“Beware of it, child, to God every soul is precious and His vengeance is terrible on them that take
life without cause.” In this quote, Danforth is communicating with Abigail. This quote serves as a
main point to Miller’s theme in The Crucible- no man or woman should ever take the place of God,
and it is up to him to decide the punishment of his people. In today’s world, the general public
believe not that people are still playing God, but whose to say that for sure?
For instance, in recent news today, in a Kentucky town, a woman working for the clerk’s office
refused to give a marriage license to a same- sex couple. She claimed that this offended her religion,
and that’s a perfectly logical reason. But The Crucible’s main
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This quote serves as a main point to Miller’s theme in The Crucible- no man or woman should ever take the place of God, and it is up to him to decide the punishment of his people. In today’s world, the general public believe not that people are still playing God, but whose to say that for sure? For instance, in recent news today, in a Kentucky town, a woman working for the clerk’s office refused to give a marriage license to a same- sex couple. She claimed that this offended her religion, and that’s a perfectly logical reason. But The Crucible’s main theme is how people shouldn’t take the place of God. Although this deeply offends her religion, she shouldn’t takes God’s place and judge them. She should have either done her job or quit. “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.” This quote ties into the fact that Danforth thought nothing wrong of h the people, until fingers started flying and people were accused. Although God had every reason to kick the Devil out, the key in this quote is that “until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought of him..” Danforth gave no chance to see the good and honesty in the people he unjustifiably sentenced to hang. Likewise, Proctor claims “Life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.” In 1999, two students from Columbine High School went on a rampage and shot, killed, and injured several fellow students. Although there were many reasons for this, the main was bullying. It was a terrible thing, but as the quote says, no one has the right to take the life of another. The boys took matters into their own hands, and took the place of God to punish their former classmates, In the same way, a church in Charleston was attacked by a young man. A
Throughout The Crucible, Miller is concerned with conscience and guilt. Through the character Abigail Williams, he shows how people are willing to abandon their firmly-established values in order to conform with the majority and protect themselves. Those who refuse to part with their conscience, such as the character of John Proctor, are chastised for it. For this reason, the Salem witch trials raise a question of the administration of justice. During this time in the late 1600’s, people were peroccupied by a fear of the devil, due to their severe Puritan belief system. Nineteen innocent people are hanged on the signature of Deputy Governor Danforth, who has the authority to try, convict, and execute anyone he deems appropriate. However, we as readers sense little to no real malice in Danworth. Rather, ignorance and fear plague him. The mass
At the instant that Abigail was granted authority over the townspeople she acted on it in order to have power. Not only is there power that comes with authority, but there is also responsibility which was demonstrated by Danforth. Too much authority granted to an individual can
Quote Analysis: Miller tells us that Reverend Parris, “like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak.” Children in Salem were expected to be happy and content with the strict theocratic society they live in. When Abigail and the other girls were found disobeying puritan laws and dancing naked in the forest, it was outrageous and unbelievable that they would rebel against the laws.
When fear is struck in desperate minds, they are capable of taking action disregarding the lives of others as well as the basic rules of civilization. The play written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, is a desirable example of society’s boundaries of “removing” innocent people who bring concern or unease into their lives, this hysteria is astonishingly relatable to the discrimination of Japanese- Americans/Canadians during and post WWII. As Nelson Mandela once said: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” [FOOTNOTE] This quote
Arthur Miller expresses the concept of oppression being present in every society through the characters of The Crucible. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." As discussed, personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs are the roots of the maltreatment in Salem. Miller’s statement and message is valid and applicable in every society, and for every
"Them that will not confess will hang. While I speak with God 's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering. I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and ocean of salt tears could not the resolution of the statutes." (Miller 129). Judge Danforth is not afraid to kill those that stand in his way. He is very similar to Abigail in that he will have innocent people killed to prove a point or to get what he wants. Its his way or the highway. If you do not cooperate, you will die. He abuses his power to get people to talk and give names. He is also very similar to Parris in his concern for power. Danforth holds all the power in the courtroom and basically forces you to talk and confess. If you don 't cooperate, then you will suffer the consequences. Ergo, it is a win-win situation for the accuser. "You are the high court, you word is good enough!" (Miller 143). Proctor later denounced himself for saying this, but the phrase is completely true. This quote is a reference to Danforth 's abuse of power throughout the witch trials. The high court deeply resembles the courts during the McCarthyism era. They held all the power and had the people 's lives in their hands. Danforth was prideful and believed himself to be a honest man. So whatever he thought was right, was declared as right. If they said you were guilty of being a witch, and hanged you, then no one in Salem did anything about it. They couldn 't say or do anything because the high court was always right. Many innocent people died because Danforth couldn 't admit he was wrong. If he did admit to being wrong, then the high court would lose power and it would of hurt his
This shows how Danforth is desperate to protect his power, authority and his good name because if he postpones the hangings, the citizens of Salem would begin to cast doubt
When Proctor is put on trial, Danforth brings in Elizabeth to questions about the affair. Elizabeth must feel her heart racing because his life is in her hands. The words that came out of Elizabeth’s mouth is taken seriously. When Danfourth questions Elizabeth he says “Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor even committed the crime of lechery?”(Miller 105). Elizabeth answers faintly and says “No, sir”(Miller 105). At that moment, things went terribly wrong. Elizabeth tries to protect Proctor’s name, so she does not tell the truth. Little does she know, Proctor confesses beforehand. Obviously, she does this because no matter what, she still loves him. After the trial, Elizabeth talks to John about the situation. When Elizabeth soothes John about the situation, she says “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not forgive yourself” (Miller 126). Elizabeth’s forgiveness makes John want to keep lying. If he knows she is okay with it, he will deny it to others. Her opinion is so important to him because he wants the best for her. Although, he decides to confess. This proves Elizabeth does not want him to die. Finally , after everything Proctor has been through, she lies to the court, so they do not hang him. This proves Elizabeth is a loyal
The Crucible, a play written in the 1950’s by American playwright, Arthur Miller, is based on the chaotic witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1600’s. Abigail, a sinful protagonist in the play, is the root to the myriad problems that conspire throughout the play. She is to blame for the executions of innocent citizens, and for acts of lechery between marriages. An important reappearing theme throughout the play is one’s reputation and the extremes the characters would take in order to preserve their name. The characters in The Crucible, particularly, Parris, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth, use the sanctity of their names to prioritize how they will look in the public eye, rather than what is beneficial to them individually.
lot of dramatic irony and anxiety. Act III is opened with a build up a
“You misunderstood, sir…. It is not just” (Miller 233). This conveys dramatic irony because Danforth is trying to keep the system just, when in reality, the entire system is unjust. He has chosen to give justice to those who have already died than to those who are still living. “It is a providence. Reverend Hale has returned…” (Miller 231). This situational irony draws the reader’s attention to the unexpected situation. Parris and Hale, up to this point, were against each other because Parris felt challenged. Parris agreed with the accusers on finding anyone possibly related to witches. Hale was in search of the truth, no matter what outcome occured. Now they are both trying to achieve the same thing, postponement for justice. The juxtaposition of the motives of the characters adds to the contrasts tone. The irony and changes in the story causes chaos in the
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale sees that he has made a huge mistake by running the Salem witch trials. Soon after, he attempts to prevent a situation in which he would be responsible for the death of an innocent man. Hale goes to Proctor’s wife and begs her to tell her husband that he must not be hanged, by saying “life, woman, is god’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, can justify taking it” (Miller). Here, Rev. Hale is stating that John Proctor should not get himself killed and justify his own hanging with a glorious principle. By stating this, Rev. Hale is
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Miller reveals the importance of the concept of hell in a theocratic Christian community. Although Salem is ca Christian community, there is a great emphasis in hell instead of God’s kingdom. The sermons of a preacher are essential in a Christian community in order to keep people accountable for their sins and salvage. Miller demonstrates the sermons to be flawed because sermons are meant to strengthen the faith of the people but instead it installed fear in the people’s heart.
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
Hale slamming the door behind him intensifies his words -- he is through with the court and will never be returning again as a supporter of the court's 'justice'. The anger of Danforth and the tone of his words, "Mr Hale! Mr Hale!" also indicates the effect Hale's actions and fears will have on the court.