https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3 "The Crucible" resonates with me because the story of John Proctor felt like a tragedy, and matters to the world because it has a timeless message: fear can make people do things that they never would have done before. The preservation of this message is shown in the fact that Arthur Miller wrote this 300 years later because he was inspired by a situation that might as well have been the Witch Trials all over again. I hope to learn more about why it is that people succumb to the mob mentality, and what gives them the strength to resist. en-us 2023-05-03 16:01:46 UTC 2023-05-23 15:01:08 UTC hello@padlet.com rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2576984528 2023-05-03 16:08:32 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2576984528 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577011299 I felt this poem was a great representation of what was most likely going through John Proctor's mind. Dahlen writes about if it is worth it to conform and use all your strength to do so; John Proctor had to weigh the costs. Should he be exiled from his community and hope that they do not put him do death because he fought these accusations, or should he have given in to the pressures of Salem's society and hoped that they let him turn his life around after admitting to 'Witchcraft'. It takes all the strength to be able to fight the uniformity of society.]]> 2023-05-03 16:30:00 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577011299 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577016357 Arthur Miller was born in 1915 in Manhattan, New York. He had parents who were Jewish immigrants and he watched as his father struggled through the Great Depression. Miller saved up his money and attended University of Michigan to learn more about his creative writing. Miller wrote is first play, "The Man Who Had All the Luck", in 1944, but it was not well received. In 1947, Miller's play "All My Sons" hit Broadway. Miller continued to have a successful career with the play "Death of a Salesman", winning a Pulitzer Prize and a Drama Critics Circle Award. Miller's final major work was "The Crucible" which was a modern day critique of Mccarthyism displayed through the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller's career began to decline when he was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and would not confess to Communism or name any others who were connected. He did not have many other productions until 1991 when he wrote "The Ride Down Mount Morgan" and "The Last Yankee". Through all of his plays, Miller attempted to explore the hardships of the American worker and the American dream in general. He died of heart failure in 2005.]]> 2023-05-03 16:34:00 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577016357 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577018742 "The Crucible" was written in the 1950s, which was a time of political turmoil for the United States. The United States was battling with Mccarthyism, the Red Scare, and the Cold War all at once. The Red Scare created so much fear it was overwhelming. Those who had the most to fear were artists in Hollywood. Many were accused of being Communists during the Red Scare, and were black balled from the entirety of Hollywood with their careers ruined. Arthur Miller faced this problem. He was accused of being a communist and was put on trial, however he would not name anybody when they asked who else was a conspirator. He stood his ground and faced his fear head on. Miller’s experiences inspired him to write the story of John Proctor. 
The Crucible takes place in Salem in 1692, otherwise known as the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Very similar to the 1950s there was so much hysteria and fear that a single accusation of witchcraft could ruin your livelihood. Miller portrayed this through John Proctor, his wife Goody Proctor, and the other townspeople.]]> 2023-05-03 16:36:00 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577018742 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577050112 This art applies to my question because the colorful grass is hidden within the black and white tall grass. The colorful grass can represent those who have not conformed. It is fighting its way through the tall grass to try and poke out and be seen, just as people want their opinions heard. It also applies because there are more pieces of colored than expected. When banned together as a group, it is easier to fight against conformity.]]> 2023-05-03 17:00:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2577050112 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2593132684 A metaphorical 'witch hunt' is when others in society begin to accuse and question others about different beliefs. Many believe that the modern day version of a witch hunt is Cancel Culture. This is when someone has an opinion that the internet does not agree with, and they get condemned for believing so. This has become a modern day version of the Salem Witch Trials because people can be cancelled for anything. Most of the time, the public creates a mob mentality towards an opinion, and does not let any other option be shared. If you see the other side of the opinion, you fear receiving hate online and in your everyday life. Just like when people would anonymously accuse others in Salem of partaking in witchcraft, online it becomes easier to 'cancel' someone because there is the feeling of anonymity being behind a screen. Many have lost jobs and their livelihoods over being 'cancelled' just as those who were accused of being a Witch.]]> 2023-05-16 13:47:25 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2593132684 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2595059127 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is another example in literature about having to persevere to resist conformity. Being in Alabama during the 1920s, segregation was very prevalent. When Tom Robinson was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell, he needed someone to defend him to try and prove his innocence. Atticus Finch agreed to do so. Atticus always preached kindness to his children and made sure they were not the ones partaking in the racism. Atticus Finch faced many opposers. The entire town was against him defending Tom Robinson just because Tom was black. They threatened Atticus and shunned him from the town. However, this never deterred Atticus from following what he believed was right. He did not conform to society, he acted individually out of empathy and basic respect for others.]]> 2023-05-17 17:30:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2595059127 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2595060467 To understand how what gives someone the strength to resist conformity, we must understand the scenarios in which people struggle the most. The first place to look is Solomon Asch's study of conformity. Asch brought in a group of five participants, four of which were in on the experiment (confederates). Participants were shown three line segments of different lengths, and were then shown a fourth segment. The fourth segment was the same length as one in the first group, and participants were asked to make this connection. The four confederates purposely answered the question with the wrong line segment, and then the participant was asked to say their opinion. You would think that many would go with the answers that are obviously correct, however you would be wrong in thinking that. 76% percent of participants conformed to those around them at least one time in the study. This shows that even when people know something is wrong, they will conform because of the group around them.

Another study that connects to conformity in the Salem Witch Trials is Stanley Milgram's Experiment on obedience. Milgram ran an experiment where the participant was told to give a spark of electricity to the learner who was answering the questions every time they answered wrong (the learner was in on the experiment). With each question, the voltage was raised. In the room with the participant was a person wearing a white coat acting as the authority figure. This person would say things to the participant that guided them into continuing with the shocks. Milgram found that 65% of participants proceeded to give shocks even when their learner was unconscious. This study proves that an authority figure and someone's obedience to them is also what causes people to conform. It makes people do things they they would never do, and creates hysteria.]]> 2023-05-17 17:32:02 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2595060467 rmaclean2023 https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2600825599 2023-05-23 01:28:33 UTC https://padlet.com/rmaclean2023/qb6g37p9h89cexz3/wish/2600825599