Throughout the world, there are many religions such as christianity, catholicism, and islamism. Many of the devout people who follow their religion strictly and attend church on a regular basis are considered perfect people, yet in reality they are not. Being a perfect human is impossible, because humans make mistakes, and its part of life. There is no such thing as a perfect person. Common things that are part of life are considered sins in church, and because churchgoers are humans they commit these sins. Things such as spreading gossip or being greedy happens in human nature, and one cannot help it. Other things are grave sins in church too, and are also frowned upon within normal society. Because we are all humans, even churchgoers do this too. Something like committing adultery or cheating on your spouse does happen in the real world.
This concept of churchgoers not being perfect is portrayed within literature as well, ,and an example would be of John Proctor in the Crucible. Proctor was a well respected man in the town of Salem, Massachusetts and like most people of his t...
Both the struggles of young women to conform to standards set by their societies and the struggles of all people to uphold their reputations—in the Puritan culture and today’s world—are prominent issues displayed in The Crucible and Conversion. These societal standards put unjust pressure on women to appear “perfect.” Whether it is as an ideal Puritan, a loyal friend, or a prepared college girl, everyone wants to have a pristine reputation. Conformity is often seen as a way to be perfect and obtain a perfect reputation, when in reality, it is not. Seen mostly in young women in The Crucible, conformity plays a role in causing the problems which eventually result in multiple deaths. In the Puritan society, everyone knew everything about the
As America slowly began molding into the creases of different values and cultures, so did its literature. One trait that had always been securing itself within the lines of these literary texts was the protagonists’ naivety. Theses characters typically established an intention to do good things, but eventually fail due to tumbling upon tempting obstacles and falling into the trance of distractions. An example of this situation occurred long ago during the 16th and 17th century. A cult of English Protestants known as Puritans aimed to “purify” the Church of England by excreting all evidence of its descent in the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans enforced strict religious practices upon its believers and regarded all pleasure and luxury as wicked or sacrilegious. Although their “holy” cond...
In the 1700’s the Puritans left England for the fear of being persecuted. They moved to America for religious freedom. The Puritans lived from God’s laws. They did not depend as much on material things, and they had a simpler and conservative life. More than a hundred years later, the Puritan’s belief toward their church started to fade away. Some Puritans were not able to recognize their religion any longer, they felt that their congregations had grown too self-satisfied. They left their congregations, and their devotion to God gradually faded away. To rekindle the fervor that the early Puritans had, Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan ministers led a religious revival through New England. Edwards preached intense sermons that awakened his congregation to an awareness of their sins. With Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he persuades the Puritans to convert back to Puritanism, by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as, imagery, loaded diction, and a threatening and fearful tone.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter share remarkable parallels not only in their examination of early Puritan America, but also in the dilemma of the two main male characters, John Proctor and Arthur Dimmesdale. Both these men had sinful relations with another member of the town, and must deal with the adversity that resulted from their sin. Although both John Proctor and Reverend Dimmesdale become hypocrites in their society, Proctor overcomes his sin and is able to redeem himself, while Dimmesdale’s pride and untimely death prevent him from fully experiencing redemption.
Proctor exemplifies an ordinary second class Puritan of Miller’s adaptation of the bloodthirsty town of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller fabricates the character of Proctor to appear wholesome and scrupulous, however, acts of sacrilege in the form of adultery tarnish the character’s reputation, thus bringing to light the scepticism of an exclusively Puritan society. Proctor embodies the qualities revered by the Puritans; diligence, integrity, and frugality. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is an advocate of John’s morality, describing her husband as “a good and righteous man. He is never as drunk as some are, nor wastin’ his time at the shovelboard but always at his work” pg. 100. Miller skilfully constructs a well-rounded character epitomising the ideal Puritanical figure, however, man’s tendency to be fallible resulted in a fatal flaw in the character of John Proctor. This flaw, also being a sin, is his lust and infidelity. Miller demonstrates the influence of cultural relativism through Proctor’s incapacity to absolve his own sins, despite his wife’s forgiveness, “I do not judge you. The magistrate that lives in your heart judges you.” pg. 55. This ‘magistrate’ is denoted by Miller to symbolise Proctor’s conscious, which was moulded and cultivated by the Puritans of Salem. The
Why I Left the Church” by Richard Garcia is a poem that explores the ongoing and conflicting relationship between a child’s fantasy and the Church. Although the majority of the text is told in present tense, readers are put through the lenses of a young boy who contemplates the legitimacy of the restricting and constricting nature of worship. It is a narrative that mixes a realist approach of storytelling with a fantasy twist that goes from literal metaphors to figurative metaphors in the description of why the narrator left the church. The poet presents the issue of childhood innocence and preset mindsets created by the Church using strong metaphors and imagery that appeal to all the senses.
It all changed when I arrived at John Proctor 's house. I was to inspect the Godliness of the Proctor household, as there was reason to believe Proctor could be involved with Satan. Again, I let my human impulsiveness get in the way of my responsibility as a man of god to see all as th...
Greed and envy are two of the seven deadly sins in the Christian world that adherents must dispel from their lives. This fact makes it all the more ironic when many Christians during the Salem witch trials display these two offenses in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. One reason explaining the prevalence of sin in a society that thinks of itself as pure is that leaders demonstrate that they care more about actions rather than pureness of thought. For example, clergymen who feature themselves in the play, like Parris and Hale, often measure a person’s connection with the divine through the number of times he or she attends church. In actuality, according to many prominent officials of the Christian Church, that connection can only be achieved
For example, a protestant minister who was angry with the character Candide’s religious indifference refused to give him food after preaching charity right before. The protestant minister is hypocritical because he tells Candide everyone is welcome to his food, but when Candide does not reject the pope and confirm the protestant teachings he is no longer offered bread. “‘My friend,’ said the orator to him, ‘do you believe the Pope to be Anti-Christ?’ ‘I have not heard it,’ responded Candide; ‘but whether he be, or whether he be not, I want bread.’ ‘Thou dost not deserve to eat,’ said the other.” Candide repeatedly highlights the hypocrisy of the church in this manner. The way the protestant minister would refuse charity to someone who disagrees with him flies in the face of the Church's supposedly charitable mission. The book claims churches that preach love and charity, instead kill over slight differences in
People exploit the faults in their surroundings in hypocritical attempts to justify their own imperfections. Goodman Brown and Dimmesdale demonstrate hypocrisy in their efforts to avoid confronting their own distorted realities. Both Goodman Brown and Dimmesdale seek to exemplify the ideal Puritan lifestyle. After succumbing to unfaithful temptations, both men recognize that they have transgressed certain central values of their respective puritan communities yet neither correctly identifies the sin that ultimately debases his initially righteous character. For instance, Goodman Brown breaches basic Puritan prin...
Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court they are essentially breaking their relationship with God. Like everyone else in Salem, Danforth draws a clear line to separate the world into black and white. The concurrent running of the “Crucible” image also captures the quintessence of the courtroom as Abigial stirs up trouble among the people that have good reputation and loving natures in society. In a theocratic government, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil.
Although the Puritan people knew that they chosen few were the only ones going to Heaven, they still strove to be good people. Their live styl...
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory written about the Salem witch trials in 1692. It includes a number of characters who fully conform to the trials and their consequences, it also contains the opposite, those who do not conform and fight it. Of course, as in any story there are characters in the middle that are not sure which side to take. They go along with it, not willing to stand up, but in their minds they are not completely sure whether or not what they’re doing is right. Reverend Hale is the best example of outward conformity and inward questioning.
For my observation trip, I decided to visit St. Ignatius Church in Oregon, Ohio. I visited a mass at 11:30 on Sunday November 19. I decided to visit a catholic church because my family has no religious background whatsoever, and I decided that I could go with one of my good friends that way if I need to ask questions, she was there to answer them for me.
It may seem a little bit strange, but my favorite place in town in none other than this beautiful Evangelic Church. However, it wasn’t always so.