Despite their deeply religious values, the members of the Puritan Society in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible are equally as sinful as the rest of the world. The Puritans, known for coming to God when given any matter at hand, lay blame on the Devil, regardless of their contradictory values. By putting blame on him for their wrongdoings, the Devil earns power by the Puritans resorting to involving him in a situation whenever any one thing goes wrong. Power is defined by one’s reputation, status, wealth, gender, and age. Although the natural decider of one’s power in the Puritan society is land, the Devil, himself, holds ultimate power; despite the fact that he does not appear as a human figure, he controls the thoughts and actions of the Puritan …show more content…
In order to save herself from extensive consequences when the society had found out about her eating of the chicken blood in the forest, she is forced to blame someone for her wrongdoing. With this, Tituba comes close to her death, as it is intolerable for any Puritan to take play in witchcraft or consult with the Devil. Abigail claims that Tituba always “comes to [her] while [she] sleep[s] [and that] she's always making [her] dream corruptions!” (44). Although this is untrue, the Devil is placed in a situation of crime, which raises his level of power, as he is the one who is known to force people into performing sinful acts when they are under his influence. In addition to causing the people to, it causes people’s personalities to parallel with the Devil. Giles Corey is a man known for having a court record, due to constant attempt to obtain the land of others. John Proctor claims that Giles “cannot say (...) good morning without [clapping] him for defamation”, because “it [is] the Devil’s fault” (31). The Devil claims power in this situation considering that the effect that he has on Giles is one that strips away his morals as a human being. Similarly, but in a contrasting locality, during this time period, it is known that the Devil’s abilities are able to convert even the purest and sinless people away from God. As written by Arthur Miller, “the Devil [works] again (...) just as he [works] within the Slav who is shocked at (...) a woman’s disrobing herself in a burlesque show. Our opposites are always robed in sexual sin, and it is from this unconscious conviction that demonology”. The Devil “gains both its attractive sensuality and its capacity to infuriate and frighten,” which displays the control he holds over the society in that he can lure in a pure soul, but frighten one as well
Most of the citizens in Stamford did not want any witches or supernatural things around them, for their fear of the devil. Richard Godbeer gave the reader specific scenarios about witchcraft, to show how apposed people were to it despite it being so
The Devil influences the villagers of Salem, Massachusetts by using their ongoing fear of him to manipulate their thoughts and actions in a manner to set himself in the highest position by the end of the Act 1. As the Puritans lean toward blaming the Devil for their misgivings and suspicions, he gains control of their thoughts. Ruth and Betty pretend to fall ill after Reverend Parris catches them in the forest with Tituba and other girls, partaking in what is considered to be witchcraft: an act that defies the laws of femininity in the Puritan society. Mrs. Putnam does not buy her daughter Ruth’s act; rather, she sees it as “‘the Devil’s touch”’ which “‘is heavier than sick”’ (13). Believing that the Devil
The Crucible was based in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The book starts off with Reverend Parris finding the girls in the woods dancing. Upon finding them Betty Reverend Parris’s daughter and some of the girls become ill. Abigail Reverend Parris’s niece tells him that when he found them in the wood Betty was so frightened when Parris found her she fainted and won’t wake. With Betty and the other girls unable to wake rumors of witchcraft start around the community.
“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. “The Crucible” describes the Salem Witch Trials. These trials were during a period of time where men and women were very rancorous so others feared to speak up because they would be accused of witchcraft and killed. Similar to Arthur Miller’s book, the Red Scare was a period of time in the late 40’s and 50’s in which United States citizens were intensely paranoid of an opposing threat of communism in Eastern Europe and Asia and ultimately communists infiltrating the United States. What the Red Scare and “The Crucible” have in common is that accusations of witchcraft or communism were false, people were blind to the truth, and the accusers weren’t very tactful and
Internal Conflict’s Place in Public Appearances Concording with the Puritan philosophy when something bad happens in one’s life , it is a direct punishment from God. Appearing in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, almost all of the characters manage to neglect that idea and resort to placing blame, not upon themselves, but on others when faced with the human conditions of conflict and challenges. The definition of human conditions is, “generality of situations that humans face in getting along with each other and the world, situations that are difficult to encompass in some way because of hang-ups or predispositions of one kind or another” (The Human Condition). The main problem portrayed in the play is conflict and it expresses the
So speak utterly, Tituba, turn your back on him and face God- face God, Tituba, and God will protect you” (Miller 44, Act 1). Tituba, the lowest of the low, has her status temporarily elevated because of the witch trials. Normally, she is the one told what to do and told to obey; now, however, she has the power of life and death over others. With the “good” power and the “bad” power being displayed in the town of Salem, times got very puzzling for the court and
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
Within The Crucible, many characters discuss public matters in private spaces and private matters in public ones. These occurrences demonstrate society’s natural tendency to exploit the less relevant, private affairs of citizens in order to influence public opinion and remove blame from oneself. Before the play itself begins, Miller emphasizes the common act of “express[ing] publicly ... guilt and sins under the cover of accusation” (7). Whether the guilt is deserved or not, discussing private matters in the form of public knowledge allows one to place the burden of one’s on actions on others around them. Reverend Parris first utilizes this form of accusation as he states that he “discovered” many girls “dancing in the forest” at night (38), using his sight of them as evidence of hooliganry.
As Bob Marley once said, “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Integrity is the quality of being honest and upholding one’s morals and principles. Living in a fast-paced and ever-changing society, human beings have come into contact with adversity and hardship all throughout history. Those who act with integrity during tough times have a major influence on those around them, and taking a stand and upholding ones’ beliefs and morals at great self sacrifice can inspire and encourage others to do the same. Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible is a prime example of upholding integrity, and the characters within the play face difficult choices between doing
We all know peer pressure can make you do things, But Arthur Miller’s The Crucible shows us the extremes of social pressure and how it can make us do things we would never have thought of doing. One of the major themes in The Crucible is that popular belief causes you to act and operate differently than you would normally. Some examples of this is Mary’s behavior, the girls fainting, and Proctors struggle to not confess. One of the main examples of someone giving in to social pressure is when Mary Warren decides to convict Proctor and say he is working with the devil.
Playwright Arthur Miller uses deliberate characterization and controlled conflict to highlight societal problems in his play The Crucible. His use of relationships between characters, as well as the interactions that these relationships instigate, in his telling of the Salem Witch Trials is helpful in his ability to convey his overarching idea. The ideas of human failings like hate or greed, blind religious faith or the corruption that occurs in giving power to the formerly powerless, are revealed in Miller’s use of characterization and conflict in The Crucible. Abigail William is a clear antagonist of this play. She stirs up the entire town to chaos.
In The Crucible, logic and reason play an active role as the counterpart to the fear that fills the Puritan society and the characters themselves. The characters Proctor and Hale represent the voice of reason against the voices of fear. Though they are outnumbered by those who give in to the paranoia, they stick with what they believe is right despite knowing they will become a pariah. On the other hand, Danforth and Parris represent the driving forces of fear and paranoia that plagues the minds of the people in their society. Society’s reaction to their driving force is to comply because to do otherwise is to be an outcast, and to be an outcast could result in one’s death.
Spreading Fear to Maintain Power Arthur Miller's The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts; a town that is soon to be plagued with dark times. When accusations are made that girls of the town are performing witchcraft, everyone is thrown into mass hysteria. With total chaos, some of the members see this as an opportunity to seize control of the situation. These individuals establish and maintain this power through spreading terror and fear over the majority. This is done by threatening other characters, using their unjust credibility and abusing authoritative positions.
Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and his or her persuasiveness. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, in which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts attempting to navigate through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty. While his name alone is often believed to be able to influence others in to following through in certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” due to his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.
The devil in the story is the subconscious and innate desires of humanity because he reveals that, “Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race” (Hawthorne 8). Once a person comes to the realization of his or her own personal