Zempoalteca 1

Joshua Zempoalteca

Mr. Sira

Cp English 3

November 18, 2016

The Crucible

Before the 21th century, witchcraft and unnatural events were heavily believed by many

pious people, and even by people who did not consider themselves to be extremely religious;

however, instead of those irrational beliefs going away, they continue to occur today. In Arthur

Miller’s play, ​The Crucible​, and in Nicholas Kristof’s article, “Extended Forecast: Bloodshed”,

both demonstrate the causes of unreasonable actions that come from fear. Fear and a lack of

certainty in both “Extended Forecast” and in Arthur Miller’s ​The Crucible​ influence people to

undertake in exaggerated events, but different reasons cause this to happen.

Although these two writings are similar, there are some differences between them. In

The Crucible,​ the witch hunts were mainly due to accusations of people compacting with the

Devil and going against God. An example of this is when Danforth claims, “Reproach me not

with the fear in country; there is fear in the country because there is a moving plot to topple

Christ in the country” (Miller 103). It was heavily believed that treason was occurring, and if

there someone who claimed nothing was happening, they would either be called a liar and

accused as well, or no one would pay attention to that person. In “Extended Forecast”, whenever

phenomenons occur in the weather, more executions occur to supposed witches. However, it can

get even worse. “In bad years, the killings explode”, claims Kristof. Also, another difference

between these two are the age groups: old women are targeted in “Extended Forecast”, which is
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prevalent in rural Tanzania, but anyone was targeted, regardless of age. However, these two still

have striking similarities.

​ The first striking similarity between these two writings is witches and unreasonable

conclusions. They had scapegoats ,who were blamed to explain the problems,to blame for their

causes, and these would lead to eventual deaths​. The people in charge of these executions

believed they were doing the right thing. An example of this would be when Reverend Hale

claimed that he is,​ “I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof

so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (Miller 104). It demonstrates how

people were stubborn . When the phenomenons in weather stop occurring after supposed witches

are executed, /the executors believed they did something for the greater good, just like the people

in ​The Crucible ​believed that they were cleansing the town witches and sorcery.

All in all, when people have fear and are uncertain, they tend to do extraordinary “solutions”

to ease their discomfort, and it even continues to this day. “Extended Forecast” and ​The Crucible

share some common events, but they also differ. The same concepts mentioned earlier are still

happening today, which is unbelievable.