Essay On Reverend Parris In The Crucible

In Miller’s The Crucible, a prominent character introduced is Reverend Parris. As Salem’s minister, he has significant influence in the town’s court system. As a minister, it is one’s duty to live a life devoted to being a spiritual leader. However, Reverend Parris is far from being a minister and is not a true spiritual leader because of his greed, dishonesty, and reputation.
Reverend Parris is far from being a minister and is not a true spiritual leader because of his greed. In Act II John Proctor claims that when the church was first built, Francis Nurse’s pewter candlesticks were placed upon the alter. But when Parris came, he preached for golden candlesticks for twenty weeks until his demands were met. Frankly, this shows Parris’ greed because he values material possession over preaching about God. A minister’s job is to preach about theology, not demand for superfluous goods. However, Parris is the exception; he is a minister that values material possession more than the God he is supposed to be preaching about. Parris claims that all contributions are under the name of God, but this is clearly fallacious. Reverend Parris is a man who abuses his power as a minister to justify his rule because nobody would dare challenge the leader of a theocracy—anything out of the ordinary in Salem is assumed to be witchcraft, a hangable offense. As a result, he has

an unchecked privilege in Salem: the ability to manipulate people’s beliefs to further his self interest all while claiming they are holy and an act approved by God.
Reverend Parris’ dishonesty is also proof that he is not a true spiritual leader. Lying is an undesirable trait that spiritual leaders condemn as it goes against the teachings of their religion, but not Reverend Parris. In the courtroom during Act III, Parris is asked whether or not he saw naked dancing in the woods. Despite Hale’s claim that Parris told him upon arrival in Salem that there was infact naked dancing, Parris claims that he never saw any of them naked. This contradicts his conversation with Abigail in Act I where he scolds her for what he thought to be was ‘someone naked running through the trees’. As a result of Parris lying, he withheld pivotal information from the jury that would have proven Abigail's guilt and put an end to the witchcraft debacle. Had Parris told the truth, the events of the play would most likely not have occurred but Parris knew that his dishonest nature would benefit him. Parris does not show any remorse for the suffering he causes and when he is put under question, he will lie to protect his reputation despite being a spiritual leader. Parris may believe that he is a spiritual leader because he is the minister of Salem, but he is a dishonest man who uses his title to achieve whatever he desires at the cost of people's possessions, dignity, and/or lives.
Arguably, Parris’ worst quality is his selfishness. Greed and dishonesty are one of many condemnable qualities of people, but selfishness is the worst. In the beginning of Act I, Parris is shown standing over his daughter Betty’s bed. Betty, apparently, has been stricken ill with witchcraft and is in an unresponsive state. Parris is shown sobbing beside his lifeless daughter while pleading with the Lord and his daughter to awake. One would assume that Parris would be in a state of sorrow as his daughter’s fate is unknown and there are no imminent cures but Parris, being the spiritual leader he is, quickly reveals his true intentions. Moments later during his conversation with his niece Abigail, Parris claims that he cannot confront the growing congregation and state that his daughter has been struck with witchcraft because he does not want to face the town’s outrage. In other words, Parris cannot confront his reality because it will affect his reputation as Salem’s minister. Disregarding his qualities as a spiritual leader, which are subpar to say the least, Parris lacks the quality of a father. He does not ultimately care about his daughter’s well-being but rather what she represents: his reputation. Parris’ rationale is if he were to speak the truth, he will lose his position as Salem’s minister and ultimately his reputation. Ironically, Parris has already lost his credibility as a minister and his aforementioned reputation without his disclosure. Parris selfishness towards Betty illustrates his true nature that contradicts the qualities of a true spiritual leader. Without these qualities, a reputation, if any at all, has no value-- similarly to Reverend Parris.
In conclusion, Reverend Parris is the dichotomy of a spiritual leader because of his greed, dishonesty, and selfishness.

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

actions.