Relevance+in+Modern+Society

Relevance of The Crucible The themes discussed in The Crucible by Arthur Miller are timeless.One main theme in the novel that is still relevant today is the relationship between intolerance and fear.Intolerance usually arises from fear and there is intolerance in every society.In the play, the characters are intolerant of people who do not conform.If someone is not very religious or has different beliefs they are accused of working with the Devil and doing witchcraft.Today someone could openly say they don’t believe in God without fear of being hanged but intolerance can be seen in racial and gender discrimination so the theme of intolerance is still relevant today. Another theme in the story is hysteria.In the novel, the court believes Abigail when she says Elizabeth is a witch even though Elizabeth is respected.Hysteria can also be seen during the time of the Red Scare when a lot of people were being accused of being communists.It can also be seen today in our fear of terrorists. Maintaining their reputations is very important to the characters in this novel.For example, Parris is more concerned about being associated with witchcraft than he is about his daughter who is in a coma, and Proctor’s wife is sent to jail because he hesitates in admitting that he had an affair.Maintaining reputations is not that important today because people are not very judgmental in modern society.President Clinton was not impeached despite having an affair which shows that reputations are not that important.Sometimes nonconformity is even a good thing.For example, celebrities with bad reputations get more publicity than normal celebrities.However, maintaining a reputation is still important to politicians today.