Examples Of Allegory In The Crucible '

English Literature Essay 2018
The Crucible (Topic 3)
Verushka Govender 11G

The tragedy of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a masterfully woven web of underlying themes, a tale as well as an allegory of McCarthyism, where superstition and jealousy is favoured above reason, hunting down the devil where none exists.
Innocence prosecuted due to false accusations, necks snapped in abundance, and all reason and sense abandoned marks this era of the Salem witch-hunts as the strangest and horrendous chapters in human history, where hope, reason, honour, ethics and goodness perish beneath, buried among the civil dead while evil and chaos are left to thrive. Our leading protagonist can be compared to an ant against boot in a fight against morality and

land, where even being in a society where people are so religious and God abiding, common sense and decency and human conscience does not prevail. Honour plays a key role in the series of events that unfold, a trait that determines either a character is to meet with life or death.

These themes of ‘Honour and Death’ can be explored within the characters of Parris, Danforth and Proctor.

Reverend Samuel Parris is a despicable character that displays a weak, paranoid demagogue, lacking ‘honour’ in every sense of the word.

A town preacher who is described as a parasite of Salam (though thinking himself to be a pious figure), a pathetic, corrupted shepherd who feels persecuted by his own sheep, only speaking of hellfire and damnation with only a thirst for power, camouflaging his actions with a façade of holiness and religion.
At the beginning of the play, Parris is in search for witchery in Salem, and finds his unsuspected victims when lurking in the woods, coming across a group of girls (including his daughter and niece) dancing. Parris continually besets the fears that conspire against him, worrying about his reputation above all else because of his relation to them, revealing him to lack the trait of honour, a quality described ‘knowing what you are doing is morally right’ by not doing the morally right by not revealing them for the sinners they are. We see an example of his ideology of reputation above honour in Act 1, line 63: ‘Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character.’ (Act

1)
Towards the end, Parris turns back on his decisions, wanting to save John Proctor from the hangman’s noose, but only because of the conditions being unfavourable to him, worrying that the town may rise against him in retaliation to his verdict. Even after the events of Abigail stealing his wealth and running away, he never admits fault, making his character more frustrating to behold. He is a character who doesn’t have a grain of ‘honour’ in him, avoiding doing the morally right and lingering in his own avarice for riches.
Deputy Governor Danforth is (depicted) as the leading judicial figure in Salem, overseeing the merciless witch trails performed without hesitation nor conscience. Miller portrays Danforth as an honest character, though being a domineering and selfish judge who lacks emotion and sympathy. He is believed to be a symbol of tyranny, believing he is doing god’s work without any question. He is imprisoned from being an unbiased judge because of his undesirable traits, believing his perception is flawless, and insulted when anyone questions his decision-making authority, allowing his character flaws to overshadow and control his judgement in the matter of life and death, as seen in Act 3: ‘Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside? . . . .This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?’ (Act 3)
He, like Parris, views his reputation above all else and hangs innocent people to avoid tarnishing his own name, as we see in Act 4 when it becomes clear that the allegations of witchcraft are completely false, and Danforth refuses to glance at the truth. He believes the girls are incapable of lying, showing his biased character, and allows young Abigail to have more control in the courtroom than anyone else. He is a character who does not care if the world burns, as long as it’s at his own will.
Now to address our ‘tragic hero’, no character grapples with the theme of what honour truly means more so than its protagonist, John Proctor, a character with an elaborate blend of characteristics and emotions. Proctor illustrates his character as being entirely ethical, as well as having the trait of bravery.
He begins the play as a tormented soul, a man who lives with the irredeemable guilt for committing lechery, constantly haunted by his sin by his cold wife and by the lustful Abigail.

He is a character who goes through the most drastic character development by almost becoming divine towards the end of the play, playing on one of the main themes of sacrifice, sacrificing his life not for reputation, unlike the other characters discussed having the ideology of ‘reputation above all else’, but honour. ‘How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Act 4)
When he tries to convince the court that the girls are lying was an instance of bravery, for children were thought of as the vice of god and they were pure of blemishes, especially by the judge himself, Danforth. A man that exemplifies the importance of a strong name through his actions and his choices throughout the play, most significantly in the 4th act where he chose death over disgracing his name, living by the idea to ‘live honourably or die dishonourably’.
Proctor also fought the court trying to keep them from convicting his spouse even though nobody else would dare to do. His honesty is proven once he confessed to the court that he had an affair with Abigail just to save Elizabeth’s life, ‘I have known her, sir. I have known her’. (Act

3)

He exhibits dignity when he signs the confession and then later tears it up. This action shows us that he cared more about his belief than he did about his life. By not buckling under pressure, Proctor was able to refuse to give into Danforth’s and Abigail’s power of persuasion, which showed a great deal of dignity and honour.
It is certain then that Proctor is an individual of many characteristics but only one stands out is that is that he is honourable. Due to being honourable and ethical he is also brave, extreme, and dignified. Proctor might as well be named the most honourable character in the play.