The Crucible

Arthur Miller

Okay, so all sorts of historical details are altered for the sake of character drama, but so what? ...more

Okay, so all sorts of historical details are altered for the sake of character drama, but so what? It does not change the fact that this is one heck of a great play that offers it all: romance, betrayal, psychology, murder, and more, all set in a sleepy little Puritan town obsessed with witches that has become the victim of the "games" of a few young girls. While I would hardly recommend it to someone going for deep facts of the Salem Witch Trials, this still draws on historical characters and does an excellent job of portraying them as real people. You feel for them, even the ones you hate. "The Crucible" is well-named as the pot that heats everything up, and Miller takes minor events and shows how they become the tragedy that was the witch trials. This is an incredibly powerful and important story that teaches messages as the drama entertains.   hide

It was one of those rare books that are forced upon you and then when you read it, you fall. Hard....more

It was one of those rare books that are forced upon you and then when you read it, you fall. Hard. While Miller might have written it with the McCarthy Era in mind, it applies very well to the current era of singling out a group of people and labeling them as 'evil'. I reread it a few months back and it still gave me the chills. Proof of what the power of fear has. I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone, though if you're not one for symbolism and parallels, this might not work as well. ;)   hide

We studied this in English Lit, and I'd read it previously and fallen in love with it....more

We studied this in English Lit, and I'd read it previously and fallen in love with it. Unfortunately my lecturer decided to show us the truly horrendous movie version with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, who annoys me on the best of days. I requested to be allowed to leave the class and read it two times during the lecture. This play is an amazing study of the Socio-Political climate during McCarthyist America, and being both a political satire in similar style to Wizard of OZ, and a moving exploration of madness in a small town is a must read for any discerning reader.   hide

Las brujas de Salem but we changed it to Las brujas que salen, My cousin Xenia was Tituba in the...more

Las brujas de Salem but we changed it to Las brujas que salen, My cousin Xenia was Tituba in the play that they did in el Teatro Presidente a long time ago, I was a child then, not going to school. and we wanted to know were our parents were going and then they told us what they had seen and Xenia was there and el Sr. Harry and la Sra. Eneida. Read the play and found out that even the puritan governor of Massachusetts was involved in the trial because how could these old biddies have property, it wasn't the costume and this good Christian/Protestant fellow was gong to help them go the way of the Christian martyrs.   hide

A great play derived from the court notes doccumenting the salem witch hunts in the...more

A great play derived from the court notes doccumenting the salem witch hunts in the 1800's Probably doesnt do much to help any feminst groups out there it pretty much show just how far women can go to get what they want...and these chicks well lets just say you HAVE to read it!!!   hide