Goodness Essay

990 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Relation between religion and social change

In the image of goodness in terms of society and/or personal actions and beliefs, people would probably want to believe what they want to believe, not let society choose who they should think is good and who is bad. In the book “The Crucible”, Arthur Miller demonstrates not only how people not only take what they believe in and use it to conduct their actions, but also, how it affects society all over the world. I,too would believe in my own personal beliefs or actions.
In the book “The Crucible” , Arthur Miller explains this conflict between goodness and evil between society and it's people. The setting takes place in the late 1600's and the early 1700's in a little town in Salem, Massachusetts. The people in this town were settling in this new land, and they had been going on for about a few years settling in quietly. But things started to arouse, as people heard of this new magic called witchcraft, in which it has said that witchcraft is used by witches, who use this power to abuse others, and cause chaos to the world, and it is only given to witches by none other than the Devil himself. Now, most of the people in Salem didn't believe in this witchcraft, and went on with their daily lives. But when a group of young girls, along with a black slave-woman, committed a ritual to get in contact with the Devil in some way, the ritual apparently was interrupted and was deemed incomplete, due to one of the people in Salem finding out that a ritual to conjure to dead was commencing. Soon, more and more people hear about the use of witchcraft, and started to blame others in the town, because they had very bad relations with each other. In the end, the town eventually dwindled down to the point where hundreds of people were accused and ...

... middle of paper ...

...e wrong to think that because it had just given even worse results than killing people. One example would be that the town would no longer prosper to it's former glory, and other towns are starting to be affected this witchcraft as well. In fact, one town had it's court overthrown by the people. With these actions and others happening as a result of society calling the big shots, I think people would want to believe their own personal beliefs or actions.
So, throughout the story and throughout life, we see society making countless decisions, making countless mistakes, and repeating the process over and over again. And then, we see the individuals that try to prevent the worst from happening to the world, or in the countries they reside in. However, if it's one thing that can change the world, it's what someone believes in, and what they do personally to back it up.

Show More
Related

  • How Does Reverend Hale Change In The Crucible

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    We have all heard the tales and seen the movies of evil witches cooking little kids up for supper. For the people of salem in 1692-1693 this was a reality. In the matter of less than a year more than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and more than twenty were executed. In these historic events author Arthur Miller wrote a play about the people and events in this play there is a man, Reverend Hale is well versed in the study of witchcraft and has come to try and save the girls that have been gripped by the Devil. Miller has Hale change very much throughout the event of this play. In the beginning he believes that the Devil is at work in Salem, how ever near the climactic ending of this play he realises that this witch talk has gotten completely out of hand

    Read More

  • Religion's Precedence Over Realism in Depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sometimes people are so narrow-minded that they do not see the whole picture. People see what they want to see because they cannot handle the actuality or do not like the truth. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Danforth refuses to come to the truth that the witch trials in Salem were the result of a cover-up, and that the court hung a handful of innocent people because of a lie. Miller once said, “The tragedy of The Crucible is the everlasting conflict between people so fanatically wedded to this orthodoxy that they could not cope with the evidence of their senses.” In other words, the tragedy of The Crucible involved the theocracy’s failure to control Salem’s witchcraft mania. At the time, Salem was governed by a theocracy, in which the ministers also had judicial power over society. Because the judges were ministers, religion took precedence over realism and pragmatism; they were unable to come to their senses and realize that the accusations of witchcraft were out of human emotions.

    Read More

  • Human Flaws in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.

    Read More

  • The History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.

    Read More

  • The Crucible - Emnity And Distrust

    1761 Words  | 4 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is set in Salem village where an atmosphere of enmity and mistrust has been created through the conflicts and disagreements many villagers experience throughout the play. Many of these are caused by or, similar to the conflict between Parris and Proctor, are inflated by the many accusations of witchcraft occurring in the village.

    Read More

  • Essay

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hesiod’s Theogony and the Babylonian Enuma Elish are both myths that begin as creation myths, explaining how the universe and, later on, humans came to be. These types of myths exist in every culture and, while the account of creation in Hesiod’s Theogony and the Enuma Elish share many similarities, the two myths differ in many ways as well. Both myths begin creation from where the universe is a formless state, from which the primordial gods emerge. The idea of the earth and sky beginning as one and then being separated is also expressed in both myths.

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Hysteria And Injustice

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.

    Read More

  • essay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Distinctively visual language and cinematic techniques highlight to the responder the particular literal and metaphorical experiences characters are faced with, within a text. Peter Goldsworthy’s novel Maestro, Don McLean’s song ‘Vincent’ and the intriguing film Australia by Baz Luhrrman, explore the ways in which the human experiences of an individual’s connection to landscape is fundamental in shaping one’s sense of identity, personal growth and development. Composers further explore the realisation that our lives can be enriched by an understanding and appreciation of art as well as a deeper understanding of the importance of love and lust. The depiction of characters is conveyed through distinctively visual images to highlight the subsequent development of courage and resilience leads responders to a deeper understanding of how human experiences can create a sense of individuality.

    Read More

  • essay

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...

    Read More

  • An Analytical Essay Explaining Why Arthur Miller Wrote The Crucible

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    hysteria brought about by the witchcraft scare in The Crucible leads to the upheaval in people’s differentiation between right and wrong, fogging their sense of true justice.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Salem Witch Trials

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before and during the times of the Salem Witch Trials, Puritans who were a god-fearing religious sect, always believed in two worlds. They believed that God controlled both worlds, and that if they displeased him, he would punish the entire community. The Puritans did everything in their control, so that they wouldn’t displease him. They paid attention to things that occurred around them, because they believed that he was sending them signs. At the time, they believed that every terrible thing occurring to them was God showing his displeasure with them. Since the Salem community was ruled by the Puritan Church, they instilled their same beliefs and ideals to everyone else in the community. The people of Salem were all taught and shown to fear

    Read More

  • The Social Issues Happening In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    The reputation of a person is very important to their standing in the community, and especially in a religious community. In the play the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows the importance of social standing by religious beliefs and contemporary social dynamics. Therefore, the play was based off of a historical context, witchcraft, some characters represent as a scapegoat while others act as an antithesis of being a witch to meet the society’s standards.

    Read More

  • Explore the Theme of Reputation in 'The Crucible'

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, Miller uses the theme of reputation like a puppet master controlling every person in Salem and affecting their choices and decisions. Moreover, the necessity to have a perfect image of oneself in the village is such that it is fear of judgement that drives their good behaviour rather than true belief in their religion.

    Read More

  • How Does The Crucible Show The Nature Of Power And Authority

    2327 Words  | 5 Pages

    Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court they are essentially breaking their relationship with God. Like everyone else in Salem, Danforth draws a clear line to separate the world into black and white. The concurrent running of the “Crucible” image also captures the quintessence of the courtroom as Abigial stirs up trouble among the people that have good reputation and loving natures in society. In a theocratic government, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil.

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Crucible Today

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    They were condemned because they did not follow the exact 'rules' in their society which 'defined' who was good and who was evil. The people who followed the 'rules' were in turn deemed 'good', the nature of their true character being basically irrelevant. This is relevant to our time because history has shown us that it has happened before, for example, McCarthyist America where all communists were bad, all capitalists good, or in Nazi Germany - Jews were evil and were to be persecuted while all Aryans were good. In fact, McCarthyism was an underlying factor behind Miller writing the play. In those cases, evil was not the people who committed the real atrocities, but those who did not conform to the rules of their society, as was the case in Salem. Even now, many communists are condemned straight away because of their ideologies, even though their intentions are in many ways good.

    Read More

More about Goodness Essay

Open Document