The Crucible

One major difference between the play and the movie is how it starts. The play starts out in the upper room of Reverend Parris' house. There are people gathered around Betty, trying to figure out why she will not wake up. In the movie the first scene is a bunch of the girls from the village in the forest dancing around a fire, trying to charm the boys. The director most likely did this to put emphasis on the dancing, and also to show why Betty and Ann Putnam would not wake up. This change in the beginning only changes your mindset, not the meaning of the play.

A similarity between the play and the movie is Abigail Williams. Throughout both, she is the same character; deceitful, selfish, and wicked. Both portrayals show her character well. Her love for John Proctor is shown clearly in both. The director kept  her character the same because her role is so crucial to how showing how the Salem Witch Trials started. If her character would have been changed, the story would have been drastically different. The girls wanted to confess, but Abigail refused to blacken her name. This clearly shows that Abigail Williams is the reason for the start of the Salem Witch Trials, and if the director of the movie had changed anything about her character the movie would not have matched up with the book.

I think the movie did a good reproduction  of the play. Although some things were changed, the main idea remained the same throughout both. The characters were kept the same from the play to the movie. If the movie had not made any changes to the play, we would not have any other views on this event; taking away any room for discussion on the matter. The overall theme was the same, however i prefer the movie to the play. I like how the movie starts and ends more so than how the play starts and ends. The movie put more emphasis on the girls deceiving everyone right away instead of leaving that to question, and the end of the movie seems to fit the characters that are being hanged. It shows how trivial the trials were and gives the people a better reason to stop them. The Salem Witch Trials are represented well in both portrayals.