What’s selfishness to you ? According to Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary the definition of selfishness is having or showing concern only for yourself and not for the needs or feelings of other people(Dictionary). We all know someone who always puts his or herself before anyone or anything, even if it causes any harm to that individual. The Crucible had a large number of examples of selfishness, this is exactly what the girls of Salem did to avoid the consequences, blaming innocent people for there actions of witchcraft. To begin with, Abigail Williams was a character who was very selfish throughout the whole story. In Act one Abigail stated “ Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sister. And that
Pride Over Everything The Crucible is a play rooted in the issue that people often care more about their titles than the truth. There is lying, cheating, and falling into guilt that occurs, but it is all pushed under the rug in order to keep the people's name respectable. The definition of pride is the consciousness of one's own dignity and deep pleasure in one's achievements (Oxford). Arthur Miller the writer of The Crucible conveys that excessive pride can cause self doubt and a loss of identity.
In this quote, Abigail is accusing Tituba of using witchcraft on
Throughout Unit 1, the stories have had a similar story line, which greed and power trumps doing what is right. Christopher Columbus found new land and stripped from those who rightfully owned it, slave traders ripped Equiano from his home to make money off of him, and Salem citizens accused honorable people of witchcraft for personal gain. The stories of Columbus, Equiano, and John Proctor all relate back to show that being an American can be described by the urge for power and the temptation of greed. When Columbus took off to find a quicker route to Asia, he had no idea what he would eventually find.
Self preservation is one of mankind's base instincts and is ever present in everyone. This animalistic instinct can cause a person to do things seen as morally wrong by others or some will go to the most extreme lengths to keep themselves alive. Within the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller onse such character displays a very evident sense of self preservation and that character is none other than Mary Warren. Within the story Mary Warren is very guilty of raising hysteria amongst the town because of her actions due to self preservation.
Pride is not more worthy than an innocent life. Arthur Miller clearly illustrates that some of the characters, such as John Proctor, choose pride over their own lives. I’ve learned throughout the book the lack of limits characters will endure, to make sure their name is clear. I saw how often the “justice” in the book favored what it wanted to hear and thought was the truth. Ironically, the characters had to lie to feed into the “truth” that there are witches in Salem, in order to keep their own lives.
In Arthur Miller's “The Crucible” (1953), it is shown that people seem to forget basic morals when dealing with mass hysteria. Puritans in the play do not want the devil or any other demonic figures such as witches in their community, they will go to great lengths, as far as turning their back on their own people to get rid of these demonic figures as shown in “The Crucible”. This idea of witches in the community caused chaos in the village which led to the deaths of 20 people in the village. Do people in the play not care about the consequences other people face because of their actions? In the play, loyalty falls far below self selfishness in the face of mass hysteria.
Analysis Essay: The Crucible essay: Is Abigail Williams evil? Arthur Miller was one from the community of people who fought against the Congress Committee which took place in the 1950s and also known as McCarthy Trials. This historical period was also known as “Red Hunt” for communists and occurred in Washington D.C. From this events, Arthur had drawn parallels to the Salem Witch Trails in the late 1600s.
The Crucible , written by Arthur Miller, is a fictional story of the Salem Witch Trial that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Throughout the story, Miller provides many universal themes and conflicts, the most important one being envy. Extreme jealousy can blind a person’s judgement and lead them to act in amoral ways. Abigail Williams, who is in love with John Proctor, sets out to get rid of his wife, Elizabeth, and take her place.
A Look Into Self Preservation in The Crucible “I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self -indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival” (Lorde Audre). We are forced to make decisions everyday that involve self preservation whether we realize it or not. According to Joe Islam, “self preservation is the first law of nature” ( Islam, Joe) and that it is usually your strongest instinct. In The Crucible, self preservation occurs multiple times throughout the story.
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.
We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters And that is it. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of the night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (1097).In this quotation Abigail is lying out how she want the story to be.
We often seen someone is only care about himself, they don’t care about others even their family and they always have excuse of it. Reverend Parris is a kind of this person. “The Crucible” is about the Salem witch trials. Starting with several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft and then accuse people in the town of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shapes Parris’s character as a very selfish person, and everything he did was to keep his good reputation in the village and to get rid of anyone against him, which drives him mad.
Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. In the book the Crucible there are many hypocrites some dishonest some just following any one to be guilty, but one of the many character is Judge Danforth he mocks Marry when he ask "How were you instructed in your life? Do you not know that God damns all liars?"(3-84), since Danforth is in power for being the judge he thinks that everyone else is ignorant and not being equal as him.
Do you remember learning about the Holocaust in school? Do you remember all of the feelings and thoughts you had? Imagine if it was you. Imagine if you were one of the soldiers. Would you stand up for what was right?
Selfishness runs through many individuals’ minds whether people think it does or does not. According to Dictionary.reference.com selfish is being “devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one’s own interest, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. Characterized by or manifesting concern or care for only oneself”. Why are some characters selfish? There are various reasons why selfishness is a common trait in characters.