Essay On Reverend Parris In The Crucible

868 Words2 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

Open Document