How has the exploration of “The Crucible,” deepen your understanding of diverse, complex ideas about identity, others, and the world?
With “The Crucible” I have been able to see different people’s opinions depending on their social standings. “The Crucible” shows that what someone may think is right, another person may find it extremely unacceptable. What people define themselves can be greatly changed by other’s opinions and expectations of the said person. With identity, people want to be able to fit in and to be accepted into society. They want to be able to be “well known” and have a “good reputation” among other people. There are people throughout the world who still live in their own little bubble and don’t accept other people of other faith and culture. People then who are part of these communities and want to express themselves in different ways feel oppressed to do so and are forced to follow the status-quo or to put on a mask to hide their true selves. In the end, I think that “The Crucible” shows that the world needs to learn how to broadens it’s views on society as a whole and teach people that there isn’t always one way. People should be more open minded about other people’s beliefs and lifestyles and realize that there isn’t “right” way to live and people shouldn’t be judged without real proof.
How and why have you responded to, “The Crucible” in a personal, creative, and critical way?
For “The Crucible” showed the mindset that people used to have in the past. We can compare it to today and we can see that people have or have not changed to this mindset. Today there are still many people who won’t accept other points of view or think that they’re the one who’s right and everyone else’s opinion is wrong. I think that “The Crucible” shows the extreme side of the negative affects of someone who has more power and word over others. Since everyone would trust the girls’ word without hesitating, there were many people who had their lives lost. This is a key example of people being lead blindly. I also think that personally, “The Crucible” displays the lack in personal self confidence. People would easily buy into each other’s pressure and submit to them. An example is Abigail’s control over Mary and how she almost immediately got Mary back on her side again. With this, it shows the lack of self independence and the fear of other’s. The last thing is that it also shows that people are unable to really learn the consequences of something unless they really experience it. At first, the accusations were to just get rid of people that they didn’t like, but then it slowly turned into them accusing more people to save themselves from death. In general, I think that “The Crucible” outlines the need for learning lessons and weighing out your morals and values for which is more important.