Matt Donehue

1^st and 2^nd

11-24-15

The Crucible Review

The Crucible was a movie that was made to give the general audience of this generation the opportunity to understand what took place in the Village of Salem during the Salem Witch Trials. Before seeing the film I was given the opportunity to read an article, The Devil in Salem, and get a sneak peak of what the movie was going to be about.  While watching the movie I noticed some parts of the movie that were made for the audience and not historical; accuracy. In 1692, the puritans lived in a simple and mostly calm society. There were two scenes in the movie that I watched and clearly were made for the audience’s enjoyment than for the historical accuracy. One of the two scenes I noticed that was not historically accurate but more for entertainment, was when John and Abigail had a discussion about their love life. The other scene was near the end of the film, when john was standing in the water outside of the village grounds speaking about how he believed God was dead in Salem and that everyone was losing their minds.

There were scenes from the film The Crucible that were created for more of the audience’s entertainment than for historical accuracy. An example of this was when John Proctor was standing in water outside of the courthouse, yelling to the people of Salem “God is dead in Salem”. This scene was created to represent symbolism not historical accuracy. The water was meant to symbolize rebirth in Salem and “God is dead in Salem” was supposed to bring realization about how Salem was over reacting about witches. If this scene was made to be as historically accurate as possible, they would not have had the whole village people of Salem present when John Proctor said this and he most likely would not have been standing in water. This scene was made dramatic so that it would make the audience watching the film think it was one of the most important parts of the trials, even though it was really just an important part of the film.

Another scene in The Crucible that was made for the audience’s entertainment was when John Proctor and Abigail were talking outside of the courthouse. They were talking about their future and expressing love for each other. During that period, in a puritan society like Salem, that would never have happen. Although they talked, it was not the only thing that happened at the time. Near the end of their talk they shared a kiss goodbye. This is also not historically accurate and also would not have happened. Talking about having a relationship when you are already married in public for the puritans is seen as committing adultery and would have been risky for the situation. Also, kissing someone that you aren’t married to in public was serious crime. At the time committing adultery was a serious sin and could lead to death by hanging.   

Overall The Crucible and The Devil in Salem truly help me understand the Salem Witch Trials. At first, reading the article helped line up my thinking but the movie is what actually brought all my thoughts together. The part when John was standing in water was relatable to a lot of other stories I have seen, such as Big Fish or the childhood nursery rhyme, The Itsy Bitsy Spider. In the rhyme the water flushes out the spider and the sun shine comes out, and in the movie the truth comes out and Salem is saved. Watching The Crucible was entertaining, educational, and I would watch it again if I had the chance.