Political Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The concepts of Lex Talionis, the law of retaliation, and an eye for an eye all originate from the laws of the first babylonian dynasty in 1792 BCE, known as the Code of Hammurabi. These laws were used in all areas of the government including justice, the economy, family laws, criminal laws, and civil laws. Like the babylonians, every society has a political system consisting of laws to keep order and justice (Britannica, 2017). Despite these laws, there are always people who will use the political system for their advantage, trying to achieve their own selfish goals. Instead of an eye for an eye, it is an eye for two eyes, false accusations for love, or deception for power. This idea of using politics to achieve a selfish goal is a theme that …show more content…

This theme is prevalent in many forms of american literature. The “Account Trial of Martha Carrier” by Cotton Mather portray this theme of political corruption because it refers to the Salem Witch Trials. These Trials are an example of how people can abused politics because people who are accused of being a witch could not be proven innocent, therefore this leaves them to go to jail or be hanged. The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays this theme as well. It too refers to the Salem Witch Trials in that one girl, Abigail Williams, accused people she does not like of being a witch to get rid of them for achieving her own selfish goals. Also, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts this theme. This story takes place in a racist society where a black man is accused of rape so a white man can hide the fact that he beat his daughter. Finally, the modern Walt Disney Corporation's film Frozen includes this theme. It is seen in the instance that a man, Hans, uses a girl, Anna, to get to the crown by betraying her trust and using her …show more content…

“Salem Witch Trials.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2011, www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials. Hollins, Chris, et al. Frozen. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2012. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Lippincott, 1960. Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Martha Carrier: Executed as a Witch in Salem in 1692.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 1 June 2017, www.thoughtco.com/martha-carrier-biography-3530322. Mather, Cotton. The Wonders of the Invisible World: Observations as Well Historical as Theological upon the Nature, the Number and the Operations of the Devils: Accompany'd with I. Some Accounts of the Grievous Molestations by DœMons and Witchcrafts .. and the Trials of Some Eminent Malefactors ... II. Some Counsils Directing a Due Improvement of the Terrible Things Lately Done by the Unusual & Amazing Range of Evil Spirits ... III. Some Conjectures upon the Great Events Likely to Befall the World in General and New-England in Particular ... IV. A Short Narrative of a Late Outrage Committed by a Knot of Witches in Swedeland ... V. The Devil Discovered, in a Brief Discourse upon Those Temptations Which Are the More Ordinary Devices of the Wicked One. Printed by Benj. Harris for Sam. Phillips, 1985. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin Books,

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