The Crucible

Oh my it has been a long time! Before we get into the review I owe you all a little update. Things have been hectic in school, health, and personal life. But for now, let’s get into the review and thank you for joining me again!

I am now a junior in high school and we just finished The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I’m not usually one for plays but I thought I’d give my input considering it is a classic. For those that don’t know- here’s a little background. The Crucible takes place during the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. It’s Miller’s dramatic take on the concept of witch hunts seeing as he wrote it during the witch hunt he experienced in the McCarthy area. I will be judging this book on two different components, the impact of this book and the entertainment value. With most novels I read in my spare time I would judge it on my opinion and attitude towards it, but this play is a bit different. Personally I feel like this was intended to really make you think and be more of an intellectual read so I will be diving deeper into that.

Entertainment

Personally this was not a play I would read for fun. It made me really think about history and the nature of witch hunts, but it was not my style. If you are a drama and theater fan I see no reason why this wouldn’t be a good read. For me I enjoy more fantasy or science fiction. I like the thrill behind a world that is completely new and shaped by the author. The twists that can ensue with a world not bound by our worlds laws is entertaining . I also am not a big fan of plays because I don’t enjoy reading every little detail of how the character moves and such.

Looking at the plot and not the fact that it’s a play, I also did not find it entertaining. It was a drama for sure. There were so many twists and the ending was quite dramatic. I didn’t really enjoy the characters. I couldn’t relate to any of them and their logic didn’t make any sense to me. During the trials I was so confused on what was happening because I didn’t really understand where their logic and laws were coming from. If you don’t have a deep understanding of Puritan society, laws, and religion I feel like this would be a harder read. Personally, I just found it slightly dry and confusing.

Intellectually

I understand why they make us read this in school. It goes a lot deeper than just one specific witch hunt. We learn about other witch hunts throughout history and the causes and effects of them. We go into the topics of racism, sexism, Puritan society, and so on. It was an interesting read and really makes you think about history and society. It was a good story to brew conversation.

The author intended this and executed it flawlessly. He made the point he wanted to and more. There’s not a lot to go over in this section but I wanted to touch on it because it’s the backbone of this read.

In conclusion, it wasn’t a very entertaining read but it did make me think. If you’re into reads that have a more intellectual side to it, especially plays, I would recommend. If you’re a person that is more into a interesting, fast paced read, I would not recommend.