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A crucible is a severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. Another definition of the word crucible is a place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces. The title signifies the suffering and hardship that the town goes through. The town the story takes place in is governed by a theocracy. A quote from the book says “For good purposes, even high purposes, the people …

…these innocent lives for the people to realize that the theocracy they believed in did not work because it was based on excluding all those who were different than them. This separation from others made them incapable to get used to dealing with an alarming situation. What the crucible taught them was that if they had been open to other societies’ thoughts and beliefs then they might have been able to handle the situation better.