Examples Of Guilt In The Crucible

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Everyone knows the feeling. The nagging in the pit of your stomach that makes you rethink your actions. The feeling that makes you nervous, sweaty and scared. Guilt, an emotion that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard. Imagine a world without guilt. People would feel no remorse in anything they did, no conscience that monitored their actions. It is a powerful feeling that can both hold people back and push them towards action. This strong emotion is portrayed in several very popular pieces of literature. In the novel Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows how Macbeth’s guilt motivates him to make fatal decisions to try and hide his culpability, such as killing the king, killing Banquo and killing Macduff’s family. …show more content…

In act 5, before being hanged, Reverend Hale urges him to confess about performing witchcraft. However, he is strong minded and does not confess, because he would rather die being honest than live being a liar. He would rather have his good name and for people to think of him as a good man instead of ruining his family’s reputation. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” Act 4. Therefore, he dies peacefully, while winning the battle between him and himself and the battle between him and the society of Salem. His ability to face his guilt and stay strong mentally allowed him to overcome the trials and tribulations of the town and himself. Although both these characters face internal conflicts dealing with guilt, one comes out a hero and the other a

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