In the late 1800s, Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared, “God is dead, and we have killed him.” His statement is not meant literally, as if God had passed away; instead, it is meant as a comment on culture. Arthur Miller borrows this famous phrase for the climax of The Crucible, putting it in the mouth of a furious John Proctor as he condemns the court’s continued support of Abigail (“you are pulling down Heaven and raising up a whore!”) When one writer refers directly "speaks to" another in their work, literary critics call this intertextuality: the “shaping” of one text by another. Think of it like a chemical reaction, except with ideas. What kind of intertextual “reaction” does Miller create by mixing Nietzsche’s words with his own? Knowing as he did that most readers would associate this phrase with Nietzsche’s writings, what was Miller trying to tell them? How do you interpret Nietzsche’s point, and how is Miller making a similar point in his play? These are the questions you will address in your post. Start by reading Nietzsche’s original “death of God” text, The Parable of the Madman, here: http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/friedrich_nietzsche_quotes.html Then, if you want, check out these links for some additional information: http://www.philosophy-index.com/nietzsche/god-is-dead/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrI5WQ4u7MY And when you feel ready, write a paragraph giving your interpretation of Nietzsche’s statement and its thematic relation to Miller’s play in general, and Act III’s climax in particular.
73 Comments
Victoria Sullivan
10/4/2014 04:09:14 am
Arthur Miller in The Crucible, had Proctor say "God is dead." I think he said this because everything that has happened, has gone wrong. Everything that Proctor attempts to make better, only blows up in his face and makes everything worse. By saying "God is dead," this means that he does not believe that God is helping him anymore. Their religion makes them believe that God is above all else, and that he has a predetermined goal for everyone. But because nothing good is happening to Proctor, he chooses to say that God is no longer alive or present in his life. When Friedrich Nietzsche says "God is dead, and we have killed him," he's not talking about God literally being dead. Friedrich Nietzsche's point is a little bit different than my perspective. He's talking about today's culture, and our ways of being. One take on it is that today, people don't rely on God as much as they do for other things. For example, technology is something that many people rely on. People can do fine without God, so this is where he gets the phrase "God is dead, and we have killed him," because he feels that society truly has killed God and his ways.
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Alex Sosa
10/5/2014 06:58:09 am
In the story of the Crucible, Proctor speaks of God being dead. In the Puritan religion, the belief is God can save them. They trust he is at a higher position than anyone else. By saying God is dead, Proctor is stating with all the cruel things happening around them, God could not possibly be alive. He is stating that if God isn't helping them, where is he, and why isn't he saving all these innocent people? Friedrich Nietzsche has a different perspective. When he says, God is dead, he is saying that the humans are the ones who have killed him. According to Nietzsche, we are all sinners. Because of all the horrible things we have done, God, or rather his teachings are no longer existing. Both of the speakers believe people in our world have no longer turned to God because of their actions. They aren't following God, instead, are becoming cruel and ignoring the correct way of life.
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Debra Tuberion
10/11/2014 02:41:53 am
I found what you said to be very interesting, Alex. I never thought of what Proctor said to be taken that way, but you opened up a new perspective for me. After reading what you said, I completely agree. He is saying that since all of these bad things are happening in their town, Salem, God could not possibly be alive otherwise this would not be happening. I find it interesting that you thought about it that way. Also, I completely agree with what you said about Nietzsche. I took what he said the exact same way that you did.
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Joanne
2/20/2015 12:06:53 am
This is exactly what I Think, you couldn't have said it any better. Great job!
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Debra Tuberion
10/6/2014 06:50:10 am
In the book The Crucible, John Proctor claims that "God is dead". In my opinion, I think he is referring to his town and community. Everyone has become so brainwashed with the idea of witchcraft, that they are not even worried about God anymore. They are not focusing on their religion and what is important, so John Proctor means that God is dead within their community based on the way everyone is acting, Friedrich Nietzsche believes that we, as humans, killed God ourselves. What he means is that we no longer value God the way we should. We value other things and rely on other things besides God. Nietzsche also states "What are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchres of God?" Obviously he is trying to say that we are more focused on basic things rather than God himself.
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Alma Sanchez
10/6/2014 07:48:36 am
In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor proclaims to everyone that "God is dead!". IN my opinion, I believe that Proctor is trying to say that the people of his community have strayed off their path. The people of Salem have been blinded by fear and are behaving irrationally. They have left this pure and Godly pathway, and in that sense left God. Now they are accusing others of witchcraft and in the process sending off their friends to death. In their community, there is no more sense of a God. At this point, their fear of the devil is overwhelming their belief in God. In the community, the people are behaving as if God is dead, when in reality, they have left God.
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Ellie Farrington
10/6/2014 08:38:37 am
In the Crucible, John Proctor shouts to that "God is dead" in the end/climax of Act 3. All the people of Salem have lost sight of their true Puritan beliefs. I think he is saying that everyone is so obsessed with this witchcraft scare that they have cast off/killed God. They are going crazy with false accusations and executions, forgetting the religious path that they're supposedly on. In another sense, John Proctor could be questioning if there's a God within his statement. With all the chaos it is hard to believe that God is really there; how could he be there and allow the people of Salem to get so out of control?
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Paige Whittle
10/9/2014 10:02:30 am
I completely agree with everything you mentioned in this post. You brought up an interesting point when you brought in the idea that Proctor might have been thinking about where God stands in this desperate time of need in the city. If God was there watching over them, how could he let the citizens of Salem accuse and execute each other? All of these accusations lead to the people in the village to lose sight of their original goals in the New World, to worship God. In the play, there is not much time for worshipping Him, as all of their time is taken up by accusing their family, friends, and neighbors.
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Griffin Perry
10/12/2014 10:04:55 pm
I completely agree with your ideas about the relations of John Proctor and Nietzsche. The Puritans have completely been blinded to the things that truly matter and are fixated on executing and getting rid of those who are undesirable or unwanted. Nietzsche most likely envisioned the same thing when he wrote this quote because of the time period of world wars and violence. Your statement is a great examination of the two and connecting them.
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Kyle Neary
10/6/2014 09:39:08 am
In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor proclaims "God is Dead." This is acknowledging a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, who said "God is dead...we have killed him." What I think Proctor is trying to say is that everyone in Salem was so focused on avoiding the Devil, that they have forgotten about God. They are forgetting the religion that they founded Salem upon and it was turning into total anarchy. I think Nietzsche was trying to say the same thing. God isn't as prayed upon as much as he was in earlier human history, and it's changing society.
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Emily Fitzgerald
10/6/2014 09:54:44 am
Nietzsche once said that "God is dead. We have all killed him." In my opinion, I believe that he was trying to tell us that he are killing God's spirit with every ridiculous sin we commit over and over again. In his eyes, we all obviously have sinned; and it was the continuous cycle of humans being oblivious to what they do that "killed" God. This is interpretation is very similar to mine on the Crucible's use of the the quote by John Proctor at the climax/ending of Act 3. Miller had John say this to tell the court that what they are doing is nothing that God would really want them to do. He and many others knew that this "witchcraft" was just an excuse to put one to power and another to prison. It was selfish and God would want the opposite of that. By everyone being in on this nonsense it was just letting God know that "the chosen ones" (Puritans) have truly failed at their mission as they have overlooked the evidence and accused many of faulty crimes. A modest, simple Puritan would never make such confident, outlandish statements in front of powerful officials. That is what inspired John Proctor to say that. The greed of power and a voice in society killed God.
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James Latimer
10/6/2014 10:44:13 am
Arthur Miller uses the phrase "God is Dead", originally written by Friedrich Nietzsche. By mixing Nietzsche's words with his own, Miller creates the thought that all the mistrust and lying done in searching for witches "kills" God. People throughout the book (especially in Act 3) are accusing each other of Witchcraft so it points the blame away from themselves. I feel that Miller is trying to say that God can not exist with the lying, deception, and misbehaving being exhibited in The Crucible. I think that Nietzsche is trying to convey that God cannot exist with all of the disbelievers, murderers, and other wrongdoings that occur.
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Emma Westgate
10/6/2014 11:14:17 am
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, character John Proctor exclaims, “God is dead” at the end of Act III. The people of Salem believe this statement to be a sign that Proctor works with the devil, and he wants God dead. However, I believe Proctor is saying that the people of Salem have killed God by performing the witch trials. By murdering innocent people, the Salem citizens are straying away from their religious values and putting Abigail and murder before God. Theses Puritans no longer need God because they are looking towards Abby for guidance; they no longer need God to look to, so they are ultimately killing him themselves. This is similar to Nietzsche’s writing because he is also saying that the people today are killing God. However, in Nietzsche’s writing the people are abandoning God for technology and science. People in today’s culture no longer depend on religion, so as we move towards technology we are distinguishing religious culture. Tersely, a shift in culture leads to the death of God.
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Victoria Sullivan
10/14/2014 11:09:03 am
I agree with you Emma. Proctor most likely is saying "God is dead" because the people were performing witchcraft. I also believe he said this because lots of people are also lying about whether or not they performed witchcraft just to save their own lives. Nietzsche's perspective on this phrase is about technology and how people abuse it nowadays. Technology today is similar to religion in The Crucible. These objects being abused, do definitely lead to the death of God, and also the decrease of need for God.
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Bobby Villaluz
10/6/2014 11:37:44 am
By adding Nietzsche’s “God is dead” quote to Act III of his The Crucible, Miller creates some additional meaning to this statement in the context of the play. I feel that the goal of this statement is to bring attention to our culture’s decreasing reliance in a belief in God or something that is greater than ourselves. For thousands of years, as humanity faced disease and war among other things, it looked to religion for moral guidance. However, in modern society, our culture is becoming incredibly dependant on technology and medicine. Now, since people can solve problems on a greater scale through sciences, they do not have to depend on something greater than them. Our belief in God is what creates his power and reality in our world. If people stop believing in God, would this remove him from existence or “kill him”? The hysteria and murder in Miller’s play is fueled by lies, deception, and the will to power. A prime example is the climax of Act III when Mary Warren suddenly turns on Proctor and claims he is a worker for the Devil. When Mary realizes she will be accused for witchcraft, she combats Abby and the girl’s lies with her own lie. If the girls and other citizens truly believed in a higher power they would not lie and accuse innocent people, since faith in God provides moral guidance. As the Puritans in Salem begin to follow those like Abigail and Deputy Governor Danforth who seek revenge and power, they no longer act upon their morals and religion, “killing” God and his influence in their society.
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Jack McNally
10/9/2014 12:16:16 pm
Bobby, I think you summed up this exert very well. I like the way you related the quote to the evolution of technology. It’s interesting that as technology grows and develops, and life becomes less of a guessing game and more of an exact science, we become less dependent on the idea of God. I also like how you reference other parts of the book in your interpretation, such as Mary Warren and the other characters lying. You seem to view lies as a chain, and as one person lies, it leads to others lying, and that is how the hysteria in Salem was created. Also, your closing about how they have forgotten God for selfish reasons is really great.
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Elysha Robinson
10/6/2014 11:55:43 am
Arthur Miller uses the phrase, "God is Dead," in the book The Crucible. When Proctor said this, it related to Friedrich Nietzsche's meaning and reason of the saying. The Puritan John Proctor expresses strongly that there no longer is a 'God' or 'heaven,' for the people are too focused on the devil. Instead of seeing the truth and saving lives, the Puritans cared more for their social status in the society and refused to admit what was real and right before their eyes. In my opinion, the three words are very powerful and could wreck the existence of religion. In the Crucible, the people only saw the evil in the town, and they were so taken by it they couldn't notice the pure devils that spat in their faces.
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Lola Todman
10/6/2014 12:03:02 pm
The way John Proctor declares "God is dead," has less to do with a cultural migration toward rationalism (the way Nietzsche meant it) and more to do with the abrupt fall from grace and holiness taken by his home and religion. In fact, some rationalism may have greatly improved the current situation. I think an important lesson in the crucible, a blatant one, is to never get so caught up in something that you forget why you started. That's exactly what an entire colony of people has done. Puritanism began as a direct path to god, should he accept you into heaven, with pillars built by Jesus and everyone else in the bible. Salem is so wrapped up in the idea of witchery, and enthralled with the unspoken excitement of broken monotony, they forget that God was the reason for their Devine mission. They forget that you cannot imitate his decisions by murdering people. When John Proctor says "God is dead," God himself is only an idea; an abandoned mission and wasted lifetime. He has seen this idea tossed out and ignored, all at the first squeal of a teenag "whore," and he is disgusted.
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Jordan Swartz
10/6/2014 12:16:05 pm
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10/6/2014 12:42:47 pm
In Friedrich Nietzsche's statement written in Time Magazine's "Is God Dead?" publication of April 1966, he reflects heavy ideas of how we are alone on this earth now, without a God to help us. My interpretation of these thoughts are that humans have done so many despicable and insane things that we have killed not only God, but God's power and strength to guide us. These actions that we perform may seem normal to us, but it kills an upper being, like God, to see us do them because they are unfathomable to him. These actions drive him away, thus killing him because we don't need to pay all of our attention to him; so when we do turn to God, we think he is dead because we only rely on materials on Earth as opposed to our prayers being answered from heaven. The statement has a direct correlation with Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" because the town of Salem goes crazy trying to hunt down witches, which is a crazy thing in itself because witches aren't real and the real threat is within the hunters. The irony in the play is that the hunters kill those who go against God, when really they are the sinners for killing people in the first place. The reason Proctor is the one to deliver this message in the play is because he is the upper being in a way. and seeing these people do this unfathomable thing literally kills him because he questions why they do so. When he says this, the reader can infer that Nietzsches' ideas can be incorporated into The Crucible, where now the town of Salem has no one to turn to for their transgressions because they killed any innocence they once possessed. Miller makes this similar point in the play, because the hunters now are alone on a world with nothing to look up to because they killed the only thing they used to revolve around. Miller and Nietzsche's similar ideas blend together in the play, proving an effective point and setting up quite the plot for the reader.
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Claire McEvoy
10/6/2014 12:55:25 pm
Nietzsche’s story of the madman who claims, ‘God is dead’ is his way of showing how he believes that modern society has degraded God in such a way that his name really doesn’t mean much to society as a whole anymore. At the time in which Nietzsche wrote this, many people were becoming atheists. This scared Nietzsche because he saw the problems in a world where the people have seemingly nothing to live for, no God to look up to. Theology, although it had started wars in the past, had also kept peace because at the end of the day, everyone wanted to go to Heaven. Nietzsche was an atheist himself, but that did not stop him from questioning the downsides in his work. John Proctor in the Crucible sees how the views of the people in Salem are becoming corrupt because they believe they are acting in the name of God. The people of Salem were doing very non-Christian things, yet justified them with religion—an interesting paradox that Arthur Miller points out through the character John Proctor. So, when Miller gives John Proctor the line ‘God is dead’, he is enforcing Nietzsche’s ideas with his own.
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Charlie Weisman
10/6/2014 01:05:23 pm
In act 3 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is a scene when John Proctor is being accused by the entire town. At the climax of the scene, John proclaims "God is dead!' This is in reference to a famous writing by Friedrich Nietzsche with the same name. Nietzsche wrote "God is Dead" during a religious decline. He believed that the rise of atheism in society would cause a subsequent rise in the belief of Nihilism, which he predicted would wreak havoc on culture. Nietzsche also accepted that there was a need for a higher power in order to maintain balance in society. In a way this relates to the situation in The Crucible. The people living in Salem have lost sight of their Puritan beliefs. They have become so obsessed with the Devil and the witch trials that they are no longer in touch with the true meaning of their religion. When John says "God is dead" he means that the people of Salem now lack a true understanding of the religion they consider their own, and that their views of Puritanism are warped.
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Emily Bynoe
10/12/2014 06:15:28 am
I agree with all of your points. The Puritans became so obsessed with the idea of witchcraft that they abandoned all of their religious beliefs. They almost lost their common sense too. If they took a step back and looked to God, then they would have known that all of these signs and accusations were crazy. I feel like some of the people were almost enjoying the drama in their lives when the trials were going on.
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Madison Ciccone
10/6/2014 09:12:46 pm
When Proctar states "God is dead" I feel that he is saying that society has taken away all the power of God. With all the acts of the devil and spiteful individuals God can't do anything to help these people. They are so obsessed with the idea of worshiping God, yet they are doing the opposite. When Niche said "God is dead...we have killed him" means we disrupted all the holiness and good that we see God to be. The do not live up to the expectations of God, only caring about their social status and power. They were doing such non-Christian things but going back and referring it to religion. Society was so misguided that could not even keep there morals straight.
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Mikayla Byron
10/12/2014 01:11:59 am
Madison, I completely agree with you. As you stated, the morals of the people in Salem were so mixed up that they were validating their wrong-doings using their religion. I also agree with you when you say that their status and power become so important that their religion is thrown out the window. Power and status become so important to be upheld that they, such as the Putnams, are willing to sacrifice other people's lives. Just as you said, Salem truly does the opposite of what God would want.
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Kent Hottmann
10/7/2014 05:38:34 am
When Nietzcshe says, "God is dead", I think he means that our culture has forgotten about the importance of God in religion. Many religions at the time were focusing too much on things other than God. Miller thought similarly when he put this quote in "The Crucible". In the book, the people of Salem have focused on witches and magic so much that they have forgotten about the reason they have a religion; God. When Miller wrote this in his book, he probably related the quote to his current situation. Everyone in America were so scared of Communists that they started accusing and blaming one another and they forgot that they were all Americans.
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Kelly Gagliano
10/7/2014 06:13:34 am
At the end of Act 3 of The Crucible, Proctor shouts "God is dead". I think he says this in a literal sense because John believes that if God were alive, he would help the innocent people of Salem and protect them from the evil lurking amongst them. He believes that if God were alive, he would not allow the horrible things that have been happening, so the logical explanation to this would be to say that God is dead because he is no longer protecting the people who are bound to heaven.
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Sean Murphy
10/7/2014 06:58:43 am
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, one of the characters, John Proctor, yells out "God is dead", a quote made famous by Friedrich Nietzsche. The entire quote is actually "God is dead, and we have killed him", but it does not literally mean what it says. It is symbolic for saying that God is no longer helping us because we have choose to push him away and do the wrong thing. This is exactly what John is trying to say in court when everything he does to stop the false accusations against people backfires. Instead of doing the righteous and just thing, John see's the court listen and follow every word of Abigail, a sinner and a liar. It is as if the court is turning away from God and glorifying the devil. Since the girls continue to lie, and the court continues to believe them, then we can only assume that violence and other evils will follow.
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Kelsey Ballard
10/7/2014 07:02:20 am
In the play " The Crucible" the author Arthur Miller has the character John Proctor say " God is dead" in front of all of Salem. I believe that Miller was trying to say that the people of Salem do no trust God anymore. In their eyes, God will save and protect them, but now innocent people are being murdered. If God was truly looking out for them, why won't He save John and Elizabeth? I believe that Proctor means to put some sense into the town as well by showing that God isn't helping them anymore, everything is up to the town now. God no longer has the power over them, Abigail Williams has all the power. In Proctor's eyes, God must be nonexistent for a young girl to have all the power.
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Sierra Lopez
10/7/2014 08:01:41 am
In "The Crucible", Arthur Miller, the author of the play, has John Proctor declare that "God is dead!" Personally, I believe that he had Proctor say that to show that due to all the lying going on even as they all condemn each other for lying ("God damns all liars!" - page 117), that they use the mere empty threat of God too often, flinging it about like a "Hello" to a friend. They fear God, but to the point where they do the exact opposite of what they believe God wants, effectively killing him in their hearts. Nietzsche says "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him," in reference to the fact that people had begun to move away from basing their lives around religion and more around reason and science. In both cases, the people are turning from God to what makes sense to them, and in "The Crucible", that is self preservation, which they will lie to achieve.
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Will Driscoll
10/7/2014 08:17:21 am
In Nietzsche’s text, The Parable of a Madman, the “crazy man in the marketplace” is trying to show that societies movement into Nihilism (everything is nothing) would be dangerous; when they had just come from thousands of years of the Theistic culture (everything is to please God.) The “crazy” man is yelling “I am looking for God!” to a group of atheists in the market-place. When the man yells this at the atheists they immediately start laughing and mocking him because to them he looked and seemed crazy even though he is trying to warn them of the danger to come. Arthur Miller uses this same idea of a “crazy” man telling the superego that what he is doing is wrong in The Crucible. In his novel he makes John Proctor, a respected farmer, turn into the “crazy” man when he speaks against witchcraft in the court. Proctor says “You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore” because he is so frustrated by the amount of evil happening to the good people of the town and how Abigail is getting away free when she is to blame. But like the “crazy” man in Nietzsche’s story, when John Proctor told Judge Danforth (superego or majority) that he is doing the devils work and not Gods he didn’t believe him, like how the atheists didn’t believe the “crazy” man in the story. Judge Danforth was too blinded by his own lust for power and his puritan ideology of the “divine mission” to see the truth. Judge Danforth was so set on making his country a country under God that he let himself be deceived by cunning young girls trying to get out of trouble and killing innocent people in the process.
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Bobby Villaluz
10/8/2014 11:31:42 am
You have a great explanation about how Miller incorporates the main elements of The Parable of a Madman into The Crucible. John Proctor is the "crazy" man and Danforth is the majority. However, what I find more interesting is how we can apply this story to other elements of society besides religion. You wrote how a group of atheists, "...immediately start laughing and mocking him because to them he looked and seemed crazy even though he is trying to warn them..." This made me think about all the other "crazy" men in our society who are trying to warn us of an impending danger, but are too ahead of their time to have their ideas accepted. As a nation and a culture we are gaining incredible power over our lives through technology, but it might be a good idea to start genuinely listening to the "crazy" man to save ourselves from going into the other extreme.
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Will Driscoll
10/9/2014 07:44:57 am
Bobby, thanks for commenting on my blog post. I've been thinking about what you wrote and am not sure if I'm understanding you. I'm curious about who you think the "crazy" men in our society are? I've been thinking about it and all I can come up with, if I'm understanding you, is Al Gore/Global Warming? Is this what you mean? Some scientists believe it's true and some don't but we probably won't know for 100% sure for many,many years. The other example that I thought of is Jenny McCarthy/Vaccines cause autism. For a while it seemed like science was starting to agree with her, but then it changed again. Since we still don't know what causes autism, I guess it will be many years until we know for sure who was right or wrong. Is this what you mean? Who do you think the "crazy" men are? Thanks again for commenting.
Zoe Kralyevich
10/7/2014 08:19:54 am
In the play "The Crucible", writer Arthur Miller had John Proctor proclaim "God is dead!" as a desperate attempt in a court case. This famous line was given meaning by a man by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche, in which he wrote "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him". This line is not supposed to be taken literally. It is supposed to be thought that God is abandoning them, or if there is a God, no God would put the Puritans through what they were going through. The Salem Witch Trials were a mess and a slaughter. John Proctor believed that God was no longer present in Salem.
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Ceci McCormick
10/9/2014 10:48:04 am
I understand what you are saying in your response but I believe that the quote "God is dead" is to be taken in a different way. I believe when both Nietzsche and Miller use this quote, they are saying that the belief of God is dead. I don't believe that this means God is abandoning them, but that they are abandoning God. They are no longer relying on him and it has all turned into disaster. I think that when the quote is used it is meant to make the people of Salem or Nietzsche's audience believe that it is not as God has left them and theres nothing to do about it, but instead it was their own decision to pay less attention to God and can change that at any given moment.
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Skylar Simone
10/7/2014 08:31:09 am
In the play "The Crucible" written by Author Miller one of the character says "God is dead." It is a very intense scene. John Proctor (the person who says the statement) is done with everything that has happened in Salem and is so appalled that he has nothing else to say but that. I feel the he said this because he feels everyone has gone completely mad. He thinks how could they let this happen. He feels that God is dead from all of us because they brave no more morals. When Nietzsche's madman comes into a crowed place and says it he's does not literally mean God is dead. He just thinks that the people don't believe in him. To them God doesn't exist in their everyday lives. They have no one to look up to. In these days technology and social media have taken up everything in our lives. People don't have time to think or believe in anything or anyone else. (sorry its late I thought that we only had to reply to a person.)
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Adrian Hernandez
10/7/2014 08:43:47 am
In "The Crucible", by Arthur Miller, Proctor says "God is dead!". I think Proctor says this because of all of the mayhem going on in Salem. Miller included this in his book to reference Nietzsche's idea of "God is Dead". He says God is our judge for morality and we "killed him". All the horrible things we do as humans is what kills God. What is the point of life if our God is dead? All hope is lost because no one can wipe the blood off our murdering hands. God is hope. I believe Proctor means there is no hope left. Everyone in Salem has fallen to lies from a pair of girls, killing innocent lives. No one in Salem is doing what's right and there is no hope in sight.
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Tyler Lewis
10/8/2014 01:54:33 pm
So I pretty much entirely agree with what you were saying about god being representative of hope and the idea that we as humans can't wipe the blood off our hands. But I also believe instead of wondering what the point of life we as humans go out and forge our own paths, people back when this took place still forged their own paths but instead of just doing whatever they wanted to do in their lives it revolved around the ideal that God was key. So I agree with everything you said except for the idea that God was hope
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Jake Lane
10/7/2014 08:59:38 am
When Proctor screams out "God Is Dead" I believe he is referring to the community and how they have lost the values of God. Nietzsche's idea that God Is Dead can be attributed to the Crucible because as the humans want more power and respect they will do anything they can. Instead of asking God to guide them or give them the way they take the short cut and jump to conclusions leading innocent people to a dreaded fate in the Crucible. If God really did exist he would open the eyes of the people to make them realize the terrible things they have done I think Proctor excepts that if God Is Dead then whats the point of living and without someone to look up to you will get lost.
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Will Grant
10/7/2014 09:05:46 am
In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, John Proctor declares that "God is Dead!". I believe that Miller's puts this statement in his play to show that there is so much lying and deception that God just cannot take it anymore. On page 117, Proctor says that"god dams all liars". Well in that case, then all of them would be punished because every single one of these people is lying. I believe that Proctor also says this because he is trying one last time to convince Judge Danforth that he is not lying. Danforth is not buying anything that Proctor is saying, and arrests him as a result. Lastly, I think that Proctor believes some of what he is saying. I think he has lost all hope because his wife is being imprisoned, and that is the only thing that he truly loves in life.
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Ceci McCormick
10/7/2014 09:19:33 am
Nietzsche's famous quote, "God is dead. And we have killed him," is referred to in Act three of the Crucible. Arthur Miller has Proctor shout it out in court. I believe that what both, Nietzsche and Miller, mean when using "God is dead," is that religion is being forgotten or overpowered by other distractions. In the real world, religion is being studied less and science is answering more of our questions. In The Crucible, Proctor is saying, "God is dead," because that's what everyone is acting like all of a sudden. Out of nowhere witches are suspected and people are being persecuted. Where is God? Why are they not asking God for help or letting him take care of it? Well according to Nietzsche and Miller, God is dead and we killed him.
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Emily Fitzgerald
10/8/2014 11:20:46 am
I agree so much with your response. Especially in "The Crucible" Miller most likely had Proctor say "God is dead." because of the outlandish way in which all of the church members were acting. They were accusing and executing innocent people; which is so nonreligious. If God was "alive" he would have helped direct the Puritans in the right path and helped to stop the abuse of accusing others of witchcraft.
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Mikayla Byron
10/7/2014 09:32:22 am
In the play, the Crucible, John Proctor proclaims that "God is dead". Salem is in a frenzy trying to rid the town of "witches" who are bewitching the children. However, the audience recognizes that the entire scandal is merely Abigail Williams trying to get rid of John Proctors wife, Elizabeth. Abigail wants John for herself. When John cries out that "God is dead" he is saying that the town is destroying religion and holiness with their multiple killings based off of ridiculous accusations. He is also saying that they are allowing lying children to judge who should die and who should live when God should be the one judging them. Nietzsche's point is that we, society, have killed God. Today, religion does not dictate how we live our lives unlike society during Salem times. However, although the people of Salem care about their God, they are accusing and killing one another without hesitation. They are essentially contradicting themselves.
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Tierney Baldwin
10/7/2014 09:47:17 am
In Nietzche’s “the Parable of a Madman,” a madman runs through town and declares, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” Cleverly, Arthur Miller borrows Nietzche’s words in “The Crucible,” when John Proctor shouts out that “God is dead” as chaos breaks out around him. Through using this famous phrase, Miller causes his readers to view the situation in a deeper manner. The entire town is so caught up in witch-hunting that they have they have lost sight of who God really is. God changes from being someone they idolize and devote their lives to pleasing, to an excuse for killing others for personal gain. To clarify, Mr. Putnam convinces his daughter to accuse their neighbor, so he can purchase his land once he is executed. In addition, Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor, so she will have a better chance with John. This completely goes against their religion because they are supposed to believe in living simple lifestyles without much material goods; therefore, they are betraying their religion and killing God in the process. Their lives and everything they believed in are falling apart in front of their eyes, and everyone is so caught up in the web of lies that no one is doing anything to save them.
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Grace Cody
10/7/2014 09:48:17 am
In "The Crucible" Arthur Miller has John Proctor say Friedrich Nietzsche's quote, "God is dead and we have killed him." I think that what Friedrich Nietzsche meant by this quote concerning today's society was that today, religion is not the main aspect of our life. A typical person's main priority is not religion. Many things are put before religion, and that is why God is dead in our society, according to Friedrich Nietzsche. I think that Miller uses this quote in "The Crucible" to show what happened to the Puritan society during the witch trials was, in a way, their own fault. During this time period, the Puritans went against their modest and simple ways and destroyed their religion themselves. I think that Miller uses the quote, "God is dead, and we have killed him" to show emphasis on the fact that the downfall of the Puritans, is because of the Puritans themselves.
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brenna bonner
10/9/2014 11:25:26 am
i totally agree with your statement about how nowadays, we put many things before God and how in "The Crucible", the Puritans ruined their own society. However, i also believe that another reason for the Puritans downfall was also because their religion was too extreme, and people went simply mad.I believe that the way we live now is better than their religion because we make time for every aspect of our life.
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Emily Bynoe
10/7/2014 10:08:41 am
Miller creates a very dramatic and suspenseful feeling when he mixes Nietzsche's words with his own. Nobody ever defies God in Plymouth and having Proctor say that God is dead creates drama. Using Nietzsche's words, Miller was trying to explain to the readers that others believed in his same ideas. I think that Nietzsche makes an excellent point by saying "God is Dead." Many people do not see God and appreciate him for what he does. This could be seen as "killing'" him because he is not present in their lives. Miller makes a similar point in the play by showing how the people are so obsessed with the accusations, that they do not turn to God or the Bible for reasoning.
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Tierney Baldwin
10/10/2014 08:36:13 am
I think you make a very interesting and valid point. In Miller’s “The Crucible, the citizens in Salem prioritized Abigail, the other witnesses, and the court and blindly followed their decisions while completely disregarding God’s reasoning. To explain, the court convicted and hung dozens of innocent people and the townspeople never questioned the righteousness of their actions; in fact, they even cheered when the first accused were hung. People pointed the finger at their friends and neighbors for their own personal gain. They were so entranced in cleansing their religion that they did not realize how they were actually killing God by placing the court above him.
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Emilie Weiner
10/7/2014 10:24:55 am
When Arthur Miller had John Proctor say, "God is dead and we have killed him," in his play, The Crucible, he knew that the vast majority of his readers would associate the quote with that once said by Friedrich Nietzsche. In mixing their words together, he brings in the very ideas that Nietzsche discussed so often in his works – the idea that humans no longer need to rely on God, thus creating the effect that gets people to think outside of the confinements of religion. Miller was trying to display the fact that the people of Salem had moved past trusting God's grace and being good, and he was relaying the fact that John Proctor was aware of this, because he himself was taking part in acting against his religion. I believe that Nietzsche was trying to make people aware of the two extremes of human reliance: solely on God, and not at all. Miller's recitation of these words makes the point that the people of Salem not only killed their innocence and their believes, but it also affirms Miller's own beliefs in what Nietzsche was saying.
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Alexandra LeLand
10/7/2014 10:38:50 am
In Arthur Miller's “The Crucible”, John Proctor says “God is dead”. I think that he is talking about the community and how everyone has completely lost their values for God and the church. They are so infatuated with witchcraft they no longer were respecting their religion. Instead of asking God for guidance they immediately think all these innocent people in their community are witches. Frederich Nietzsche believes that humans, ourselves, have killed God. In my opinion, I think Nietzsche means that we now put less important things above God and no longer value him. I absolutely agree with his ideas. For example, we can definitely say we would all text our friends rather than pray to God if we had a question or were trying making an important decision.
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Kevin Laughlin
10/7/2014 10:42:11 am
Friedrich Nietzsche famously says in his article, "the Parable of a Madman" that "God is dead and we have killed him." Nietzsche is telling us that people and religions have began to emphasize things other than God. In other words, he is saying that people are focusing on the wrong things and not the principles of religions which are based around God. Arthur Miller uses a very similar concept in his book "The Crucible". He uses the line "God is dead", when John Proctor stands up against the people of Salem in outrage. When John says, "God is dead", he is referring to all of the people of Salem focusing on everyone doing witchcraft when they have strayed from the real belief of their religion, God. Both authors are really emphasizing the point that people are worrying and focusing on all the wrong things when they should be focusing on what the basis of their religion is, God.
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Kathleen Murray
10/7/2014 10:55:06 am
In The Crucible Arthur Miller uses the quote “God is dead" said in Act 3. Proctor says this when being accused of involvement with the devil. Nietzsche says this in Madman referring to the modern world as a whole. Nietzsche does not mean God actually got killed but saying that God had not been getting much attention. He says that because of all the technology and inventions and objects around us we as humans have become more attached to them over the years. This instead should be God and religion. Which many have lost touch with. However this cannot be said about all of modern society. As John Proctor says this, he suggests s Puritans they should be focusing on worshipping and praying not accusing women of affiliating with the devil. The accusations in The Crucible are the technology of society, a distraction to others from what should really get attention…God. He says that the Puritans were put on earth to love and serve God not accuse people. So God was “killed” by the Puritans through their actions according to John.
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Dannielle Wolf
10/7/2014 11:06:29 am
Friedrich Neitzsche one famously said, "God is dead and we have killed him." The Parable of the Madman is about a man who is trying to tell everyday people that God is no longer, and that it is our fault. I believe he said this because God really is dead in society today. When the world around us is observed with an outside perspective, it is visible that God is not the center of our lives, as it used to be. People are murdered, raped, kidnapped, and assaulted. People lie, cheat, steal, and have forgotten about what the world used to revolve around. By saying that God is dead, it means he is forgotten in the wrongdoings of a population. When society starts to stray towards these "sinful" acts, God is forgotten, and therefore, dead. When Proctor screams out "God is dead!" in desperation, he wants everyone to see what their acts have done. As they heavily rely on everything a little girl says, they stray from the path of God. Proctor sees this and when he realizes he can never win his case, he finally begs people to see what they are doing by yelling "God is dead!" Miller references to this because anyone who has seen Neitzsche's quote will know that he means to say Proctor is blaming the death of God on the people around him.
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Lauren Kirk
10/7/2014 11:32:12 am
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, he directly refers to Friedrich Nietzsche’s article “The Parable of the Madman” when he incorporates the line “God is dead, and we have killed him”. Arthur Miller uses this to create an empowering climax that expresses the underlying moral of the parable: unjustified paranoia, stemming from an idea that was completely irrational, turned good people into sinners and took the lives of those who were innocent. By using this phrase, Miller has conveyed the immensity of the situation. The Puritan group viewed God as the most powerful figure in the world, and every decision or choice they make is based on God’s approval. When John Proctor says that the witch trials are “pulling down Heaven and raising up a whore”(119), he wants the community to understand that giving Abigail Williams and her friends the power to kill for an ‘invisible crime’ is a sin so great that the entirety of Heaven is suffering from it. Especially God, the most powerful figure of all, is destroyed by these people’s recklessness and lack of sensibility. Because this quote is associated with the article, Miller is trying to show the sense of fear that Proctor is attempting to imbed into the people of Salem’s heads. Nietzsche states that by ‘killing’ God, they have knocked the Earth out of the Sun’s orbit, and soon there will be an eternal darkness filled with reminders of His death. Proctor wants the people to fear the spiritual consequences if they continue with the trials. The main point of Nietzsche’s article is that the idea of God thrives on the people’s righteousness; therefore, God is not so much ‘killed’ as he is betrayed. God “bled to death under [their] knives” (Nietzsche) because they had lost focus of the true meaning of virtue and turned it into something that God would be ashamed of. Miller makes a similar point when the girls in the jury use their acclaimed love for God to gain power and accuse innocent people of being a witch with absolutely no proof.
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Claire McEvoy
10/15/2014 10:25:02 am
Lauren, you have a very good point and I love the way you worded your answer. I completely agree with your opinion, and the evidence you used to back it up is very strong. The climax that Miller creates is similar to the controversy that surrounds Nietzsche's famous quote, and I think this adds to the strength of what Proctor is saying. In both instances, with the madman and with Proctor, the audience does not fully understand the truth of what is being said. This is another parallel that further explains why Miller chose to use Nietzsche's words in his work. I really enjoyed reading your response, and your perspective on the topic is very intriguing.
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Connor McLoone
10/7/2014 11:34:15 am
In the Crucible by Arthur Miller he uses Nietzsche’s quote that "God is dead". I believe he had Proctor yell this in the courtroom because in Mr. Proctors opinion, it seems as if god really is "dead" for there is no justice. They are not believing what he has said and his wife may be killed for it and for that he believes god is no longer in his life. The point Nietzsche makes in his writing is basically that everything that we do now violates what god has originally intended for us to do. Therefore by ignoring what he has asked us to do, we may have well have killed him. This is very relevant in the Crucible because they are listening to one teenage girl for who to kill because she thinks they are witches. I think it was very wise of Miller to use this quote in his novel for it really got his point across well. Lastly, i just think it makes no sense how they don't look to their religious texts like the bible for answers but instead they ask a teenage girl for who to kill, it is insane.
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Sean Murphy
10/8/2014 10:52:24 pm
Connor, I must say that was a very well thought out statement, and I totally agree with it. I like how you picked up how the bible is rarely referred to in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Surely the Puritans could have found a story that would help them figure out how to handle this witch hunt. Also, you are totally right that they listen to every word Abigail says. What makes her such a reliable source? For all the court knows, she is a witch! I'm sure the Salem which trials helped in setting an example for why people should be treated as innocent until proven guilty.
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Kristen Wimmer
10/7/2014 11:36:37 am
Arthur Miller uses the quote "God is dead" in his writing piece, 'The Crucible" when John Proctor cries out in fury against the immoral and unjust ways of the court. This quote was originally said by Friedrich Nietzsche, in his "Parable of a Madman". Nietzsche uses this quote to criticize the culture at the time. When Miller uses this same quote, he is making a historical connection to two different time periods. He uses "God is dead" to directly depict the unjust system which punished innocent people during the Salem witch trials. However we already know that this book is an allegory for the Red Scare. Miller is trying to depict that system of accusations and punishments during the communist scare was a time where it seemed as the spirit of God had diminished. By that he means that society had become immoral and unjust.
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Jack McNally
10/7/2014 11:50:36 am
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor states that “God is Dead” (119). He says this in court after being of accused by Danforth of working for the devil. I believe when he said “God is dead” he was trying to say that the people of Salem were accusing its residents of crimes that they did not commit and are in a sense not even real. Even though the people of Salem say that God is the most important thing in life, Proctor is saying that they have gone against God’s word by killing innocent individuals. By putting this statement into his play, Arthur Miller is quoting Friedrich Nietzsche in his “The Parable of a Madman”. Nietzsche was not actually saying that God was dead, but that society had forgotten about God, and therefore their morals. So when Arthur Miller quotes Nietzsche in The Crucible, he is trying to say that even though the town of Salem sees themselves as a town that is very religious, they have forgotten their morals by starting the Salem Witch Trail.
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James Latimer
10/9/2014 11:59:11 am
I agree with your statements in the paragraph. I wrote similarly that Nietzsche said people were "killing" God because of their wrongful morals. You give an excellent example of Proctor exclaiming that "God is Dead" because the puritans killed innocent people. I completely agree with your arguments and points made about Nietzsche's story and in The Crucible.
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Abigail Joyce
10/7/2014 11:57:51 am
The quote "God is dead," derived from Nietzsche was used to parallel Millers work in The Crucible. When Miller rewords that quote in his text, he has John Proctor exclaim that the society was, "putting down heaven and rising up a whore." He accuses the church of being impure, due to the fact that they were idolizing a lying whore, and not believing the truth of a pure Christian. In this case, God and all sensibility was dying out amongst the society. In essence, they were not believing in God and his people, but someone who was feeding them lies.
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Emilie Weiner
10/8/2014 10:22:35 am
As Abbi said in her response, Proctor accused the church of being impure. In doing so, he was emphasizing more than just the impurities of the religion and Abigail's rampant rule. He spoke, too, of the destruction of plain old values within Salem. The people were lying, and lying freely, even when they knew that it was not only a sin, but that they would burn for it. This lack of ethical behavior led to almost a thirst for death rather than a thirst for resolution, otherwise the people would've admitted their faults and let the show come to a close. "God is dead", but so is everything he stands for.
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Elijah Nishiura
10/7/2014 12:33:52 pm
In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, John Proctor exclaims "God is Dead!" I personally believe he is talking about how the teachings of the bible are lost in the nonsense going on in Salem. No more is the peace and forgiveness that Jesus said was the way. Now it is accusing neighbors to be killed. No more is kindness and doing to other what you'd want done to you. Heck if that was the case, there'd be a lot more dead people in Massachusetts. John Proctor believes that the teachings of god have been overtaken by the Puritan lifestyles and the Salem witch trials
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Shaye Gilmartin
10/7/2014 12:37:21 pm
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, John Proctor says “God is dead”. I think what John Proctor means when he says this is that the society has lost all its values of God and their Puritan beliefs. Everyone in the community has become so infatuated with the witch trails and the Devil that they have completely lost the true meaning of their religion. So, basically they have “killed” God by doing this. Friedrich Nietzsche’s point of “God is dead” is that in our society today, God no longer exists and is “dead”. This is because now a days our community is not based off of religion like Salem was. Also, many things in our society today are put before religion. Both Arthur Miller and Friedrich Nietzsche mean by this quote “God is dead” that we are not focusing on our religion of God, but are focusing on other things.
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Kathleen Murray
10/13/2014 08:53:01 am
Shaye I most definitely agree with you. In Salem everyone becomes obsessed with finding out who was a witch and as you said that led to the loss of religion.And like you said "God is dead" represents the idea of God no longer existing and how today we mostly concern our time with things others than religion. Both Miller and Nietzsche agree with God being dead and so do you.
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Brenna Bonner
10/7/2014 01:01:56 pm
In Aruthur Miller's "The Crucible", one of the main characters John Proctor says "God is Dead". What i think John meant was that everyone has gone mad, and people have forgotten who they are worshiping and have forgotten about religion. Instead of being in Church or praying at home, everyone is in Court accusing girls of being witches and being in contact with the Devil. I do not think that John meant that God himself was dead, but the idea of him and the prayers for him and everyone being simple and holy has been killed. Instead of being good Puritans, everyone has gone simply insane.
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Shannon O'Donnell
10/7/2014 02:29:04 pm
In the play The Crucible Arthur Miller uses Nietzsche’s quote that "God is dead.” I believe that Miller had John Proctor yell this in the courtroom because in Proctor’s eyes, it is as if God really is “dead." There is no justice whatsoever. The people of the court are not listening to him or treating him fairly. His wife may be killed because she has been accused of witchcraft. He has lost all hope and faith in society, and therefore he believes God is no longer a part of his life. In Nietzsche’s paragraph, Nietzsche makes it clear that the actions of all people violate what God originally intended for people to do. In other words, according to Nietzsche, by ignoring what God has asked people to do, people may as well have killed God. This is very relevant in The Crucible. The people of Salem are relying on one teenage girl to choose who to kill based on her beliefs about who the witches are. I think Nietzsche’s quote was well-placed in the play because at this point in the play everything is spinning completely out of control. In the context of Nietzsche’s quote, not only is God dead, but the possibility of changing the fates of the accused people is dead as well.
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Makoto Brown
10/7/2014 02:47:45 pm
As Nietzsche was making a point about how the relevant society was effectively defined by Christian teachings and morals, the "death of God" implies a shift of the standards of the present society. When Miller wrote Proctor as saying "God is dead", the context is similar, albeit rather different. Proctor also adds on "You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!", defining the context, that what is right in the society of Salem, based upon the laws of Heaven, has been replaced by delusion, trickery, and ignorance. What is written in the Bible has become the foundation for a ruse, and Salem's society has been muddled with hysteria. Essentially, Miller was using this callback to a familiar phrase to tell informed readers that a shift in society has occurred, although in this case the "death of God" is not because of people leaning more towards reasoning over religious belief, but rather because the religious belief that defines Puritan society has been exploited, leading to the point that what was once the society of the simple Puritan village of Salem is no more. It would even be plausible to state here that the collective good of Salem has turned to collective evil. With this, Miller creates a similar, but much more sinister (especially considering Nietzsche was fine with the death of God as he wrote about it) circumstance.
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Juliet Slattery
10/7/2014 09:28:30 pm
Arthur Miller's plot in the play the crucible is very much connected with the "God is Dead" theory created by Nietzsche. The society has gone corrupt and failed to God's needs and hopes in the world. The Puritans in the society, along with everyone else have started to judge anyone who is even remotely somehow different then the norm. People start being accused of being witches and eventually everyone is accusing each other. No one has any respect for their neighbors or even their close friends. When the only somewhat sane man in the society has claimed that "God is dead", he is trying to express how the people have turned the society upside down and that God would not be proud of this God loving, religious community.
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Paige Whittle
10/8/2014 10:48:21 am
In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor claims in court that “God is dead!” (Miller 119). While Proctor may not mean this statement literally, it does reflect the issues that had been taking place in Salem during the witch trials. By saying this quote while in court, Proctor means that the people of Salem have lost sight of God, essentially killing His beliefs and ultimately Him. Proctor is not talking about the physical death of God, but more the lack of His teachings in society during this time period. Miller uses Nietzsche’s quote in his play because they have similar ideas in that they both believe that people can lose sight of God in their everyday lives and abandon, or kill, Him. As shown in The Crucible, God is killed in a way because the Puritans are not continuing to fulfill God’s mission in the New World. Instead, they are busy pointing fingers at everyone in the village for possibly being a witch, and executing anyone for no just cause. This goes against all of the Puritans beliefs to lead a simple life of worshipping God, which therefore leads to Proctor exclaiming that they have killed Him.
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Victoria White
10/8/2014 01:21:44 pm
In the story of the Crucible, Proctor says that God is dead. The beliefs of the Puritan religion include the idea of predestination and putting your life in God's hands entirely. The Puritans believe that God is the highest power imaginable and that he is the ultimate ruler. By proclaiming that 'God is dead', Proctor is going against everything his religion symbolizes and stands for! He is trying to get across the concept that if God were present then he wouldn't allow this corruption and chaos to erupt. This is kind of ironic if you think about it because, in class we learned that, the Puritans believed God basically hated them so why would he bother helping them if he 'was alive and not killed' in the first place? Miller's perception is slightly different form that of the creator; Friedrich Nietzsche. When Nietzsche says it, he believes that god has been killed by human action. He feels that we, as humans, have littered the world with so much sin that we have literally killed God. Personally, another difference in the use of this phrase, based off of my interpretation, is that when Nietzsche says it, he is referring more to the concern of morals and values while Miller, through Proctor, is referring to (more or less) the entire complex system of Puritanism in general. Despite minuscule differences, both believed that the aspect of life that was heavily dependent on God, had withered away and disappeared. People began questioning ways of living, started acting more on their id, as apposed to suppressing it, and more ""sin"" of this nature. The long term effects include a scary world of emptiness and nothingness which led to trial and error of ways to fill such a void. All in all, saying 'God is dead' is a striking and powerful statement that could easily cause uproars and consequence if used in the presence of the wrong people.
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Tyler Lewis
10/8/2014 01:48:10 pm
When John Proctor says ''god is dead'' I believe that he meant that all sense had been absolutely lost and I also believe that it ties into the idea that the church was absolutely corrupt during this time period of history in the way that if someone was rich they were treated better than everyone else because they could make donations or because of the millions of ways someone could buy their way into heaven. So Nietzche had stated that a madman said that god was dead; that we as a people had murdered him, and that his time hadn't come yet. My interpretation of what he meant by this was the idea that we couldn't decide what god's ideals were and becoming more and more corrupt with the claim that god told them. When Miller had written this in the Crucible almost the same meaning had applied to it.
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Isabella Ramos
10/9/2014 10:26:42 am
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor says, "God is dead!" In my opinion this quote doesn't literally mean that God is dead. I think that the meaning of this quote relates to the loss of Puritan religious beliefs. People became so concerned with superficial things such as witchcraft and the trials that they lost touch of what truly mattered. When John Proctor says, "God is dead" he is outraged by what society is turning into and believes that people no longer value God as they should.
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