In “The Crucible” (1953) Arthur Miller asserts that mass hysteria leads to high tensions and heated relationships between people that once were great friends. these tensions begin in the town of salem Massachusetts in 1692 where witch hysteria was beginning to run rampant. A rampancy that caused the unjust deaths of nineteen of the town's residents. Nineteen people who had nothing to do with the theorised witchcraft that was spawned by people’s fear of the unknown. A fear that manifested due to untrustworthy people. But our story of salem is one of liars. Deception and political unrest, many of of the younger women in salem go out one night and dance in the woods around a fire(which was seen as a terrible dead in their culture). But their …show more content…
Witchcraft that was all fake from the start, but then it escalates to another level they then call in officials of the high court to come in and hold a court session to bring charges upon the convicted. Before it is all said and done nineteen people are tried, convicted, and hung for participating in the act of witchcraft. But our story could have gone a completely different way had the acts of one character been different. Had Reverend Parris swallowed his pride and told everyone what was actually happening.Had he said something none of this would have happened. Also is anything that Parris does acceptable? He brazenly uses his very own children as political cannon fodder to try and gain land from his neighbors that wouldn’t sell it to him. The evil and shallow grudges carried by Reverend parris have the longest lasting effect on the people of salem in the …show more content…
He puts his reputation before anyone else. For instance when the court hearing is taking place and John Proctor states that Abigail is lying about the witchcraft; parris intervenes and says. “ This man has been trying to blacken my name every since I arrived here” (Act 3)even though the conversation had nothing to do with him or his name. Then he also uses his children as pawns in his game of personal gain; throughout the whole story he is using his children to systematically eliminate his political enemies and then gobble up the land they had. That he would have otherwise been unable to obtain because no one was willing to do business with
Reverend Parris is a middle aged man, who we first meet in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, around his late 30’s or mid 40’s. He has a high status. He is the one of the town pastors. Parris has a ill daughter, Betty Parris. Who he discovered dancing in the forest with his teenage niece, Abigail Williams.
Despite Proctor’s adulterous affair with Abigail which diminishes his innate rationalism and morality, the strained dialogue between him and Elizabeth ‘I cannot speak for I am doubted, every moment judged for lies’ suggests Proctor’s shame of such doings. This evokes a sense of sympathy in the reader and thus Proctor’s moral empowerment. Proctor’s ultimate decision to be ‘hanged’ rather than give up his ‘integrity’ displays Proctor’s morality due to his refusal to use his power to exploit others. On the other hand, Reverend Parris draws upon irony as a religious authority due to his complete manipulation of power to gain more, the irony evident in ‘they will have me out of Salem for such corruption in my house’ evocatively conveys Parris’ valuing of superiority over integrity. Corruption of the Church is further noted through Parris’ valuing of material possessions ‘golden candlestick’, displaying how those with authority manipulate situations to fulfil self-serving desires.
In The Crucible we all know that Parris is the reverend of Salem. All he wants is to be respected by the people there and be treated the way he wants to be. we know that in the beginning that Parris didn’t like the idea of word going around that witchcraft was in Salem. He was even opposed to Hale coming to Salem at first, clearly Parris changed his mind to where he supported the Witch trials.
For the duration of the story, Parris is looked upon as someone whose only concern is him being overthrown, without any remorse for his own daughter or his niece. He only thinks of them as being “thankful for being permitted to walk straight,” and he has no interest in “children, or talent with them” (Miller 3,4). The true test between his reputation and his integrity is shown before and during the witch trials. Instead of worrying about his daughter who is supposedly near death, Parris is concerned about how his “enemies will bring [the forest dancing event] out,” and how his “ministry’s at stake” (Miller 10,11). Subsequently, to save his name by taking the burden of justifying the forest incident, he complies with his niece’s false accusations, and as a religious figure, sets chaos in Salem.
The Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.
(Act I. line 158-167). In the begging of the book Parris stand before his daughter’s bed and talk to Abigail what happened in the wood. At first we will think he is a good father who worried about his daughter, but then throughout his sentences we know he is just care about his position as a minister. “You people seem not to comprehend that a minister is the Lord’s man in the Parish; a minister is not to be so lightly crossed and contradicted—”(Act I. line 823-827). Parris's repeated demonstrations of exceedingly selfish behavior don't help him.
Parris is also a very selfish man who is only worried about staying minister and trying to make himself have a luxurious life style. He show how selfish he is by saying” The cause is yet unknown. I have had enough contention since i came; I want no more. ”(Miller, 174). He show himself as being selfish in this line because he doesn't worry about there being a witch in salem, he is only worried about keeping his job as minister.
Parris is seen as a liar and selfish. He only cares about himself and his daughter. Apparently, Reverend Parris discovered that his daughter was involved in witchcraft in the woods with the rest of the girls. His reaction was very different and pretend not to have seen anything. Reverend Parris is only worried about his reputation in the town.
Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.
(Miller 39). Parris is in fear, he doesn’t understand why the Devil chose his house to strike, to possess his children. This is going to make the town of Salem really look down on Parris, as it is people already do not like Parris. His children are being caught for being involved in witchcraft and getting in touch with the Devil. Parris has to be able to prove that his children are not involved with witchcraft or his whole world will go down.
Power is something that everyone wants, but is also something that can be detrimental if given to the wrong people. In the play the Crucible, Parris is a Reverend who has a substantial influence over the town. However, when Witchcraft strikes, his true colors are revealed and he appears to care solely for his own self-interests rather than the safety of the people that he is supposed to watch over. Parris is a truly despicable character that continuously shows that power can be a corrupting force. Reverend Parris is an individual who is only concerned with his reputation and authority over Salem.
Two characters in the play take it to an extreme. One of them is Reverend Parris, the minister. The people in Salem do not like him a whole
Puritanism can be somewhat crudely summarized by Batman: “Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough; sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” Though Batman is a fictional character, his words highlight the twisted, unrelenting mindset of Puritan society in the late 1600s. Ironically, in their search for the purest truth, Puritans often dismissed logical, realistic thinking in favor of irrational faith. The notion of finding truth through faith and faith only is - not surprisingly - the cause of many unrighteous deaths in the infamous Salem Witch Trials.
Parris also complains about not getting enough money for firewood to keep his home warm. He is being selfish of the amount of money the town gives him each year for his “needs.” The Reverend is the leader of the town and should be a devout Puritan that is a good role model to others.
Reverend Parris is the minister of Salem. He is very proud because of his position though he scares of losing it. He is Betty’s father and Abigail’s uncle. In the book, the author indicates him as “there is very little good in himself”. Perris is a wormy, paranoid, unreliable and an ignoble character.