fire

One of my favorite plays is The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I saw a production of it and I was absolutely rapt. 

There's something archetypal about what is portrayed in this play. As I watched it I had the sense that I know this story. I had trouble understanding what was being said, but the overall meaning was clear....or at least what I understood by the meaning. 

This is a good example of a text where themes and issues really are expressed in the text. Often, when we talk about the themes of a text, it's a bit artificial...we have to read something into the text that may not have been intended...but this play really articulates something about the idea of the crucible - precious metal being refined by fire. 

An ordinary man found himself in a position where, to simply be a decent human being, he had to give up his life.