Dorothy Good, the 4 year old daughter of previously accused Sarah Good, was the youngest to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. The people that obtained any sort of power during these trials had no mercy whatsoever on anyone. The accusing girls such as Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam, and many others displayed that as long as their high position in the village was kept to themselves, they did not care who was accused or killed. The concern of having power and authority is the factor that caused the most destruction in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. Reverend Parris is nothing but a perfect example of a character in The Crucible, who is obsessed over his position in the village and doesn’t hesitate to use it to his advantage. “Beware this man. Your Excellency, this man is mischief” (Miller 106). Parris attempts to warn the judge about John Proctor because he is apparently mischievous and causes problems within the village when really he is just threatening Parris' position …show more content…
Abigail displays many times in the story that she is an evil, coniving, and a corrupt person. Abigail states, “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people --- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a ---” (Miller 115). Abigail was in a precarious situation in the beginning of the play when herself and a group of girls were thought to be practicing witchcraft, so she developed lies about many other people in the village to save herself and the other girls that took part. She did not care if her lies caused innocent people to be murdered, as long as she kept her significant amount of power, and kept her high position in the village and the court. This proves that power, authority, and influence on the village and the court was the most important thing to
Keira Hine Mr. Christensen English III 01 May 2023 Throughout history, humans have always used the supernatural to explain things they could not understand: The seasons were explained by the corruption of Persephone, famine and plague by sin, and misfortune and success with karma. Just as these ideas were used to make sense of the world, they were also used to fearmonger groups of people and give power to a select few. These few elites will often do anything to maintain their power including destroying those in their communities. Arthur Miller uses The Crucible as an instrument to expose humanity's tendency to prosecute those who threaten the ones in powers narrative.
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 turning to God when given any matter at hand, lay blame on the Devil, regardless of their contradictory values. By blaming on him for their wrongdoings, the Devil earns power through the Puritans restoring to involve him whenever any one thing goes wrong. Power is defined by one’s reputation, status, wealth, gender, and age; although the natural deciding factor 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 society, serving as the ultimate threat.
Title Sometimes, it’s hard to see what someone’s intentions are. It may be especially hard to tell if a person in power is truly using their power to do good, or if they’re putting up a front in order to gain personal benefits. In The Crucible, Reverend Parris used his title and influence for personal gain. Things like this don’t just happen in literature. There are people in our world today using their status and influence to gain money or more power.
Rachel Groome Period 1 The Crucible Many trials were held due to accusations of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. A few held more responsibility for the trials than others. In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the Puritans of Salem were sometimes falsely accused or guilty of witchcraft. The characters that held most responsibility for the trials were Abigail Williams, Reverend Hale, and Reverend Parris.
During ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller, a story about the Salem witch trials in early American colonies, people constantly fight over what they believe is right as well as their personal authority. Throughout the story, the thought that people will abuse the sometimes small bit of authority that they have is prominent, one case being how Abigail and how she affects the trials. In many cases this authority also affects the capacity of independent thought throughout the colonies at the time much like the laws set in place that require the population to be Christian. Abigail, the daughter of parris, is a major part of the abuse of authority throughout the play and this is primarily due to the fact that she is the niece of the town reverend, Parris.
Arthur Miller’s tragedy The Crucible, published in 1953, takes place in Salem Massachusetts around 1692 during the Salem witch trials. The Puritan society's government and laws are controlled by the church. The play follows a group of teenage girls led by Abigail Williams who cause mania by accusing citizens of the town of witchcraft. John Proctor, a farmer who had an affair with Abigail, tries to stand up against the girls and the tyrannical government but falls victim to Abigail’s rampage and is hung as a witch. Throughout The Crucible, hysteria and the abuse of authority are the two most important subjects explored because they are primarily used to manipulate fear while simultaneously promoting excessive avarice that ultimately leads to
The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in this time period, and Miller shows that a group of teenage girls caused the events. People thought they were committing witchcraft, and the girls lied, stating that other witches forced them to do it. They lead the town in the witch trials by claiming to know other people who were agents of the devil and revealing them to the town. The leader of these girls is the niece of the local reverend, Abigail Williams. Abigail is an individual who has experienced much hardship, which has hardened her into a harsh person who will do whatever it takes to protect herself.
To live or to die? Seems like an obvious question, right? When the weight of another factor clouds the seemingly no-brainer question is it really so obvious? Die for a lie or live with dishonor? It’s not anywhere as obvious now.
In the play, Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” many themes are shown. Throughout the themes the hunger for power, authority and respect stands out the most in male characters, which are the majority gender in the story. According to Webster’s dictionary, power is “the ability or right to control people or things.” Also, according to Webster’s dictionary authority is “the power to give orders or make decisions.” And lastly, Webster’s dictionary tells us that respect is “a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good.”
Power in Salem flourished in 1962 at the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. Power is the ability or right to control people, things, or outcomes. The way to have power is to capture it. In the Arthur Miller play, The Crucible, one person abused their power; while the other person was elevated in their social structure in order to save or end innocent people’s lives with her power within her knowledge. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Tituba express their power through the means of threats and actions, good or bad.
Abigail’s villainy consists of lying, plotting revenge, and murder. She is a great villain because whenever someone accuses her of lying, she can think of an excuse really quickly. All of the immediate comebacks keep the reader on their toes. “DANFORTH: turning worriedly to Abigail: … ‘Is it
Reverend Parris is a paranoid and personal aggrandizement seeker. In “The Crucible”, Arthur Miller uses diction to reveal that Reverend Samuel Parris is a self concerned man who only cares about what others think of him. Reverend Parris is quick to defend his name to stay powerful. Reverend Parris is always concerned about others opinions of him. In “The Crucible” Parris states, “I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it.
When reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller the audience is pulled into a world of lies, witchcraft, and overwhelming authority. The book takes place in Salem massachusetts in 1692 where a group of girls are claiming witchcraft on whomever they may please, and following accusations by these ever so trusted girls characters must either confess to the acts of witchcraft or likely hang for lying about it. But there is also one main theme that is prominent in the crucible which is that authority is used as a way to convey oneself as dominant. The hierarchy of authority in the story is used as the audience reads through the book, they see more that authority is a way to convey themselves as dominant to characters who may be thought as lesser to them.
A new beginning, fresh start, clean slate whichever you choose to call it, it is widely acknowledged as something that everyone strives for once something dreadful has happened. A father goes missing after plunging down a path riddled with crime and a mother and her children oblivious to the things occurring around them. What does a mother do when the father of her children thrusts out of their life all of a sudden. Anything she can do to protect them. Andrea Doubenier thinks it best for her family to move back to Salem, Massachusetts to live with her mother until this dreary time has passed and her family can feel safe again.
Imagine a society where the power and status you have determines your fate. The play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, presents the influence of social hierarchy during the Salem Witch Trials that take place in the town. Social hierarchy plays a crucial role in shaping and affecting the events and characters of the story, by highlighting how different characters had the desire for gaining and retaining power as well as how certain powerful individuals had a great impact on the less powerful. Various characters throughout the play display a strong desire for gaining power or simply retaining the power they already held in the town.