Use of Rhetorical Devices to Reveal Negative Correlation Between Power Truth, Justice, and Emotions in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Traits and Characteristics of John Proctor in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Unfair and Unkind Treatment of Women in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Internal Battles of Mary Warren, John Proctor and Reverend Hale in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Symbolism of the Crucible as a Test for Salem in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The True Meaning of Tragedy in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Presentation of Abigail Williams in Act I of “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Tragic Fate of John Proctor in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Reasons Why People Stand Up for Justice in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• The Sinful Confessions in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Motivation of Abigail Williams to Protect Her Image and Interest in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Unreasonable Discrimination in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Theme of Justice Versus Retribution and Revenge in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Responibility of the Salem Community for the Tragedy in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• Weakness, Jealousy, and Manipulation in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• Vengeance and Malevolent Intent in a Corrupt World in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Materialistic and Controlling Characteristics of Reverend Parris in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Themes of Fear, Revenge and Greed, and Courage in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Sacrifices and Actions of Abigail for Love in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• What Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” Has to Offer to Modern Readers Globally
• The Historical Meaning and Universal Themes of the Love Triangle, Mass Hysteria, and the Judicial System in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Salem Witch Trials as an Outlet for Revenge in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Three Stages of John Proctor’s Transformation in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Transformation of Abigail Williams in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Themes of Intolerance, Reputation, and Injustice in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Theme of Courage in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• John Proctor as a Fair and Noble Character in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Strength of Elizabeth as Shown Through Her Trials in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• The Key Aspects of a Witch-Hunt in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and Paradise Lost
• An Analysis of Social Status as a Significant Theme in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• How Does Fear Motivate the Main Characters in “The Crucible”?
• What Was the Critical and Public Reaction to “The Crucible”?
• What Is the Main Story of “The Crucible”?
• What Were the Changes in John Proctor’s Character Throughout the Play “The Crucible”?
• Why Is “The Crucible” So Famous?
• How Does Arthur Miller Create Tension in the Trial Scene of “The Crucible”?
• What Is the True Meaning of “The Crucible”?
• How Does Miller Present the Character of John Proctor in “The Crucible”?
• How Does John Proctor Contribute to the Effectiveness of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”?
• What Are Some Examples of Mob Mentality in “The Crucible”?
• How Does Miller Create Dramatic Tension in the Four Acts of “The Crucible”?
• Does John Proctor Die in “The Crucible”?
• When Did the Witch Trials Take Place in “The Crucible”?
• How Does Miller Convey His Message Through “The Crucible”?
• Was Jon Proctor From Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” a Good Man?
• How Did Arthur Miller Portray the Relationship Between John and Elizabeth Proctor in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller?
• How Are Women Portrayed in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”?
• How Does Arthur Miller Show Abigail’s Character in “The Crucible”?
• Does Arthur Miller’s Play “The Crucible” End in Hope?
• How Easily People Can Be Fooled as Portrayed in Arthur Miller’s Play “The Crucible”?
• How Does Miller Present Social Status in “The Crucible”?
• Why Was John Proctor Convicted of Witchcraft in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”?
• How Miller Creates Conflict in “The Crucible”?
• How Does Arthur Miller Explore Social Injustice in His Play “The Crucible”?
• How Arthur Miller Effectively Illustrates the Strength of John Proctor in His Play “The Crucible”?
• How Arthur Miller Makes Act Three of “The Crucible” a Dramatic Scene?
• Why “The Crucible” Remains Important Today?
• What Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” Has to Offer to Modern Readers Globally?
• How Does Miller Present the Character of Abigail in “The Crucible”?
• How Does Miller Use Reverend Hale in “The Crucible”?
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The Crucible Arthur Miller

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Arthur Miller confronts the “weight of truth," "weight of authority," and the "weight of law" in The Crucible. This play expresses the different complications that come along with having to bear each "weight." Many characters in the play conform...

Compare the ways in which The Crucible and Year of Wonders explore the conflict between appearance and reality. Kulin Gunathilake 12th Grade

Arthur Miller’s allegorical play, The Crucible , illustrates the parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the HUAC communist crisis, highlighting the injustice of McCarthyism. Alternatively, Geraldine Brooks intertextually takes a cue from the...

Essays About The Crucible: 10 Essay Questions for Students

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is one of the most-studied plays in American history. What are some of the top essays about The Crucible that people can write?

The Crucible , by Arthur Miller, is a play that focuses on The Salem Witch Trials. This is one of the most studied times in American history when people could be put on trial and brutally executed just for being suspected of being a witch. The primary instigator was Elizabeth Proctor, who was just 17 years old and started falsely accusing people of being a witch. The practice spread to children, such as Abigail Williams, and even men, such as John Proctor, were accused of being a witch. 

In the 15 months following the first accusation, 20 people were executed. The Crucible focuses on how the events of the witch trials unfolded. Take a look at a few possible essay topics that stem from the play.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers !

1. Who Is the Most Heroic Character in The Crucible?

2. what are the different types of judgment that take place in ‘the crucible’, 3. why is ‘the crucible’ considered to be timeless, 4. how does arthur miller explore mass hysteria through the lens of salem and his characters, 5. analyze the factors contributing to salem’s downfall and how they relate to the main theme of the crucible, 6. what changes does reverand hale go through during ‘the crucible’, 7. why do people accuse those who are different, and why aren’t they challenged, 8. the paper makes a consistent appearance throughout the play; what does it mean, 9. what is a crucible, and what is the meaning of the play’s title, 10. what issues present in “the crucible” do we still face today.

Even though you can write about many characters and describe why they are heroic, the most heroic character is John Proctor. The people of Salem widely respect him because of his independence. He also has a “sharp and biting way with hypocrites,” always sticking to his virtues.

A few points to touch on in this essay include:

• He is the main source of social authority in the town, and he is directly tied to the leaders of the Puritan Church. 
• He is also a deeply flawed person, as he is shown to be adulterous throughout the play and crosses the church more than once.
• He struggles with a deep moral conflict, growing throughout the play. 

Because of the growth he experiences during the story and the character traits he possesses, he is the most heroic character in the story.

It is relatively easy to look at the trials in The Salem Witch Trials and see them as a “Kangaroo Court,” where those accused don’t have a fair trial. At the same time, it is helpful to look at the different types of judgment that occur in the play. A few possible points to mention include:

• There is an element of legal judgment in the play, but it is mostly superficial. Danforth is responsible for legal judgment, but this is natural justice because of its dogmatic focus on reputation. 
• There is also an element of personal judgment, particularly when Proctor believes himself to be a “sinner” that has gone against the morals he holds himself to. 
• Finally, there is also spiritual judgment, as shown when Elizabeth assures Proctor that there is “no higher judge under the heaven.” The town is also fearful of God’s judgment throughout the play, contributing to mass hysteria.

The essay can look at these different types of judgment and how they impact the town during the play. 

A lot of people describe the play as a timeless one. The play is still relevant today, even though it focuses on events over 300 years ago. An interesting essay would look at why the play is still relevant today. Some of the reasons include:

• Mass hysteria can still happen today, and it might be worth looking at a few recent examples.
• Dogmatic religious persecution is still a very big problem in certain parts of the world, and a strong essay could highlight a few examples.
• A lot of people are still accused of crimes without any evidence, and the court of public opinion might find them guilty before a real trial has taken place.

These topics are so deep that it is possible to write a full essay on each of the individual points above, drawing parallels between them and the play. 

Many people say that The Crucible is the perfect example of just how badly instances of mass hysteria can unfold. Mass hysteria is arguably the most dominant theme of the play, as the people of Salem are engulfed by worries related to witchcraft and accusations of people worshipping the devil. 

It could be helpful to write an essay on how mass hysteria developed and evolved during the play. Some of the key points to note include:

• People who are consumed by mass hysteria are unable to think rationally.
• One rumor that Abigail creates leads to dozens of people being incarcerated in just a matter of days, despite the accusations being unproven.
• The effects of mass incarceration directly influence a very repressive society.
• Many people feel the need to join the repressive crowd because they want to be seen as religious.

Finally, the essay can also touch on how mass hysteria impacted not only those people who were accused but also those making the accusations. Then, the essay can discuss what finally brought these events to an end. 

Several factors contribute to the downfall of Ceylon and the events that unfold in The Crucible. A few examples include:

• Samuel Parris, Annie Putnam, and even Judge Danforth struggled with the living conditions of Salem, which caused people not to think straight. He rendered them susceptible to anyone offering the slightest explanation regarding the adverse living conditions.
• The rigid, religious, dogmatic society contributed to easy accusations, with people eager for someone to blame for the hard times.
• Family feuds also contributed to the events of The Crucible , causing the parents to believe the haphazard lies of their children.

Ultimately, these factors can be discussed in an essay on The Crucible. They directly feed into the main theme of mass hysteria stemming from religious dogmatism.

In the play The Crucible , Reverend Hale is one of the most important characters. He initially supported The Salem Witch Trials, but then he changed his mind. He even published a harsh criticism of the trials in the town of Salem.

Some of the key points to note include:

• He initially supported the trials, even saying, “ Before the Laws of God, we are as swine !”
• He is a perfect example of how a powerful religious figure can directly lead to mass hysteria.
• He eventually changes his mind when he loses faith in the court, seeing how immoral it is.

Reverend Hale undergoes one of the most dramatic transformations as the play unfolds. It is worth taking a closer look at his initial position, his final position, and the impact of his transformation on his life and the town. 

It might also be helpful to look at some of the biggest reasons people accuse those different from them. A few points to include in the essay might be:

• People tend to accuse those who are different because they are scared of them. They don’t know what to expect, and keeping them down might be the easiest way to allay their fears.
• People might also accuse those different from them because they see an easy target. They feel like they can elevate their social standing by taking advantage of easy prey.
• Finally, people might somehow accuse those different from them because they genuinely believe them to be “lesser” people. It might be helpful to draw a few parallels between the play and history.

It is also important to highlight why these accusations go unchallenged. Do they want a side with the person making the accusation? Or do they want to side with the person being accused? Some people try to ride the middle, not saying anything at all.

Ultimately, they agree with the person accusing by not saying anything because they are not challenging an accusation, even if it is without evidence. This could be an interesting topic to explore, and there are plenty of parallels between this topic and the play. 

In The Crucible , the paper shows up again and again. In other works of literature, it is commonly associated with truth and knowledge. After all, it is how events are recorded. This play is more closely associated with individualism and mortality. Some of the points to note include:

• The paper shows up in the play as the judicial list naming the people who have been condemned for witchcraft, demonstrating moral issues.
• Then, the paper shows up again, outlining the crimes Proctor is accused of, showing issues related to morality and individualism.
• The paper also shows up again when Proctor refuses to sign his testimony or have his false confession recorded with his signature on it or “posted on the church door,” alluding to morality and individualism.

These are just a few of the biggest ways that paper stands for morality and individualism. Of course, there are several other possibilities, and a strong essay would back up any claim with evidence from the play. 

Even though The Crucible focuses on The Salem Witch Trials, it is helpful to take a step back and think about why the play is named for a crucible. A crucible is a metal container that can melt substances when exposed to high temperatures. This essay will draw a parallel between the purpose of a crucible and its relation to the play.

A few key points to note include:

• Danforth states, “ we burn a fire in here… ” drawing a parallel between the fires of hell and the court proceedings that are about to unfold.
• The court’s goal is to separate good from evil, just as a crucible burns up evil inside the container, leaving only the good left.
• The town goes on a violent witch hunt, accusing people indiscriminately, just as the crucible fires can sometimes burn so hot that nothing is left.

There are plenty of parallels between the name of the play and the container for which it is named. 

Finally, it could also be helpful to write an essay on whether you believe the issues present in the play are still present today. A few points to touch on include:

• Many people are concerned with developing “fake news” and “alternative facts.” How do you think these issues are similar to the mass hysteria presented in The Crucible? 
• What role do you think leaders in our government are supposed to play, and how do you see our leaders falling short like those in The Crucible ? 
• How did the events of The Crucible eventually come to an end, and what do you think our leaders should do today? 

This topic can be very politically charged, but it is still important for people to think about. It can push even professional writers to think critically about what they believe, why they believe it, and what it might mean for the future. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing topics !

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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Book Review: Memoirist Lilly Dancyger’s penetrating essays explore the power of female friendships

This cover image released by Dial Press shows “First Love” by Lilly Dancyger. (Dial Press via AP)

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Who means more to you — your friends or your lovers? In a vivid, thoughtful and nuanced collection of essays, Lilly Dancyger explores the powerful role that female friendships played in her chaotic upbringing marked by her parents’ heroin use and her father’s untimely death when she was only 12.

“First Love: Essays on Friendship” begins with a beautiful paean to her cousin Sabina, who was raped and murdered at age 20 on her way home from a club. As little kids, their older relatives used to call them Snow White and Rose Red after the Grimm’s fairy tale, “two sisters who are not rivals or foils, but simply love each other.”

That simple, uncomplicated love would become the template for a series of subsequent relationships with girls and women that helped her survive her self-destructive adolescence and provided unconditional support as she scrambled to create a new identity as a “hypercompetent” writer, teacher and editor. “It’s true that I’ve never been satisfied with friendships that stay on the surface. That my friends are my family, my truest beloveds, each relationship a world of its own,” she writes in the title essay “First Love.”

The collection stands out not just for its elegant, unadorned writing but also for the way she effortlessly pivots between personal history and spot-on cultural criticism that both comments on and critiques the way that girls and women have been portrayed — and have portrayed themselves — in the media, including on online platforms like Tumblr and Instagram.

For instance, she examines the 1994 Peter Jackson film, “Heavenly Creatures,” based on the true story of two teenage girls who bludgeoned to death one of their mothers. And in the essay “Sad Girls,” about the suicide of a close friend, she analyzes the allure of self-destructive figures like Sylvia Plath and Janis Joplin to a certain type of teen, including herself, who wallows in sadness and wants to make sure “the world knew we were in pain.”

In the last essay, “On Murder Memoirs,” Dancyger considers the runaway popularity of true crime stories as she tries to explain her decision not to attend the trial of the man charged with killing her cousin — even though she was trained as a journalist and wrote a well-regarded book about her late father that relied on investigative reporting. “When I finally sat down to write about Sabina, the story that came out was not about murder at all,” she says. “It was a love story.”

Readers can be thankful that it did.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

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4 Takeaways as School Leaders Battle Charges of Tolerating Antisemitism

At a hearing in Congress, public school leaders from New York, California and Maryland forcefully buffed Republican attacks, drawing a contrast with university presidents.

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By Jacey Fortin

• May 8, 2024

House Republicans largely failed to land damaging blows on Wednesday as they questioned public school leaders from three politically liberal parts of the country, accusing them of “turning a blind eye” to an alarming rise in antisemitism in classrooms since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

In contrast to similar Congressional hearings for university leaders, which prompted upheaval at several colleges in recent months, the leaders of elementary and secondary school districts from New York City, Berkeley, Calif., and Montgomery County, Md., mostly managed to hold their ground. In some cases, they turned the charges of failing to confront antisemitism back on their Republican questioners.

The school leaders fielded rapid-fire questions from Republican members of a House education subcommittee on a broad range of accusations made by some Jewish students, parents, educators and advocacy groups. Those groups have filed complaints to the U.S. Department of Education, saying that the districts violated federal civil rights laws by allowing a hostile climate for Jewish students.

The leaders said that both students and faculty members who engaged in overt antisemitic acts had been disciplined. They also disputed some of the allegations, saying that subsequent investigations had not borne out the initial incendiary reports.

Here are four takeaways from the hearing.

Republicans failed to land the same heavy blows they did against university presidents.

The congressional inquiry into primary and secondary schools followed two contentious hearings on antisemitism in higher education .

At a hearing in December, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology fell into the trap of relying on lawyerly answers rather than appealing to common sense.

Then last month, Columbia University leaders took a different approach, promising a crackdown. That helped stir further protests and eventually led to arrests on the school’s Manhattan campus, prompting a surge of pro-Palestinian activism across the country.

The public school leaders seemed to fare better on Wednesday than the university presidents, assuming a calm and unapologetic posture and at times pushing back against tough questions from Republican committee members.

“Mr. Banks, does Israel have the right to exist as a Jewish state?” “Absolutely.” “Ms. Silvestre?” “Yes.” “Ms. Ford Morthel?” “Yes.” “Does — is the phrase, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ is that antisemitic?” “I think most Jewish people experience that as antisemitic, and as such, it is not allowed in our schools.” “You would say it is?” “I would say it is antisemitic.” “Ms. Silvestre?” “It is if the intent is the destruction of the Jewish people, yes.” “And it is. And it is, and so I would say I’d put you down as a ‘yes.’ You’re OK with that?” A ‘yes’?” “Yes.” “Ms. Ford Morthel?” “If it is calling for — sorry. “It’s a yes — you can just go yes or no.” “It is if it is calling for the elimination of the Jewish people in Israel. And I will also say that I recognize that it does have different meaning to different members of —” “I’m going to go ‘yes.’ I’ll put you down, ‘yes.’ I got a boogie because five minutes goes by so fast.”

They repeatedly stressed their dedication to the students in their districts. “We recognize the need to teach students to express themselves with respect and compassion,” said Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley schools, adding that the district passed a policy against hate speech last year.

Public school leaders seemed practiced in dealing with tough questions.

The three districts all serve diverse student bodies with a significant number of Jewish students. In all three, the school district leaders have had to respond to highly fractious debates over what kind of behavior and language veers into antisemitism .

They have also been through the crucible of the Covid pandemic, navigating the closing of schools and mask mandates.

At the hearing on Wednesday, that experience appeared to pay off.

David Banks, chancellor of the New York City schools, the nation’s largest district, in particular made it clear that he would not be cowed by tough questioning . “It is my responsibility to go before Congress to face this critical, complicated and highly charged issue head on,” he said in a Tuesday opinion column in The New York Post.

The three districts serve many students of color, as well as members of various faiths. In their testimonies, the leaders spoke to the necessity of protecting all of their students from discrimination.

“I stand up not only against antisemitism,” Mr. Banks said. “I stand up against Islamophobia and all other forms of hate. You can’t put them in silos.”

Mr. Banks pushed back especially hard, defending his actions and his city.

Mr. Banks responded forcefully at times to pointed questions from Republican lawmakers, including Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, who had tripped up university presidents at the December hearing on antisemitism.

He said that some of Ms. Stefanik’s accusations about antisemitic chanting at a Brooklyn high school had not been substantiated by an investigation.

At one point, Mr. Banks turned the tables on the politicians by blaming Congress for not doing enough to fight antisemitism.

If we really care about solving for antisemitism, and I believe this deeply, it’s not about having gotcha moments. It’s about teaching. You have to raise the consciousness of young people. And the challenge we have as a system is that we do have some adults who bring their own bias into the classroom. And we’ve got to figure out how do we unpack all of it at the same time. But the ultimate answer for antisemitism is to teach, to expose young people to the Jewish community so that they understand our common humanity. And I would certainly ask that to my colleagues from across the nation, and I would call on Congress, quite frankly, to put the call out to action, to bring us together to talk about how we solve for this. This, this convening for too many people across America in education feels like the ultimate gotcha moment. It doesn’t sound like people are actually trying to solve for something that I believe we should be doing everything we can to solve for.

The hearing, he said, felt like “the ultimate gotcha moment.” He added that the antidote to antisemitism is education.

“You have to raise the consciousness of young people,” he said.

Discipline of students and faculty was a major point of contention.

Republican representatives asked repeatedly about the kinds of disciplinary action that would be taken in response to acts of antisemitism on school grounds, and particularly whether educators accused of inappropriate actions had been, or would be, fired.

In response, the school leaders emphasized that antisemitism was unacceptable. “Let me be clear,” said Karla Silvestre, the school board president in Montgomery County. “We do not shy away from imposing consequences for hate-based behavior, including antisemitism.”

But the leaders mostly tried to avoid broad statements about the grounds for termination or suspension. In union districts, like the one in New York City, there are often lengthy processes that administrators have to follow when they pursue disciplinary action.

Ms. Ford Morthel said California’s strict rules regarding divulging personnel information can make people think teachers who cross a line are not punished. But she said that was not true, and action can be taken by district administrators privately.

When antisemitism rears its head, I believe we must respond. And we have. We have removed, disciplined or are in the process of disciplining at least a dozen staff and school leaders, including removing a principal in the middle of a school year. We have suspended at least 30 students.

Mr. Banks said that at least 30 students in New York City public schools have been suspended since Oct. 7, and roughly a dozen staff members were subject to discipline — the first time he has publicly shared specific details about repercussions related to antisemitic incidents.

Reporting was contributed by Troy Closson , Dana Goldstein , Annie Karni and Sarah Mervosh .

Jacey Fortin covers a wide range of subjects for the National desk of The Times, including extreme weather, court cases and state politics all across the country. More about Jacey Fortin

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The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin audiobook review – from the civil rights frontline

Law & Order’s Jesse L Martin narrates two powerful essays examining the Black experience in the US, the first in a series marking the author’s centenary year

F irst published in 1963 at the height of the US civil rights movement, James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time comprises two astonishing essays examining the Black experience in the United States and the struggle against racial injustice.

The first, My Dungeon Shook, takes the form of a letter to Baldwin’s 14-year-old nephew, and outlines “the root of my dispute with my country … You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.”

The second, Down at the Cross, is a polemic examining the relationship between race and religion, and finds Baldwin reflecting on his Harlem childhood, his encounters with racist police, and a spiritual crisis at the age of 14, which, triggered by his fears of getting drawn into a life of crime, “helped to hurl me into the church”. There, he was filled with anguish “like one of those floods that devastate countries, tearing everything down, tearing children from their parents and lovers from each other”.

The essays are narrated by the Law & Order actor Jesse L Martin, who highlights the rhythmic nature of Baldwin’s prose, and channels his anger and devastation at the unceasing suffering of Black Americans. This audiobook is one of several new recordings of Baldwin’s writing being published over the next few months, to mark the influential author’s centenary year, which also include Go Tell It to the Mountain, Another Country, Giovanni’s Room and If Beale Street Could Talk.

Available via Penguin Audio, 2hr 26min

Further listening

Fire Rush Jacqueline Crooks, Penguin Audio, 11hr 3min Leonie Elliott narrates this coming-of-age story set in the late 1970s about the daughter of a Caribbean immigrant who finds kindred spirits and thrilling new sounds at an underground reggae club.

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Two Sisters Blake Morrison, Harper Collins, 10hr 28min A tender account of the life of Gill, Morrison’s younger sister who died from heart failure caused by alcohol abuse, and his half-sister, Josie. Read by the author.

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• dissertation defense essays and applied microeconomics allegra cockburn

Dissertation Defense: “Essays in and for Applied Microeconomics“, Allegra Cockburn

Allegra Cockburn, University of California, Santa Barbara

Allegra is a PhD Candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, interested in Education, Development and Labor Economics. Her work has focused on quantifying the causal impact of groups that student's identify with, exploiting a novel natural experiment in South Africa. She also works on developing an estimator to estimate enumerator amplifying effects in Randomized Controlled Trial settings. More broadly, her work has focused on barriers to implementation, take-up and scale up of programs and interventions. Currently, she is particularly interested in using empirical techniques to examine ways to facilitate better education and employment outcomes with identity priming.

Allegra has experience teaching Econometrics at the graduate and undergraduate level, and experience designing surveys, managing field teams and fieldwork, liaising with partners and conducting analysis for large Randomized Controlled Trials. Allegra's work has been supported by the Fulbright Program and the National Research Foundation in South Africa.

This dissertation consists of two essays which use econometric methods to investigate topics in education, health and development economics, as well as a third essay which seeks uses econometric theory to improve treatment effect estimation for Randomized Controlled Trials. In the first chapter, I leverage a novel natural experiment in which incoming high school students are randomly assigned to be members of one of four groups, all of which share a common environment and common resources, to test whether manufactured identity can affect high-stakes student outcomes. This setting overcomes challenges to identification in applied work in identity economics: individual identities are often fixed over long periods of time or chosen endogenously. Using a dataset, I collect from the yearbooks of a South African school and student's; LinkedIn and Instagram profiles, I find robust causal evidence that social identity plays an important role in determining student outcomes, including grades on high-stakes senior year exams, sports participation, tertiary education, labor market and social outcomes. I use text analysis to investigate the traits and behaviors groups emphasize to shed light on which group prescriptions drive outcomes in certain directions.

In the second chapter, I exploit state-level variation in the adoption of Automatic Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) for Medicaid for children and CHIP in order to test whether the absence of administrative burden has an effect on self- perceived enrollment. Administrative costs associated with applications are thought to deter eligible recipients of public programs and, unsurprisingly, Automatic ELE led to an increase in program enrollment. However, advocates for administrative burden claim that it filters out recipients who would not make use of the associated service. I therefore test whether ELE has an effect on self-reported enrollment, using data from the American Community Survey (ACS). I find, in conflict with its effect on actual enrollment, ELE has a negative effect on self-reported enrollment, suggesting that, in the absence of application costs, recipients are not as aware of their own enrollment and providing evidence of the value that administrative burden can provide.

In the third chapter, based on joint work with Antoine Deeb, we leverage random assignment of enumerators to respondents to develop an estimator for enumerator amplifying effects in Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) with binary treatment. Although enumerators are widely used in RCTs to implement and track interventions, meaningful interactions with enumerators and their potential effect on outcomes are ignored when interpreting results and generalizing conclusions outside of experimental settings. Our proposed method provides researchers with a simple way to quantify and test for the presence of enumerator amplifying effects.

JEL Codes: J24, I25, Z13, O15

Event Details

Join us to hear Allegra’s dissertation defense. She will be defending her dissertation, “Essays in and for Applied Microeconomics“. To access a copy of the dissertation , you must have an active UCSB NetID and password.

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Joseph Epstein, conservative provocateur, tells his life story in full

In two new books, the longtime essayist and culture warrior shows off his wry observations about himself and the world

Humorous, common-sensical, temperamentally conservative, Joseph Epstein may be the best familiar — that is casual, personal — essayist of the last half-century. Not, as he might point out, that there’s a lot of competition. Though occasionally a scourge of modern society’s errancies, Epstein sees himself as essentially a serious reader and “a hedonist of the intellect.” His writing is playful and bookish, the reflections of a wry observer alternately amused and appalled by the world’s never-ending carnival.

Now 87, Epstein has just published his autobiography, “ Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life: Especially if You’ve Had a Lucky Life ,” in tandem with “ Familiarity Breeds Content: New and Selected Essays .” This pair of books brings the Epstein oeuvre up to around 30 volumes of sophisticated literary entertainment. While there are some short-story collections (“The Goldin Boys,” “Fabulous Small Jews”), all the other books focus on writers, observations on American life, and topics as various as ambition, envy, snobbery, friendship, charm and gossip. For the record, let me add that I own 14 volumes of Epstein’s views and reviews and would like to own them all.

Little wonder, then, that Epstein’s idea of a good time is an afternoon spent hunched over Herodotus’s “Histories,” Marguerite Yourcenar’s “Memoirs of Hadrian” or almost anything by Henry James, with an occasional break to enjoy the latest issue of one of the magazines he subscribes to. In his younger days, there were as many as 25, and most of them probably featured Epstein’s literary journalism at one time or another. In the case of Commentary, he has been contributing pieces for more than 60 years.

As Epstein tells it, no one would have predicted this sort of intellectual life for a kid from Chicago whose main interests while growing up were sports, hanging out, smoking Lucky Strikes and sex. A lackadaisical C student, Myron Joseph Epstein placed 169th in a high school graduating class of 213. Still, he did go on to college — the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — because that’s what was expected of a son from an upper-middle-class Jewish family. But Urbana-Champaign wasn’t a good fit for a jokester and slacker: As he points out, the president of his college fraternity “had all the playfulness of a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.” No matter. Caught peddling stolen copies of an upcoming accounting exam for $5 a pop, Epstein was summarily expelled.

Fortunately, our lad had already applied for a transfer to the University of Chicago, to which he was admitted the next fall. Given his record, this shows a surprising laxity of standards by that distinguished institution, but for Epstein the move was life-changing. In short order, he underwent a spiritual conversion from good ol’ boy to European intellectual in the making. In the years to come, he would count the novelist Saul Bellow and the sociologist Edward Shils among his close friends, edit the American Scholar, and teach at Northwestern University. His students, he recalls, were “good at school, a skill without any necessary carry-over, like being good at pole-vaulting or playing the harmonica.”

Note the edge to that remark. While “Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life” is nostalgia-laden, there’s a hard nut at its center. Epstein feels utter contempt for our nation’s “radical change from a traditionally moral culture to a therapeutic one.” As he explains: “Our parents’ culture and that which came long before them was about the formation of character; the therapeutic culture was about achieving happiness. The former was about courage and honor, the latter about self-esteem and freedom from stress.” This view of America’s current ethos may come across as curmudgeonly and reductionist, but many readers — whatever their political and cultural leanings — would agree with it. Still, such comments have sometimes made their author the focus of nearly histrionic vilification.

Throughout his autobiography, this lifelong Chicagoan seems able to remember the full names of everyone he’s ever met, which suggests Epstein started keeping a journal at an early age. He forthrightly despises several older writers rather similar to himself, calling Clifton Fadiman, author of “The Lifetime Reading Plan,” pretentious, then quite cruelly comparing Mortimer J. Adler, general editor of the “Great Books of the Western World” series, with Sir William Haley, one of those deft, widely read English journalists who make all Americans feel provincial. To Epstein, “no two men were more unalike; Sir William, modest, suave, intellectually sophisticated; Mortimer vain, coarse, intellectually crude.” In effect, Fadiman and Adler are both presented as cultural snake-oil salesmen. Of course, both authors were popularizers and adept at marketing their work, but helping to enrich the intellectual lives of ordinary people doesn’t strike me as an ignoble purpose.

In his own work, Epstein regularly employs humor, bits of slang or wordplay, and brief anecdotes to keep his readers smiling. For instance, in a chapter about an editorial stint at the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Epstein relates this story about a colleague named Martin Self:

“During those days, when anti-Vietnam War protests were rife, a young woman in the office wearing a protester’s black armband, asked Martin if he were going to that afternoon’s protest march. ‘No, Naomi,’ he said, ‘afternoons such as this I generally spend at the graveside of George Santayana.’”

Learned wit, no doubt, but everything — syntax, diction, the choice of the philosopher Santayana for reverence — is just perfect.

But Epstein can be earthier, too. Another colleague “was a skirt-chaser extraordinaire," a man "you would not feel safe leaving alone with your great-grandmother.” And of himself, he declares: “I don’t for a moment wish to give the impression that I live unrelievedly on the highbrow level of culture. I live there with a great deal of relief.”

In his many essays, including the sampling in “Familiarity Breeds Content,” Epstein is also markedly “quotacious,” often citing passages from his wide reading to add authority to an argument or simply to share his pleasure in a well-turned observation. Oddly enough, such borrowed finery is largely absent from “Never Say You’ve Had a Happy Life.” One partial exception might be the unpronounceable adjective “immitigable,” which appears all too often. It means unable to be mitigated or softened, and Epstein almost certainly stole it from his friend Shils, who was fond of the word.

Despite his autobiography’s jaunty title, Epstein has seen his share of trouble. As a young man working for an anti-poverty program in Little Rock, he married a waitress after she became pregnant with his child. When they separated a decade later, he found himself with four sons to care for — two from her previous marriage, two from theirs. Burt, the youngest, lost an eye in an accident while a toddler, couldn’t keep a job, fathered a child out of wedlock and eventually died of an opioid overdose at 28. Initially hesitant, Epstein came to adore Burt’s daughter, Annabelle, as did his second wife, Barbara, whom he married when they were both just past 40.

Some pages of “Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life” will be familiar to inveterate readers of Epstein’s literary journalism, all of which carries a strong first-person vibe. Not surprisingly, however, the recycled anecdotage feels less sharp or witty the second time around. But overall, this look back over a long life is consistently entertaining, certainly more page-turner than page-stopper. To enjoy Epstein at his very best, though, you should seek out his earlier essay collections such as “The Middle of My Tether,” “Partial Payments” and “A Line Out for a Walk.” Whether he writes about napping or name-dropping or a neglected writer such as Somerset Maugham, his real subject is always, at heart, the wonder and strangeness of human nature.

Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life

Especially if You’ve Had a Lucky Life

By Joseph Epstein

Free Press. 304 pp. $29.99

Familiarity Breeds Content

New and Selected Essays

Simon & Schuster. 464 pp. $20.99

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