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The crucible essay characters
Characters and their characterisation found in the crucible
Characters and their characterisation found in the crucible
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In The Crucible by Arthur Miller many characters chose to put their life on the line before losing their good reputation, that was how highly they valued their reputation. The Crucible took place in Massachusetts in the early 1960’s, it is based on a real life event of the Salem witch trials in which multiple girls claim to be traumatized by witchcraft. The girls start accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, specifically people that they or their families hold a grudge against in order to favor themselves. The accused were jailed and often hung as a result of the accusations. Arthur Miller shows through various characters’ motivations and actions that people value their reputation which shows that they often care about themselves more than the effects of their actions.
One specific character that showed various times that he valued
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“Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff necked people to me, and now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my character… Your name in the town – it is entirely clean is it not?” (Miller 140) Parris asks Abigail if she has done anything to potentially harm her name in the town because he worries about what people will say about them. However, he cares not so much about what people in the town will say about her, instead he cares more about what the people in the town will have to say about him, and how this will all affect him. Parris was more concerned about his own reputation in the town than how anything people might be saying affected his niece. He places his own good name above Abigail’s without thinking about how his priorities could potentially hurt her. “Proctor
Honor, dignity, and integrity are traits that are becoming more and more rare in our society. The Crucible, a play written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, is based on the Salem witch hunts of 1692 and parallels the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the 1950s. In the play, Miller attempts to focus his themes around traits such as honor, dignity, and integrity, and as a result, the theme "is it better to die honorably or live dishonorably" becomes vital to the story and well conveyed throughout it. The characters that exemplify this idea are John Proctor and Giles Corey, both of whom die by the end of the play, and Reverend John Hale and Abigail Williams, who live through the trials.
In the play, The Crucible by Arther Miller, the author depicts a theme of greed and revenge. The play takes place in 1962, in Salem, Massachusetts where infamous witch trials are held. The play is filled with revenge hungry and self motivated people, who are falsely accused of witchcraft and have their lives on the line. Rev Parris, Abigail Williams, and Thomas Putnam exhibit the many effects that greediness has on people and how easily it can ruin someone's life. Many people who were thought to be Godly righteous people were overtaken by greed, and the result led to an unexpected outcome of disappoint in either their life or someone close. There were three types of greed presented in this book, greed for money, greed for power, and greed for another person's spouse. Sometimes people who claim to be righteous and trustworthy often led to a disappointed truth who
While reading The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it had presented itself was many possible themes, but the theme that best fits was reputation. In salem one’s reputation is incredibly important, it is how they are presented to the world. John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris where the ones that that were most concerned with their reputation in Salem.
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a great portrayal of humans and their struggles. This play takes place in the 1690’s in Salem, a small Puritan community based on a rigid social system, where an outbreak of rumors claiming witchcraft contaminated the small village. The witch hysteria was initiated by a group of young girls who were afraid of being accused of swaying from the strict regulations. This caused conflict among the people of the community and shows which characters act morality right in which situations. John Proctor, one of the main figures in the play, can proof his moral character during his life. But what makes your decisions and your character moral ? Proctor shows his
Now her concern for reputation is slightly different the Paris because he is worried about what other people will think about him even though he didn't have any actions while Abigail is concerned about her reputation because of her actions. In The Crucible Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor but this is a rumor to the people of Salem and she doesn't want people to think of her as a whore so she decides to deny it and lie by saying the reason why Elizabeth Proctor fired her was because she didn't want to do the work asked of her. She tells her uncle these lies by saying, ¨She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!¨. Because of her concern to defend her reputation she lies and creates more problems and drama in The
In 1692, nineteen men and women of Salem, Massachusetts were suspected under the crime of witchcraft and were sentenced to hang. These hangings came from the result of villagers blaming each other trying in order to save their own lives. Similarly, in the 1950s, McCarthyism and the Red Scare took on a similar outcome as the Salem Witch Trials; many people were wrongly convicted as Communists. However as time progressed, people became less concerned about saving themselves but began to protect one another from harm. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950s in order to relay the message that although humanity appears to selfishly protect their own interests, they eventually become selfless and serve justice. Through the use of description, Miller illustrates how John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Giles Corey transform from selfish to selfless.
Moral Struggle is common theme in literature in which characters face internal conflicts which can lead to serious or trivial outcomes. Arthur Miller's play, “The Crucible,” is partially fictionalized and written about the Salem Witch Trials that occured in the year 1692 in Massachusetts. “The Crucible” emphasizes the idea that doing the right thing can cost the villagers their lives .
William Ellery Channing said “The great hope of society is in individual character.” The fate of society rests in the hands of the people who live in it. There are so many different types of people in the world, and each person impacts the world in a different way. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, was written in the 1900s about events that happened in the 1600s. His purpose was to call out people’s actions and show the reader that hundreds of years later, nothing has changed. Many of the characters only care about themself and their own reputation. They do not care about what is actually going on in the society, as long as they are not looked down upon. It is hard to put other people before yourself, which is why most people do not do this. We criticize the way people acted in The Crucible, yet we act the same way.
From the very beginning of the play it is obvious that all Parris cares about is himself and what the people are going to think of him. When Parris’ daughter, Ruth, is sick, and they don’t know what is wrong, his concern about himself over anyone else is clearly obvious. While his daughter is laying there in bed, his only concern is that she and Abigail were not involved with witchcraft, telling Abigail, “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend the stiff-necked people to me, and now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character. I have given you a home, child. I have put clothes upon your back - now give me an upright answer. Your name in the town - it is entirely white is it not?” (Miller 1130 Reverend Parris’ care about only his reputation and nothing else, not his family, not even his morals, becomes even more apparent when Parris lies to the court. Lying to the court is a serious and immoral offense, but Parris does not care about that, all he cares about is what the people of Salem think of him, it doesn’t matter what he seems to think of himself. When confronted in court about what he witnesses in the woods the night all of this chaos began, Parris lies in order to yet again keep the rumors of witchcraft out of his family and keep his name “white”. Although Parris knows he saw the
The Salem Witch trials empower characters who are marginalized in society. In General, women have the lowest ranking when it comes to men and have very little to no option in life. They work as servants until they get married off and start having children. Adding on to being thus restricted, Abigail is a slave to John Proctors “needs”. He then takes away her innocents when he performs adultery with her. When he terminates their affair he arouses her spiteful jealousy. The puritan’s greatest fear is the defiance of god, so Abigail suspected witch craft and devil worship quickly brought the attention to the court in Salem. With Gods will, she and the girls quickly gain power over society. Tituba has a lower status than
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
From the start of the play, Abigail already has a bad reputation for committing adultery. Elizabeth Proctor had kicked her out of their home because Elizabeth knew of the affair that was going on between Abigail and John. This tarnished her reputation and for that, Abigail wanted to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” This is the remark Abigail makes to John Proctor about Elizabeth and what she is doing to her reputation. The main reason behind Abigail accusing so many people is so that eventually the blame is put on Elizabeth. Abigail’s hopes are to have Elizabeth killed so her and John can go on living their lives together. Not only does she want to live her life with John Proctor, but Abigail is also angered at Elizabeth because of the reputation she has given her throughout the village. Her actions go to show how willing she is to ruin numerous lives in order to get revenge on Elizabeth and also get rid of Elizabeth to carry on her dreams of marrying John Proctor. Obviously, Abigail Williams was very serious about getting vengeance on Elizabeth for destroying her reputation in the village of Salem,
Parris obtains a very churchly and holy figure with the town and would do anything to keep that social status. His niece, Abigail Williams, has been accused of taking part in witchcraft and if proven guilty, that would mean people would perceive him, being the uncle, as someone who is less holy and will surely lose all his respect, “Now tell me true, Abigail. And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you, for now my ministry’s at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life. Whatever abomination you have done, give me all of it now, for I dare not be taken unaware when I go before them down there” ( Miller 1104 ). Reverend Parris is pleading with Abigail to speak the truth of what she has really done, but later in the play tries to cover up her actions and makes sure no one discovers what in truth occurred in the forest with her and all her friends. He is in a way aiming to change the story himself in attempts to possibly convince others that his niece is not guilty. It is evident that Reverend Parris is striving to save himself more than he is trying to save Abigail. This is supporting the fact that Parris does not acknowledge that the truth is far more valuable than some pitiful
Everyone is concerned with their reputation and how people view them. People could know nothing personal about someone, but immediately recall their reputation and the rumors about them. Having one bad story to one’s good name is often much more memorable and impactful than dozens of good ones. In The Crucible, Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings of seven individuals, in order to keep the good reputation of the court and himself.
Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. A famous American poet once said: “Oh reputation dearer far than life”. James Russell Lowell highlights the importance of reputation by declaring it more important than even human life itself. This idea is also found in ‘The Crucible’ as many characters will be challenged between telling the truth and dying, or saving their reputation. In ‘The Crucible’, this theme beholds a key position in the unrolling of the story as an impression of control over the outcome of people’s lives is created by its importance.