Throughout most of The Crucible, lying appears to be a staple in the lives of Puritans during the Witch Trials. Though at first the authorities refuse to acknowledge it, the judges soon uncover Abigail’s lie. Reverend Hale is the first to show skepticism as he exclaims during the trial in act three, “‘We cannot blink it more. There is a prodigious fear of this court in the country...But it does not follow that everyone accused is part of [a moving plot to topple Christ]”’ (98). In a time when people view judges as saintly, to question them is rebellious. Hale’s belief that not everyone is involved proves that he sees through Abby’s lie, and does not trust the girls. Contrarily, Parris, Danforth, Herrick, and Hathorne do not recognize …show more content…
Reverend Parris, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Reverend Hale each display the main themes of reputation, authority, and integrity, whether they possess those qualities or not. Reverend Parris conveys main themes of reputation and hysteria, as well as the smaller theme of individuality. Throughout the play, the author develops his character traits of hypocrisy and materialism. In act one, Parris expresses his concern for his reputation by demanding of Abigail, “‘...if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it...There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit,”’ (10). Parris’ worries about maintaining his position as a minister illustrate the importance of his own reputation to him. Lack of concern for anyone else’s welfare blinds him so that he cannot distinguish between reality and the growing hysteria in Salem. Likewise, Deputy Governor Danforth has concern only for his own reputation, as he firmly believes God speaks through himself and the court. His powerful and stubborn mannerisms demonstrate the themes of authority, intolerance, and dangerous ideologies. In act three, he warns the
Every event in history can be attributed to a collective of emotions. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls claimed to have seen other villagers working for the devil and began accusing people of practicing witchcraft. This soon created a sense of mass hysteria throughout the town that resulted in the death of twenty people and the imprisonment of over two hundred. We now refer to these events as the Salem witch trials. In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted similar trials accusing people in prominent positions of being Communists. McCarthy implemented unfair investigative techniques, similar to those used in the Salem witch trials. Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, creates a story around the known details of the Salem witch trials and focuses on the relationship
In The Crucible, there are many examples that ambition can corrupt even the most steady and kind, through the use of characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale and John Proctor as well as others. Rev. Hale, as an example, came to Salem with an ambition to rid the town of witchcraft, but at the same time disregarded the fact of the matter, innocent people are being put to death for the sake of reputation. As Hale says in Arthur Millers' The Crucible, book/movie/play,
In the beginning, Parris was selfish and didn’t believe in witches. Towards the end, he became more sympathetic and started to believe in witches. He once said “Then why can she not move herself since midnight? This child is desperate! It must come out-my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?”(Miller) When he said that he was complaining to Abigail, the girl that helped cause the witch trials to begin, that he didn’t believe that Beth was really ill, and was just Abigail trying to tarnish his reputation. Later on he stated “Now Mr. Hale’s returned, there is hope, I think - for if he bring even one of these to God, that confession surely damns the others in the public eye, and none may doubt more that they are all linked to Hell. This way, unconfessed and claiming innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest people will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in their tears.”(Miller) When he says that, he is arguing with Danforth about the trials and that too many of them have been convicted or accused. He is trying to save lives and he isn’t doing it to help himself. Parris has lost his selfishness and has become
When faced with a problem, humans usually try to find the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way out of the issue. In order to overcome problems, motivation is needed. However, motivation comes from different places within a person based on the individual’s desires. When looking back to 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts the problem during this time period was witchcraft, and "to be accused was to be assumed guilty, to accuse was to avoid punishment" (Jimerson 37). Fear of punishment causes people to accuse the innocent, and the innocent has no redemption for they were automatically guilty. No one was safe at this time as the cycle continued on and on. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Mary Warren is motivated by fear that transitions from Abigail
Oppression; an extended treatment of cruelty or injustice towards an individual or a group of people. If looked for, it can be found in every society expressed in a number of different ways. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, puts it in a way that is easy to understand. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." This is evident in his play, The Crucible, demonstrating that within a society, oppression will always be present due to personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs.
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.
Reverend Parris’ fear of losing his job provokes him to cry witch. Reverend Parris’ daughter feigns to be in a coma. When the doctor bade Susanna tell Reverend Parris that he “might look to unnatural things for the cause of it” (9), he denies that possibility because he fears that rumors of witchcraft under his roof would help his “many enemies” (10) to drive him from his pulpit. Later, by supporting the Salem witch trials, Reverend Parris secures his position in the church. When John Proctor brings a deposition to court signed by Mary Warren that calls Abigail and her girls’ frauds, Reverend Parris urgently tells Judge Danforth that “they’ve come to overthrow the court” (88). When Mary Warren cannot faint in court, Reverend Parris accuses her of being “a trick to blind the court” (107). After Abigail pretends that Mary Warren is attacking her, Reverend Parris spurs on the accusations by telling her to “cast the Devil out” (118). Reverend Parris fears that if Abigail becomes exposed he will be punished for supporting an illegitimate court procedure. When execution day arrives, Reverend Parris fears that the “rebellion in Andover” (127) over hangings will occur similarly in Salem. Reverend Parris pleads to Hathorne that “. . . it were another sort that we hanged till now . . . these people have great weight yet in the town” (127). Reverend Parris’ last attempt at preserv...
Parris and Danforth prioritize their reputations over John Proctor’s actual life. Hale does not care about his good name, but about the lives of the people in Salem and his guilt for partaking in the trials. Like Proctor, Parris, Hale, and Danforth are extremely flawed men. They all make unrighteous decisions that can be selfish. Unlike Proctor, though, these men place their own needs above the needs of the community. John Proctor has lived in Salem all his life and cares for the town and its citizens, whereas Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, and Danforth are all outsiders to the town. They place themselves above the well-beings of the townspeople for the reason that they do not care if Salem is to be destroyed. Reverend Parris, Reverend Hale, and Deputy Governor Danforth’s yearn of John Proctor’s confession represents they only care for their own self-interests and not about what his confession could do for the town of
The Crucible – Characters and Changes & nbsp; Change is good for the future. " We hear the catchy phrase everywhere. From company slogans to motivational speeches, our world seems to impose this idea that change is always a good thing. Assuming that the change is for the better, it is probably a true statement in most cases. The root of this idea seems to come from the notion that we are dissatisfied with the state that we are in, so, in order to create a more enjoyable environment, we adjust.
Throughout The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a faithful and intelligent minister. He comes to Salem as the spiritual doctor to respond to the rumors of witchcraft, which have been flying in Salem after the strange illness of Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty Williams. Hale never declares witchcraft, but he relies on people’s evidence of it because of the large amount of evidence. As the play goes on, Hale’s intelligence leads him to other sources of hysteria and accusations. The change in the character of Reverend Hale is noticeable throughout the play. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale grows from a confident, authoritative figure, trying to end witchcraft in Salem, to a regretful, fair character who wants to end injustice and save innocent lives.
A group of teenage girls were secretly dancing in the woods with a black slave, named Tituba. When they were discovered of what they were doing, the girls started accusing certain individuals in the village of dealing with witchcraft. Within a blink of an eye, the entire village is controlled by a devil that exists within the fear of each person. A drama of suspense and impact, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, explores through the individuals' vengeance, fear, reputation, and quest for power.
Throughout the entirety of the play, Reverend Parris was a perplexed man. As the play moved along, he grew more introverted and we see his paranoia grow larger. He was also blaming every other person for every little mishap in Salem for his own benefit. Reverend Parris was a man of many different traits and as the play moves along these ever changing qualities are easily seen. From Act 1 to Act 4 in The Crucible, Reverend Parris, a timid pastor, transforms from a confused man trying to conceal his identity to the towns “gossiper)” to have his name remain unimpeachable.
In Miller’s The Crucible, a prominent character introduced is Reverend Parris. As Salem’s minister, he has significant influence in the town’s court system. As a minister, it is one’s duty to live a life devoted to being a spiritual leader. However, Reverend Parris is far from being a minister and is not a true spiritual leader because of his greed, dishonesty, and reputation.
In the play, Puritanism and their beliefs and values ruled Salem. Puritanism are a close community that follow a strict set of rules; there is little freedom for individuals. Individuals who are independent or do not conform to their values are immediately seen as threats to the community. The character of John Proctor is an example of a non-conformist as he believes in justice. Proctor’s sarcastic remark against Reverend Parris: “I like not the smell of this ‘authority,’” highlights his disagreement with Parris’s power and values. The sensory imagery emphasises Proctor’s non-conformist attitude and shows his deviance towards Parris, who is considered the highest power in society as he is the man closest to God. Proctor’s blasphemous exclaim: “I say God is dead!,” is a subversion of the Puritan society and theocratic values. The high modality emphasises his rebellion against Puritanism and emphasises his nonconforming nature. His refusal to conform to the Puritan values ultimately ends in his demise. The ripping of his confession and death symbolises his refusal to conform and his integrity; he does not want to be used to justify the witch hunt and the injustices the court has done. He does not want the other people to be seen as guilty for their crimes, when they weren’t; he does not want to be seen by others as a symbol of falseness
Reverend Hale is a minister from Beverly who is summoned to Salem by Reverend Parris to help find and convict witches in the village. He considers himself a master at locating witches and heavily believes in the knowledge of books to help spot the sure signs of witchcraft. Reverend Hale seems more into the publicity side of witch hunting and less so about the convicted. As long as he completes his set task under the eye of everyone, nothing else matters. This plays into the fact that during the Salem Witch Trials, every person in the community was constantly trying to protect their reputation instead of protecting the ones they knew were innocent. As Reverend Hale continues the hunt and questioning the witches and victims, he feels the onset of unsureness. In act three, John Proctor is in court and has confessed his sins of lechery. The court