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Themes in the crucible
Character analysis of reverend parris in the crucible
Themes in the crucible essay
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In 1971, a psychologist named Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment that would show how humans reacted when they were divided into two groups, one group of guards and the second one group of prisoners. In the experiment he conducted, he noticed that the groups took the given role very seriously within minutes; the two groups took the experiment to extreme level by actually having the groups think of themselves as prisoners and guards. The experiment was canceled after few days because the reactions of the people were so extreme it got out of control. A villain and a prisoner have similar traits because a prisoner did something illegal in the past that would only benefit him/her. A villain has a trait of being very egotistic and it can be inferred that villains can commit illegal acts to satisfy themselves. “The Crucible” has many villainous characters but the one that stands out most is Parris. Throughout Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” Parris is the most villainous character because he considers himself superior and is very self centered due to this, he fails to give good advice to his people which leads to destruction of his society.
A villain has a lot of characteristics that can make him/her a villain, but one common trait in a villain is being very self-centered. As most villains, Parris is very selfish and proves it throughout the play. The first time he shows he is self-centered is when he is talking with his niece Abigail, and blames her for conducting witchcraft, he says “Now look you ,child, your punishment will come in its time. But if trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.”(Miller 10) In this quote Parris, repeats “I/ my” whic...
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...he village are more inferior, and he is more pure and superior. Parris in the play does not stop here; he continues to put down others, another incident that shows his nature of making others feel inferior is when he says “You could see him, why could you not see her?”(Miller 46). In this quote Parris is talking to Tituba in a tense voice making her feel guilty of not seeing the witches. He is trying to intimidate her so that she confesses that she was also part of the witchcraft act, concluding that Abigail and his daughter are not guilty. To summarize Parris makes others feel inferior to him and consider himself superior to others, as any villain would do.
Works Cited
"Influence of Social Roles: The Stanford Prison Experiment." Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is about mass hysteria of witches being in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. An educated man named Revered Hale arrived in the town with his exclusive knowledge of witches to help the town eliminate the presence of the Devil. He became a member of the court and aided in putting innocent people in jail or hung. As Hale started to see the consequences of his actions, he struggled with fixing his mistakes. The change in his perspective of the witch trials caused his overall personality and attitude to change as well. Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man motivated by good intentions; furthermore, his mission to help Salem destroyed evil in the beginning and his attempts
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
The Anti-hero in The Crucible A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre. An anti-hero has the role of a hero thrust upon them.
Also important to the play is how Arthur Miller depicts how one selfish, evil person like Abigail Williams can bring others down and make others follow her to commit evil acts. These evil acts affect even the most honest people in the town like John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Rebecca Nurse who cannot fight the accusations made against them by those following Abigail. Those following Abigail are considered to be holy men that are full of honesty and justice, but the play shows that even those who are thought to be respectable and right, like people of government or community leaders can bring death to innocent people if they are driven by something wrong. II. Plot: The plot begins with the inciting incident where Rev. Parris finds his niece Abigail Williams and his daughter Betty along with his slave Tituba doing some dance in the forest.
Whenever there’s a problem people tend to blame anyone they can, cause they think why not? But when it comes to The Crucible almost every character could be blamed for making witchcraft a big deal. But three major characters come to mind Judge Danforth, Mary Warren, and The Putnams.
While the court, the girls and Mr. Parris I would say dislike him slightly now because of the dis agreement he had with the court trying to disprove Abigail What He Thinks of Them He has some suspicion in town like his old friend Mr. Parris, who replaced the old church candles with gold ones because he didn’t find then good enough. He also has suspicions with Mr. Proctor because of him not going to church every Sunday. The girls prosecuting he didn’t believe after a while because of Mary warren and the number of “witches” they found. The victims of the court he started to believe was innocent now because of the conversation he had with john proctor.
Reverend Parris’ fear of losing his job provokes him to cry witch. Reverend Parris’ daughter feigns to be in a coma. When the doctor bade Susanna tell Reverend Parris that he “might look to unnatural things for the cause of it” (9), he denies that possibility because he fears that rumors of witchcraft under his roof would help his “many enemies” (10) to drive him from his pulpit. Later, by supporting the Salem witch trials, Reverend Parris secures his position in the church. When John Proctor brings a deposition to court signed by Mary Warren that calls Abigail and her girls’ frauds, Reverend Parris urgently tells Judge Danforth that “they’ve come to overthrow the court” (88). When Mary Warren cannot faint in court, Reverend Parris accuses her of being “a trick to blind the court” (107). After Abigail pretends that Mary Warren is attacking her, Reverend Parris spurs on the accusations by telling her to “cast the Devil out” (118). Reverend Parris fears that if Abigail becomes exposed he will be punished for supporting an illegitimate court procedure. When execution day arrives, Reverend Parris fears that the “rebellion in Andover” (127) over hangings will occur similarly in Salem. Reverend Parris pleads to Hathorne that “. . . it were another sort that we hanged till now . . . these people have great weight yet in the town” (127). Reverend Parris’ last attempt at preserv...
Reverend Parris enacted an essential role as an eyewitness who should have contributed a greater amount to the Salem Witch Trials. Not only did Parris commence the trials due
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In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.
Parris is only the part of a whole when it comes to what he embodies-- Parris ultimately embodies the nature of Salem, Although Salem is ruled by God, the events of The Crucible prove otherwise. Throughout the play, characters are either egotistical in their own regard or are shown committing impious acts to safeguard their reputation among Salem residents. This is not a town ruled by God; it is a town ruled by deceptive people who have no remorse for the effects caused by their ruthless
The Salem Witch Trials, Who is Really Guilty? After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded, a total of 20 people were hanged, all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft.
A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.
One of the characters to be anxious regarding his good name was the town priest, Mr. Parris. In the beginning of the play when his daughter Betty is said to be bed ridden due to a witch attack, he denies every notion of the possibility. It is imperative to Parris that his holy home does not house evil spirits and that
In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is overly whelmed by the letter she receives about Macbeth. This pushes her to the extreme and causes her to react outrageously. " Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here…make thick my blood…take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers…come thick night." (I;v;40-50) All these images of darkness and horror reveal the true character of Lady Macbeth; she feels the need to become wicked. Her attitude is even more horrific when she calls on evil spirits to come and possess her, taking control of her actions. This sort of behavior causes the audience and reader to assume Lady Macbeth is a psychopath, and therefore would have reason to hold her responsible for having a major impact on her husband and driving him off, enlightening a twisted sinister and threatening dark side of him.