Research Paper on Arthur Miller: Unearthing the Secrets Behind The Crucible

Introduction

Arthur Miller retells the secrets behind the writing of the play, "The Crucible," in which he was concerned with exposing the witches. His primary aim was to reveal the flawed processes usually pursued to predict the guiltiness of a witch alongside the provision of an imaginary description of these trails. Arthur Miller lived between 1995 and the year 2005. He was popularly known for writing the plays, "Death of Salesman," "The Crucible," alongside other Plays that saw him take part in the American Masters Film.

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In the tense period of McCarthyism, the top-notch playwright Arthur Miller got inspired to pen a drama that reflected the political and mass cultural hysteria produced when the government of the United States decided to suppress radical Leftist and communism in America. This desolate period influenced the personality of Arthur Miller as a playwright. After meeting his ally Elia Kazan, the famous director who had previously testified before the Un-American-Activities Committee House, Arthur Miller traversed Salem and Massachusetts to investigate the infamous Witch Trials of Salem of the year 1692. Upon returning from his tip, Arthur Miller had a recording of the controversial testimony by Kazan in which the directed mentioned the names of his fellow playwrights and actors linked to the causes of Leftist. That particular evening, Arthur Miller started writing his play, "The Crucible," which is one of his renowned Plays that employ the use of Witch Trials of Salem as criticism and allegory to the oppressive tactics of Senator Joseph MacCarthy.

Arthur Miller recalls the years they created the "The Crucible" 's structure but lost his fear having realized that fear does not go far as it can corrupt judgment. Whatever affects one generation is likely to pose a puzzled smile on the next. He also recalls the turn of events in 1964, Harold Clurman- the Incident at Vichy director displayed the film cast of Hitler's speech to enlighten them on the sense of Nazi-era in which his Play "The Crucible" was drawn. They watched Hilter facing a filled podium with people adoring him.

"The Crucible" was a representation of depression in which much of the author's depression branched out and was enhanced by the common era of depression by the emergence of European Fascism and the callous anti-Semitism it brought with it to power.

Critical Analysis and Synopsis (The Pearl by John Steinbeck)

"The Pearl" is an American novel authored by John Steinbeck. The presentation set off with Kino awake and withing a hanging box in which Coyotito (infant son) sleeps. He proceeds to monitor his wife, Juana, in her resting position and recalls of the family song- an old song of the ancestors as Juana begin preparing breakfast. The ancestors of Kino are seemingly the greatest artists of this family song. His wife Juana sings their son Coyotito some part of the song as Kino stares them, thinking that it is safety and life (Steinbeck 10).

Kino realizes there is motion around the hanging box where their son sleeps. It is a scorpion that slowly moves down the rope on which the box hangs. He recalls the evil's song, the enemy's music, as the family song cries plaintively. He stands firm ready to take away the scorpion; unfortunately, it falls on their Coyotito after shaking the rope. Kino rushes to grasp it but unlucky still, it falls on the son's shoulder and bites him. Kino kills the scorpion, but it is already late, the baby cries in pain as his mother Juana starts sucking the puncture left to eliminate the poison (Steinbeck 19).

With intense screams from Coyotito, Juan Tomas (a brother to Kino), and his wife, Apolonia comes in with their children as Juana directs them to get a doctor. However, the doctor comes not to their rugged brush houses, thus making Juana find the doctor herself. This particular incident translates into a neighborhood symphony as Tomas and Apolonia and beggars join them as she goes to the doctor. Her husband, Kino, becomes weak as they approach the home of the doctor since the doctor belongs not to his race but a race that views Kino as animals. Kino informs the doctor's worker of his child's critical condition, but the doctor declines to treat his son until he is sure that Kino has money and will be willing to provide small seeds (Steinbeck 26).

Analysis of the Pearl

The setting of the novel is in Mexican, among the impoverished Indian community of La Paz. Even though the story only concerns the essentiality of the couple in question, John uses Juana and Kino to symbolize the kind of society they live in. John presents Kino as everyone with typical concerns of individuals from all round social stations. Just a presented in his terms with the scorpion, he is a determined father who values his wife and son. At the begging of the story, Kino seems to be contented with his economic status despite a lack of wealth and hard life. Kino believes that his family is all he got in the world. The contrast of his contentment and panic hardens their hearts that all shall get better. Juana, as a woman, represents a feminine logic that supports the masculine prototype of Kino.

Moreover, despite the apt description with which the author begins the novel, he also presents this particular existence as precarious. The encounter of Coyotito with scorpion clarifies the possible danger faced by the family at all times as well as revealing the weight of their poverty, thus indicating the actual price of their existence, which the Kinos might not incur. The scorpion here is a sign of hidden dangers threatening Kino's family; hence it is analogous to the rest of the enemies planning to threaten Juana and Kino (Steinbeck 8).

This critical condition faced by the Juana and kino shows what their entire community undergoes, the community itself is significant in the development of this particular story. The doctor intentionally declines to treat his son (Steinbeck 21). The village from which Kino and Juana come from assumes its character, particularly when the two pay a visit to the doctor accompanied by their neighbors in close procession. The nameless villagers are represented by the chorus commenting on the story's developments, a judgment of events, and decisions that happen to Kino. The community idea is also essential in various songs Kino recalls. These songs are wholly symbolic and intend to stage him in the vast and less individual context as one of the community members with a sense of heritage to reinstate his position as the everyman. Of the two songs he recalls, the song of evil and family places the narrative in its appropriate context (diametric opposites),; mainly a parable with a clear definition of evil and good (Steinbeck 37).

The author also uses the character "doctor" to symbolize the dark forces of impunity and oppression faced by Juana and Kino. The doctor is a symbol of the societal system which values a monetary on human existence as well as the challenges faced by Juana and Kino. The racial division between them and the doctor performs a significant role in his protest to treat their son, Coyotito. In this particular chapter, John Steinbeck foresees the change of events in the character of Kino when he drums his fist on the gate of the doctor (Steinbeck 33). This incident suggests that Kino succumbs to anger and violence when faced by adversity but only hurts himself by doing so.

Analysis of the Author's Styles (The Pearl)

All seems to go contrary to what is expected. In the novel (The Pearl), John uses different writing techniques to teach lessons and to illustrate the theme of naturalism. The deliberate use of local color and Spanish in this book displays Steinbeck's love for his people by merely placing them above the working class. According to Steinbeck, his teenage friend Wagner lived in Mexico for several years and acquired Spanish from him. Moreover, Steinbeck's' father learned Spanish when cowboying for post-family while he had vast exposure to this language.

John Steinbeck also employs the use of Spanish names in his novel, such as Coyitito, Juana, Apolonia, and Juan Tomas, and to a setting known as La Paz. He as well presents a catholic priest, the main character in religious backgrounds and criticism. Additionally, the significant elements of catholic dominating the culture of Spanish are also evident in this book. They include God, heaven, and a church. John Steinbeck could have employed the idea of the church as a medium for criticizing the society and religion that adores God. Indeed, John may not be anti-catholic nor anti-christ. However, the portrayal of his jealousy of the people living in town and priest's greed somewhat reveals that individuals only use the religion cloak to camouflage their evil desires (Steinbeck 7).

The author also employs the use of saying such as "money cannot buy your happiness" to make the story interesting to the readers and also to depict the case of Juana and Kino mainly. The title of the novel "The Pearl" itself is a parable since it teaches a lesson as one of the specific kinds. Steinbeck presents to us an allusion of the Christian parable concerning the pearl from the biblical chapter, Matthew a reference of a character seeking to gain entry int heaven's kingdom. The parallel is presented through Kino- Mexican Indian diver who discovers a giant pearl immediately after his son's encounter with the scorpion. Kino attempts to use his pearl to obtain wealth through the diligence cost is too massive.

Indeed, the dominant theme in this novel is envy and greed, which dissolves the sense of gratitude one ought to have for the materials they have already. Kino's wife, Juana, vividly displays this concept after the attack of her husband kino and sustaining injuries from unknown assailants attempting to get away with the pearl; she tells Kino that the pearl is evil and suggests that they discard it before it causes the destruction (Steinbeck 39).

Works Cited

Abbotson, Susan CW. Critical Companion to Arthur Miller: a literary reference to his life and work. Infobase Publishing, 2007. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=QNBeyKfjCekC&lpg=PR5&ots=g57Ie_A0nX&dq=political%20and%20social%20background%20of%20Arthur%20Miller&lr&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q=political%20and%20social%20background%20of%20Arthur%20Miller&f=false

Caswell, Roger. "A musical journey through John Steinbeck's The Pearl: Emotion, engagement, and comprehension." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 49.1 (2005): 62-67. doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.49.1.7

Sianipar, Teoremanita Resty, Ahmad Idris Asmaradhani, and M. Pd Wijayadi. A STUDY OF MORAL VALUE AS REFLECTED IN THE CHARACTER THE PEARL BY JOHN STEINBECK. Diss. Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, 2013. http://repository.um-surabaya.ac.id/id/eprint/1777

Smith, Leonard. The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2016. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=-jJdDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&ots=wMKJxKnYUo&dq=the%20crucible%20by%20Arthur%20Miller%20&lr&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=the%20crucible%20by%20Arthur%20Miller&f=false

Steinbeck, John. The pearl. Penguin UK, 2011. http://www.kirstenenglish.com/uploads/2/5/6/7/25677021/the_pearl_e_book.pdf