In today’s court system, you are innocent until proven guilty. However, this is not how it always was, and in the times of the Salem witch trials, many innocent people were accused of witchcraft and unjustly punished. This event repeated itself during the “Red Scare” that took place in America due to the cold war. During that time, people were not accused of witchcraft, but rather siding with the communists; an equally heinous crime for the time period. Whether proven guilty or not, the accused people lost their jobs and way of life. Arthur Miller’s work, The Crucible, was written during the “Red Scare” time period, and many themes and ideas regarding both events are presented through a drama based on the Salem witch trials. In this drama, a lack of justice is shown when some jealous, vengeful characters in Salem are willing to use manipulation and deceit, and sacrifice the reputations and integrity of all involved, in order to empower themselves. …show more content…
He was jealous of the golden candlesticks that other churches had, and in John Proctor’s words, “Parris came, and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them”. Parris was greedy as well, at least compared to Salem’s prior ministers. This was mainly shown when he spoke of his wages, as shown when he stated, “I am paid little enough without I spend six pound on firewood”. Later, he showed that he thought he deserved more, by saying, “Mr. Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year! I am not used to this poverty”. Another example of Reverend Parris’s greed was seen when John said, “Mr. Parris, you are the first minister ever did demand the deed to this house”. Parris’s jealousy not only caused himself anger but also gave him a bad name with a certain faction. His fear of being overthrown by them partially caused him to ask Reverend Hale to come to Salem, which escalated the problems (Miller, 193,
Parris was a hard believer that there was a witch in Salem. But he finally used common scene that they were being lied to. Parris believed that there was some typed of evil upon Salem. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions that there were witches in Salem.
Salem had a hard time when Parris was elected to be the Reverend, apparently they had a different candidate in mind. A character in the story that was fine in the beginning but later began doubting the way people thought about him after the incident, is Rev. Parris. After walking into the woods and witnessing the group of young women dancing and some nude, while trying to conjure spirits. He later confesses to the court what he sees in the forest.
He always worried that others wanted to take over his position as a minister and that John Proctor was the leader of those people. Parris made many enemies in the village which caused him to quickly sentence John Proctor and Giles Cory. Parris only cares about his reputation and tells Abigail that he “fought here three long years to bend [those] stiff-necked people to [himself], and now, just now when some good respect is rising for [him] in the parish, [Abigail] [compromises] [his] very character" because of her dancing in the woods (11). Still, Parris is all about his own reputation and his family’s. He supports the judges in exposing the witches because he fears some may accuse his family of witchcraft, therefore he distracts attention away from himself and his family by blaming others.
Both Judge Hawthorne and Danforth are seen as “heroes” to the town for discover who has committed witchcraft in Salem. In the beginning of the trials, people believed that there were actual witch trials in Salem and with the help of these men; Salem is purified from dark spirits. Judge Hawthorne and Danforth have a predetermined faith for the victims because they believe that the victims themselves are sufficient evidence to accuse the person of witchcraft. Arthur Miller’s purpose of the characterization of Judge Hawthorne and Danforth highlights his response towards the “Red Scare,” which was the dominance of communism ruling the United States during the 1950s. During this time period, the United States Congress indicted Arthur Miller for aiding other communists in a takeover of
The Crucible is filled with many evil people who do many horrid things to forefeel their own goals but, the man that controlled Abigail to do as he pleased from behind things to complete their corrupt Mr. Parris, whose arrogance of worth over the town and his pride that could rival any other man’s clouded his judgment till the bitter end. Even from the start of the story you get strong sense of his most prolific Sins such as pride, arrogance, and his blatant mendacity when anyone suspected him or his family of any wrong doings or lies. It all started when the Noble Mr. Parris wondered upon the local girls of the village dancing in the woods but couldn’t confront them because when they heard his approach they ran vanishing into the woods. Parris
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life . . . I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (Crucible)! The people that were accused during the Salem Witch Trials lost not only their lives, but they also lost their names.
Cameron Oldfield Mrs. Brincks English III 15 November, 2015 The Crucible and Red Scare Imagine being thrown in jail, blamed for something that you didn't do .The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story about how certain propaganda and false accusations can ruin lives, just like in the case of the Red Scare. Although 1692 the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare were over 200 years apart, The similarities are striking. both trials used intimidation, fear, hatred, and false accusations to ruin innocent lives. Both trials resulted in terrible outcomes, with both ending with innocent people being put to death and shunned from society.
Parris tries to do whatever it takes to have a good name in the town. He puts his own desires and needs above all others. This basically means that if it doesn’t affect him or his reputation, he doesn’t want any part in it. People in the town look up to people with a great reputation and value their opinion. Is it any wonder that the Reverend Parris would want to have a good name?
(Miller) Reverend Parris was trying to save his reputation by lying. He also is a little vengeful since John accuses him of being a bad minister and he never comes to
Back in the late sixteen hundreds the people during that time are very strict on religion. During the time a colony in the Americas called the puritans believed in witchcraft. People that are accused are guilty till proven innocent. In the Crucible it portrays injustice by how Danforth is not following court that is ruled by religion, Abigail intimidating the court, and the accused not having proper court rights. The following reasons will explain why the crucible is injustice.
(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.
The Salem Witch Trials and the 1950’s Red Scare are easily relatable considering that the two events killed several innocent lives, when that individual did nothing wrong. The community around has always been a place where secrets and grudges are held against someone. During the Salem Witch Trials, according to Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” and the Red Scare, it focused on how much power a character could have, and that one character also can lead to convincing the community to be with them or against their personal thoughts. Furthermore, the power that is lead to one's head could destroy the thoughts of other about yourself as an individual.
Readers also see that with the greed is pride as Parris believes he deserves more than what he is getting. Back to the scene about his salary, he says “I am not some preaching farmer with a book under my arm; I am a graduate of Harvard College”(29). This proclamation exhibits how Parris thinks he is better than this, he is above the community of Salem and he should be treated in that manner. Arthur Miller uses Parris as a symbol, a symbol to show that even a man who is supposedly devoted to teaching the ways of God, can be filled with
That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” This is clear evidence that he knew the truth but tried to hide it. Since Reverend Parris was supposedly a man of God, he ought to have been honest. Because of his self-centeredness, he continued to lie, which finally led to fatalities. Parris was more concerned with maintaining his standing and keeping his job than telling the truth, which is another reason why he is the one most responsible for what happened to the Salem victims.