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63 OCTOBER 2019 words are spoken in defense of Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, who is arrested for witchcraft. Although Elizabeth would be given a stay of execution because she was pregnant (she was exonerated a year later), 19 innocent people, in addition to Corey, were hanged for refusing to confess to witchcraft. In the play, as well as the annals of history, a group of young girls, under the leadership of Williams, becomes the center of the controversy. Having been influenced by tales told by Tituba, Rev. Parris's Barbadian slave, the girls begin acting strangely. When they are caught dancing naked in the woods one night by the town minister (Parris), the coterie of girls deflects punishment by concocting stories that certain women in the town are forming pacts with the devil. Contrary to logic, their indictments were taken as law. The Crucible has been performed on stages across the world. It has also been made into several film and television adaptations, as well as an opera by Robert Ward in 1961. The latter won both the Pulitzer Prize for Music as well as the New York Critics' Circle Award. But the play is about more than late-17th-century Salem or mid-20th-century Washington. At its heart, The Crucible speaks of individual conscience in the face of societal conformity. It is a story about thinking critically in the midst of popularized misinformation and allegiance to superstitions. Proctor remains true to himself and his beliefs when faced with the madness that enveloped Salem. He will not acquiesce to the hysteria, even though it is sanctioned by those in power. Proctor employs reason and thinks for himself, which distinguishes him from the madness of the mob. He is even willing to die for what he knows to be true. This is a pertinent lesson for us as we approach the third decade of the 21st century. In an age when we are becoming more divided politically—an era in which bipartisanship has become a byword—Arthur Miller teaches us to think for ourselves and rise above the fashionable talking points emanating from the right and the left. Furthermore, each generation produces a scapegoat to bear the blame for whatever frightens them. The practice did not end in Salem Village, nor with McCarthyism. The LGBTQIA+ community was blamed for the AIDS epidemic (originally called "gay cancer") when it was discovered in the early 1980s. Muslims were harassed in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Today, immigrants and refugees, seen as a monolith, are viewed with suspicion. The origins of racism, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, classicism, and every other plague that infects the human heart are ignorance and fear. Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the progressive Canadian rock trio Rush, captures this sentiment best in the final line to their aptly titled 1981 song, "Witch Hunt": "Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand / Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand." 85 Andover Street Rt. 114, Danvers 978.774.4080 giblees.com One Liberty Square Boston 617.350.6070 zarehboston.com CUSTOM SUITS IN AS FEW AS 1O DAYS FROM $995 BRANDS & FABRICS FROM BRIONI CANALI ZEGNA LORO PIANA OXXFORD COPPLEY HICKEY FREEMAN ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA SCABAL COME IN ONCE, YOU'LL BE A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE!