Crucible 3

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, shows human nature in its characters.  Dictionary.com defines human nature as "the character of human conduct, generally regarded as produced by living in primary groups." The site also defines it as "... less than perfect."  This is important to the rest of my blog because I would like to focus on the flaws of each.  The characters each have their own personalities as I have discussed in my last blog and they all follow human nature in the manner in which they solve their difficulties.

Human nature is important to analyse in Puritan writing.  Puritans believed in God, and their lives were based around his teachings.  They would strive to follow in his footsteps.  Their lives were supposed to be sinless and as close to the bible as possible.  This is why human nature and error is important to analyse in Puritan life.

The Crucible demonstrates human life in the way the characters are curious.  Curiosity is part of human nature.  Abigail was curious to try witch craft and see what it was, so she tried it (Miller 18). In fact many of the girls were curious to try witchcraft (Miller 18-22).  Parris was curious of what Abby and Betty were doing dancing in the woods with Tituba, so he decided to investigate (Miller 10).  Lastly throughout the book, there are many people curious if witchcraft is actually occurring (Miller Act III).

Another aspect of human nature is flaws and the want to cover them up.  In The Crucible, Abigail makes the mistake of trying witchcraft (Miller 18).  She tries to cover this by blaming others and saying they made her do it. One such person was Tituba (Miller 42).  Another flawed person is John Proctor.  John used to sleep with Abigail even though he was married to Elizabeth Proctor (Miller 21-24).  He admits this to his wife (Miller 49-55), and then tries to not have word get out past that. This shows two of the ways people deal with their flaws. They can admit them or try to cover them up.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, New York: Penguin Plays, 1982. Print.