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A thirst for power and dominance are natural traits of all humans- Some can control this thirst, but others cannot- and this desire can be detrimental to not only the individual, but to society as well. As people we search for one thing in general and that is power; to rule over others, control the actions of others, and to destroy all opposition, and prestige; that no one may question your authority, and not have their motives ridiculed. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, as well as Edward W. Said’s Orientalism, and C.S. Lewis's, The Rival Conceptions of God highlight how a craving for dominance are related to one’s en/unenlightenment, and it is easy to see this when we put it in the scope of power and prestige and even easier to relate to. As …show more content…
humans, it is natural for some of us to rise to the top and take control; If no one did this, the Earth would be even more chaotic than it is today. Some people are humane in their way of rising to the top, but others, however, are not. As shown in Orientalism by Edward Said, "From the beginning of the nineteenth century until the end of World War 2 France and Britain dominated the Orient and Orientalism; since World War 2 America has dominated the Orient and approaches it as France and Britain Once did."(4) Power has shifted from ruler to ruler, and country to country throughout history. But the way people achieve this power is not all the same. Some, like Gandhi, achieved their power through peaceful protests and never through forcefulness or war. Others, however, like Hitler and Stalin, achieved their power through elimination of the competition. All had the same goal, but had different views and morals on how to achieve this goal. People like Hitler and Stalin were clearly unenlightened on how they represented themselves through power, money, and the like, and didn't know that their power was from the people and their support for their “ideal nation's.” They believed that they were the best of the best, and failed to regard human life, because they were obsessed with being the country with the most power. This power they found was like a powerful drug that rendered them useless and forced their country to fall with them. Like Hitler and Stalin, Danforth in Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is merciless in trying to discover what he thinks is the truth. He had no compassion when he declared, "Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang.” His unenlightenment regarding the real truth of witchcraft had caused him to have no sympathy towards his own people, and he had no willingness to listen to the truth. Once one gets a taste of power, it is evident that, "We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut and singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by,” as seen in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards. More power leads to even more abuse and even less regard towards human life in general. Once the goal of power is achieved, greed kicks in, and people often want even more than is humanly possible. Some prestigious people are respected and admired in the way that they achieve their prestige.
Others, however, who believe they are prestigious, are simply self absorbed and feel entitled. Mr. Hale in The Crucible, “felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for." Hale finally was the boss of something he was familiar with, and let his pride and ego get to him instead of really trying to help the people of the town. Hale was so excited that his profession had finally been called for, that he was focusing on the wrong things- his pride and status. For many, being at the top is all that matters to them; Social status and nothing else. But to be prestigious is to be respected and admired, and not everyone with power is. Many people who hold power or are particularly high in their social status are unenlightened on the ability of those surrounding them who may not be so powerful. The Orient is a system built for the prestigious, wealthy, and from a foreign superpower country. In Orientalism, it is revealed that a French nobelist was a, “foreign, comparatively wealthy, male, and these were historical facts of domination that allowed him not only posses Kuchuk Hanem physically but to speak for her and tell his readers in what way she was "typically Oriental." This shows that in some places, those who hold power and are thought of as prestigious are simply wealthy and male, and anyone who is not either of those doesn’t have a chance to be respected at all. Women especially, like Kuchuk Hanem, are not highly regarded and sometimes can’t even speak for themselves in certain countries. Many of these countries as a whole are unenlightened on the value of life no matter who it may belong to. The people who hold power in these places often seem to be less and less enlightened, if this is possible, as more and more power is gained. Many people are very close minded and are simply not willing to see things from other people’s point
of view, even though it may be beneficial to them. “We humans call one thing good and another thing bad. But according to some people that is merely our human point of view,” as written in The Rival Conceptions of God by C.S. Lewis. There are many different views on what is good and bad, but fewer that lie in between. Some people who aren’t religious refuse to believe that our sense of right and wrong comes from a higher place. They simply believe that humans are born with a sense of right and wrong. And others, who are religious, refuse to believe that this is true. We humans have many different points of view on the subject, and often are unenlightened on the other side of things. People refuse to be open minded about these kinds of things and instead let their pride get in the way of what may be a learning experience. One's actions are followed by another opposite or equal reaction; This is what is determined as karma, and it affects all no matter how “big” or “small.” It is in our nature as humans to leave our mark on the world and achieve the perfect standing no matter the cost, even if that cost is human life. This has led to mankind’s unenlightenment regarding human life. Our unenlightenment isn't about our failures- it is our inability to see the value of life in our pursuit of power and prestige.
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
The desire for power is prevalent in our day to day life from wanting control over little insignificant aspects to control over others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is
A crucible has two definitions, one being a vessel in which metal is heated to a high temperature and melted for the purposes of casting, having been purified. An Alternative sense of the word may be as the focus of a baptism by fire, by which a metamorphosis in political, social, and cultural relations takes place, driven by agents of change. When a community presents a toxic environment which is seen to be flawed in major aspects of effective functionality, good may only triumph when certain individuals rise up against such a destructive system and refuse conformity in a dire attempt to reform the society for the better, despite the often tragic personal consequences. Thus the corruptness of a society can only be ameliorated by the personal sacrifice of such individuals who refuse conformity and choose to uphold their moral vision, despite the friction. This phenomenon is not only found in The Crucible, but it is universal; applicable to any culture during any era, and is a continually recurring theme in literature. It’s roots can be traced back to biblical stories, in which several of the first and most famous instances of this phenomenon can be seen in the crucifixion of Christ, in which Christ willingly died in order to change society and for the bettering of man kind, or in Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son despite the act’s complications. Other instances of this can be found in The Crucible with major characters such as Giles and John Proctor who act as the nonconformists, and it can also be seen in the case of Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher and Mohamed Bouazizi, the man who instigated the Arab Spring. These instances will be closely analyzed for their parallels and distinct similarities in distinct rel...
In The Crucible, there are many examples that ambition can corrupt even the most steady and kind, through the use of characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale and John Proctor as well as others. Rev. Hale, as an example, came to Salem with an ambition to rid the town of witchcraft, but at the same time disregarded the fact of the matter, innocent people are being put to death for the sake of reputation. As Hale says in Arthur Millers' The Crucible, book/movie/play,
The Crucible – Characters and Changes & nbsp; Change is good for the future. " We hear the catchy phrase everywhere. From company slogans to motivational speeches, our world seems to impose this idea that change is always a good thing. Assuming that the change is for the better, it is probably a true statement in most cases. The root of this idea seems to come from the notion that we are dissatisfied with the state that we are in, so, in order to create a more enjoyable environment, we adjust.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. There are many theories as to why the witch trials came about, the most popular of which is the girls' suppressed childhoods. However, there were other factors as well, such as Abigail Williams' affair with John Proctor, the secret grudges that neighbors held against each other, and the physical and economic differences between the citizens of Salem Village.
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The togetherness of the community, the church and legal system died so that the children could protect their families' social status.
Every event in history can be attributed to a collective of emotions. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls claimed to have seen other villagers working for the devil and began accusing people of practicing witchcraft. This soon created a sense of mass hysteria throughout the town that resulted in the death of twenty people and the imprisonment of over two hundred. We now refer to these events as the Salem witch trials. In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted similar trials accusing people in prominent positions of being Communists. McCarthy implemented unfair investigative techniques, similar to those used in the Salem witch trials. Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, creates a story around the known details of the Salem witch trials and focuses on the relationship
Great events, whether they are beneficial or tragic ones, bring change in a person. These scenarios can give one an entirely new perspective on life, and turn around his way of thinking. Events such as the Salem Witch Trials show the people involved what they could not see before. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor gain valuable insight into themselves, as well as others.
Greed and envy are two of the seven deadly sins in the Christian world that adherents must dispel from their lives. This fact makes it all the more ironic when many Christians during the Salem witch trials display these two offenses in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. One reason explaining the prevalence of sin in a society that thinks of itself as pure is that leaders demonstrate that they care more about actions rather than pureness of thought. For example, clergymen who feature themselves in the play, like Parris and Hale, often measure a person’s connection with the divine through the number of times he or she attends church. In actuality, according to many prominent officials of the Christian Church, that connection can only be achieved
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their own personal gain in their individual ways. This hunger, be it for wealth, land, love, power, revenge, or pride, can, and will be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his play 'The Crucible';. This essay will explore the motives of characters within the play and even the motives of Arthur Miller himself and therefore show how conflict stems from certain recognisable human failings including those mentioned above, fear, and hysteria.
In the Crucible, we are introduced to the main protagonist John Proctor; the way that Arthur Miller presents him by rebelling against the authority in Salem. Out of the entire town he is the only person that speaks out, realising that the authority is unfair and unjust; he is not like everyone else in the town who keeps quiet to themselves. There are many situations where we the readers can see very clear examples of him rebelling against the authority that controlled Salem. One example of Proctor rebelling against authority in Salem was when he did not go to church on a Sabbath day and instead decided to pray in his own home ‘Mr Proctor, your house is not a church; your theology must tell you that’. That is one clear example of him rebelling
“It’s strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverly.” This quote, stated by Reverend Hale, referring to Rebecca Nurse explains how others in the town think very highly of her. Therefore, when Rebecca is accused of using witchcraft to murder Ann Putnam's babies during the Salem Witchcraft Trials, the townspeople suggest that it may be a hoax. I can relate to Rebecca Nurse because we are both greatly understanding, extremely skeptical, and very nurturing.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller tells a story that is based off the real Salem witch trials. The tragic hero in this story is John Proctor and he is married to Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor has three boys. His tragic flaw is his affair with Abigail Williams (she is one of the girls that lead the witch trials as one of the “victims”). John Proctor and Abigail William’s affair is what led to Abigail Williams wanting to be his wife, then the witch trials, thus leading to his death.
The Crucible is an incredibly influential play no only in the fact that it displays many important themes, but it also portrays how a theocracy impacts societal actions. The Salem witch trials were the culmination of the problems with theocracy. The actions of society, not only are impacted by their personal thoughts, but also in religious undertones affect them. Act two in the play portrays not only all of these themes, but also some important events leading towards the witchcraft hysteria. Act two in the play portrays how theocracy ultimately leads to chaos.