The Moral of Arthur Miller's The Crucible The Crucible is a play about the connections between sinning and paranoia, hysteria, and religious intolerance. The people of Arthur Miller's Salem in 1692 would consider the very idea of a private life unorthodox. The government of Salem, and of Massachusetts as a whole, is a theocracy, with the legal system based on the Bible. Moral laws and state laws are the same and someone's personal life must obey these moral laws, or that person represents a threat to the public good. This well planned story of struggle in an oppressive society leaves freedom for many morals for life, death and religion.
To control their communities they used unjust and unnecessary means, all justified by their deluded religion. To this day, the word “puritan” connotes both rigidity and a generally narrow view on life. The dictionary definition of Puritan (the capital refers to the actual religious group) includes, "...demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline” (Source A). Simplification of their religion would be an understatement of what the Puritans did. Basically, acts were separated into good or evil, approved by God or frowned upon.
In conclusion, Waknut is a very stern community that shapes the citizens by using boundaries and limitations. Secondly, David is stuck in a world with religious propaganda where the Nicholas repentances becomes a re... ... middle of paper ... ...to kill her then let her go.." (120) Deviations are treated poorly because they are different. Waknut society puts themselves before these people because they are not the image of god so they are not a priority. Moreover, the society of Waknut do not tolerate any deviations: "I couldn't help it, Sophie... I couldn't help it.
(Differing) In the play The Crucible, these extreme Puritan beliefs were shown through Abigail’s constant lies which led the judges to believe that the Devil was present in Salem. Strong Puritan beliefs and lifestyles fueled the hysteria of the Salem, Massachusetts village as their strict principles prevented them from sinning against God; when witchcraft was reported in the close-knit community, fears that they were not pure and that the Devil would soon take over the most innocent of souls, had commenced widespread hysteria. The Puritan religion based on the Church of England was one of the most intense and devoted faiths of the time period. (Differing) They strongly believed that they would receive God’s wrath had they sinned, and nothing was worse than his wrath. (Differing) Rigid and stringent moral codes including not practicing, “…lying and idleness, general lewdness…bad be... ... middle of paper ... ...made this form of Puritanism quite dangerous.” (Differing) The Puritan religion itself was extreme, but punishments and paranoia in “the Salem variety was a whole different caliber altogether.” (Differing) Works Cited Salisbury, Joyce E. and Perter Seelig.
Freedom of dissent Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were one in the same character: A ruthless dissenter who went against the majority. They both believed in conscience liberty, suffered persecution at the hands of the theocrats, and both went on to help dissenters make life anew in the colonies. First of all, during their time, it was recognized that one did not have a right within the choice of religion versus government. It seemed that whatever one wanted to believe was not an option when it came to following a creed, it was more than probable that one’s government had made that choice for its people. Roger Williams, having been educated by Sir Coke on religious ideals seemed to be bothered by this fact and was fervent to change this as his former master whom had spent time in a London jail for his own ideas (Humanities, 1983).
According to Otten, Proctor displays “strident moralism”, and continues to be “ dependent upon recognizing and accepting” his own fate (3). This illustrates the good-heartedness inside Proctor that reflects the hypocrisy of the town; whereas, the people of Salem have sins of their own, but John accepts his and knows that all people were indeed born evil, yet he dies as a result of this. As Danforth continues to apply the remorseless question of the law, Proctor refuses to name those of the accused claiming, “I speak my own sins. I cannot judge another” to enlighten his ultimate confession (141). This statement represents Johns recognition inside himself and the moment where he realizes that everyone emerges guilty of something, but he will no longer judge others based on what he has
Austere religions with black and white definitions for right and wrong are bound to result in the deception of a suppressed people. With the cornerstone of Puritan lifestyle being the church, their community is profoundly influenced by religious philosophy and beliefs. Anything believed to be a contradiction of their religious moral code is deemed to be sin, and directly connected to the devil. Devil worship and witchcraft is conjured by means of fear that gives superstition power, and those accused of unnatural behavior receive harsh castigation. Due to the illogical misconceptions, the rigid town of Salem took it upon themselves to rid their community of “sinners”, thus creating a whirlwind of accusations and deceit.
Because of their thought on the ideal community as a straitlaced society, those who portrayed an imperfect model were to be isolated. Suspicion flooded the holy Puritan town, and led to accusations of innocent people. After a close analysis, it may be relevant to look at the Puritan belief system as a possible catalyst for the events that occurred during the Salem witch trials. The Puritans followed a strict belief that emphasized a need for absolute perfection. They established a highly structured society with rigid laws and rules based on the Bible, which portrayed their strict beliefs.
He directs these comments not only at Abigail, but also at judge Danforth. In his eyes, judge Danforth has fallen under Abigail’s trap and he believes that the truth is being buried deep and ignorance is being surfaced. He believes that the basic morals of the Christian faith are being suppressed and what God has commanded not to do, is being done. In between the words he is also secretly implying that the whole judicial system of Salem is in shambles and they cannot differ from right and wrong. In Proctor’s eyes, judge Danforth is doing the complete opposite of what his job is.
Evidently, the carnage ceased with the victors, those of English descent, recording history from a bias perspective. Therefore, the ideology from the contrasting juxtapositions of right versus wrong, good versus evil, and light versus dark are predetermined by the religious dogma the colonist faithfully followed. However, there are a multitude of consequences for blindly following strict ideologies from a gospel as criticized in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, which demonstrates the inane degrees of which society or people try to ostracize sinners through cruel and unusual punishment which stems from hatred when the irony and reality of the situation reveals that no one is perfect enough to sit upon a high pedestal, that mistakes or errors made are a natural process of human capabilities, and that forgiveness is a quality that provides a person humanity rather than expediting punishment. Hawthorne utilizes visual symbolisms to spec... ... middle of paper ... ...ial History & Citizenship Site. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2003.