Download he is respected by the town`s people and has a quiet

‘Non Shakespearean drama reveals the issues of characters caught in crises.’
To what extent do you agree with this view?
Discuss this idea with close reference to one or more non-Shakespearean dramas.
Non- Shakespearean drama allows the audience to view the issues of characters
caught in crises. This is clearly evident in the play The Crucible, written by Arthur
Miller. The play is set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan society in the time of
witch hunts. The play was intended as a scathing commentary on similar witch hunts
about Communism conducted by Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950’s. The author
reveals characters’ crises and their desire to preserve reputation and personal
power, the crises of faith in the system, and the dilemma over whether or not to tell
a lie, and uses the characters of Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth and
John Proctor to illustrate the effects of these crises, and how the characters respond
to them.
At the start of the play we see Abigail Williams caught in the crisis of her desire to
preserve her reputation and personal power. This is revealed to the audience after
she is seen conjuring spirits with a group of girls in the forest, by her uncle Reverend
Parris. Her reputation in Salem is already questionable at this time as she has been
rumoured to be having an affair with John Proctor. This is shown when her uncle
asks her, “Your name in the town, it is entirely white, is it not?” to which she
responds, “There be no blush about my name”. This shows that her reputation is
disputed even by her own family, and she is quick to deny any wrongdoing. She
further responds to being caught in this new crisis by blame shifting. First, she
accuses her uncle’s slave, Tituba, when she claims, “She made me do it!” This shows
that she is already “skilled at dissembling” as Miller explains in the play’s stage
directions. She then augments her power by threatening the other girls to keep quiet
about what really happened, when she says, “I’ll bring a pointy reckoning that will
shudder you!” Abigail’s other crisis is her fear of losing John Proctor. She deals with
this fear by accusing John’s wife, Elizabeth, of “sending her spirit out” to control her,
and she is able to do this as she has complete power over the court, with her story of
witches in Salem. Abigail seeks to overcome her crisis and preserve her own position
at the expense of everyone else, regardless if they are innocent or not. The audience
learns that she is not admirable, rather despicable and evil, by the way she responds
to her crises of both reputation and power, and her desire to have John. Ultimately,
she ends up losing everything anyway, as eventually the truth is realised, but not
without consequences to the towns’ people.
Mary Warren, the Proctor’s servant, faces the dilemma of whether or not to tell the
truth or a lie, in the face of peer pressure. This crisis is revealed as she is too weak to
withstand the influence of strong characters such as John and Abigail. Mary crumbles
under pressure from John and agrees to expose the lies of the girls’ accusing
innocent people of being witches, as being ‘pretence’. Although she does not have
malicious motives in accusing witches, she enjoys her brief period of authority in
court. However, she becomes conflicted when she realises people are dying due to
the hysteria created by the girls’ accusations. She tries to warn Abigail by saying,
“Witchery’s a hangin’ error…We must tell the truth, Abby!” Mary is not calm under
pressure of the court, and lacks the imagination to summon hysteria when tested by
Judge Danforth. She panics and responds by turning to John and crying out, “You’re
the devils’ man!” which leads to his arrest. Mary is easily bullied into conformity with
the majority, which shows she has minimal understanding of the implications of her
actions, and the effect on innocent people. She changes her mind from telling the
truth to lying due to the pressure put on her by Abigail as she says she will,” bring a
pointy reckoning that will shudder you”. She therefore changes her mind for an
ignoble reason, which has consequence for John and the Salem community. The
audience learns how difficult it is to stand in the face of peer pressure, which is
shown by Mary’s response to her crisis, as her choice to join the vocal majority, is
made for all the wrong reasons.
Elizabeth Proctor is involved in crises throughout the play. She faces a moral
dilemma of her need to let John make his own decision about his confession, and
whether or not to tell a lie to the court about John’s past adultery with Abigail. These
crises are revealed at the start of the play as we see there is still a strong sense of
separation between herself and her husband in the aftermath of his affair with
Abigail. She despises Abigail as she believes, “She wants me dead. She thinks to take
my place, John”, which shows she still cares for John and doesn’t want Abigail to
have him. Also, she proves she still loves John as she lies in court in an attempt to
save John’s reputation. She will not say that her husband “turned from her” to
Abigail. However, this lie had terrible consequences as John had earlier confessed
his adultery and claimed about Elizabeth, “In her life, sir, she have never lied”. The
audience is also surprised that she would go against her strong religious principles to
tell this lie, which shows that Elizabeth’s love for her husband is stronger than her
love for the truth. This is a noble reason to lie for, as she is lying to save an innocent
man. Elizabeth faces further crisis when John asks whether he should confess to
witchcraft in order to live. She understands John’s dilemma over whether to make a
confession to witchcraft or not, but she lets him make his own decision: “Do what
you will…But let none be your judge, there be no higher judge under heaven than
John Proctor is.” She responds to his decision to be hanged by saying, “He have his
goodness now. God forbid I take it from him”. The audience learns that it is better to
let someone make their own decision that is truthful and noble, rather than to
influence their decision for the wrong reasons, and this is clearly shown in Elizabeth’s
response to the crisis posed by John’s dilemma and ultimate decision.
John Proctor is the central character of the play; he is respected by the town’s
people and has a quiet confidence about him. However, he becomes involved in the
crisis of his need to stay true to his principle even at the cost of his life, in the
aftermath of his affair with his former servant Abigail. John experiences guilt over his
adultery with Abigail, and this guilt makes him indecisive during important decisions.
His crisis is revealed in court, as he has to make the decision to risk his reputation to
stop Abigail and the other girls, so he can save his wife and the Salem community. He
eventually sacrifices his honour and tells the judge, “I have known her (Abigail), sir”.
However, this confession only ends in him being sent to jail, as Elizabeth makes the
unexpected decision to lie about his adultery in court. John responds to being sent to
jail by shouting his loss of faith in the system, crying, “You are pulling down heaven
and raising up a whore!” Towards the end of the play John has the chance to confess
to witchcraft and survive, but instead he chooses to keep his integrity and die with
honour, despite Reverend Hale claiming, "Life is God's most precious gift; no
principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it". Proctor’s response to his
crisis is that it is better to die for the truth than to live a lie. When he refuses to sign
the confession and lose his name and true self because “he cannot have another
[name] in [his] life”, the audience learns that the truth must be told at all costs.
Throughout the hysteria and crises within Salem, Miller is able to successfully use
drama to view the issues of characters caught in crises. Throughout the play the
audience is able to relate to the responses made by characters in crises, to their own
experiences and their own society. We learn that when faced with the crisis of
exposure of personal wrongdoing, some, like Abigail, may respond with aggressive
assertions of innocence, and then seek to shift the blame onto others, acting to
preserve their own reputation at any cost. Some, like Mary Warren, may recognise
the morality of telling the truth, but be unable to summon and maintain the
necessary courage and strength to stand up in the face of the vocal majority. Some,
like Elizabeth, may initially tell an untruth to save a loved one, but then may
surrender to the need for loved ones to independently determine their own fate.
Finally, some may show superior moral strength in holding true to their principles,
even if it be at the cost of their own life. Miller uses the ordeal of the emotional
heat created by the crises in The Crucible and the characters’ responses to
demonstrate how the ultimate purity of human spirit can be truly distilled and
triumph so that injustice can be recognised and condemned.