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How does religion impact literature
How does religion impact literature
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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Elizabeth states “I think that be the Devil’s argument”, we analyze those words as we try to understand whether pride or something else would keep someone from lying to save their own life. Not only in the lives of storybook characters do we contemplate this thought but our faith has recorded, over the years, many Saints faced with this decision. Making a decision between life and death is an unusual circumstance but one that would be made by the individual based on his or hers trust and faith in God at the time. Only that individual person could make that decision, no one else could give another permission to lie. Our faith is built on our trust in God and the Bible reinforces God’s commitment to us as our protector. Psalms 97:10 states: He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hands of the wicked. Jesus teaches us to pray that we will not …show more content…
In addition many mothers of important saints lost their lives solely for being a mother of a saint. St. Blaise is an example of a saint who could have lied to save his life but he instead stated to the governor “There is only one immortal God, and Him do I adore.”(Delaney 109) Saint Blaise was subjected to torture for years and eventually beheaded because of his faith. Saint Leo is another example of a saint who could have lied to save his life. The governor told Saint. Leo to state the words “our gods are great” upon doing so he would be dismissed. Instead Saint Leo stated “They are great for the destruction of those souls that believe in them.”(353) Even when the governor stated the gods could save him from death Saint Leo trusted in God and because he was not willing to lie he was killed. Many of the early Christian martyrs were killed because they chose to be Jesus’ disciples, Saint Andrew, Saint Peter, Thomas the Apostle; could have made the choice to lie but instead choice death because of their
In the Crucible, people were continuously accused of doing witchcraft. Those people who were being accused had to either confess or die despite of the truth. Struggling in this moral decision, people began to recoil and lie to others and even to themselves in order to save their lives. Marry, who was first accused of doing witchcraft told the judges that John Proctor was connected to the devil. Obviously, Marry chose to live as a liar. Eventually, It was John Proctor’s turn to decide: to confess and lie or refuse and die. Struggling in a decision that drives people into craziness, John Proctor chose to refuse anything despite of being hanged.
In Arthur Miller’s contemporary play, The Crucible, many abandon logic in face of tumultuous time. A group of people who claim they practiced witchcraft accuse many others of the same crime. Difficulty exists in maintaining a fair trial for the accused, due to the hardship of proving innocence and ulterior motives of the court. Many use fallacious arguments to protect themselves, such as circular reasoning. In her trial, Martha Corey bases her innocence on knowing “not what a witch is” and defends her statement that if she practices witchcraft “I would know it” (Miller 83-84). Martha can only use a fallacious argument in her defence, as hard evidence for the invisible crime of witchcraft does not exist. Martha’s trial and several others
John Proctor is, at first, willing to offer up a false confession that his life may be spared. Inevitably, John Proctor possesses that fateful attribute known to fall fatal to many human beings - pride. While he has, indeed, been ashamed of his many sins throughout his life, Proctor's soul still clings to his pride and his good name, however soiled it may have become. On the morning scheduled for his execution, Proctor wrestles with the realization that one more sin so heaped upon the rest in his life will make precious little difference in the end; "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.... My honesty is broke... I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie." (126) He attempts to calm his pride by telling himself that the other accused witches who will not give false testimony to save themselves from the gallows have every right to do so; they led lives free of blame. He, however, he tells himself, did no such thing; what right has he to hang among the righteous? "Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will nor blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." (126) Thus the conviction first reached by John Proctor is to save his life rather than to throw it away in mock martyrdom.
At certain times it might feel right for some people to help the people that they love by lying. Elizabeth, Proctor's wife, does not tell the truth about her husband's affair in front of the society to protect her husband. She describes her husband as a “good and righteous man” in the court (Miller 113). However, that is not the truth. When a person loves someone, he or she would do anything to help that person. Some people choose the right way, while the others choose the wrong path. Elizabeth decides to lie for the first time just to save Proctor from the problems that he might face if the truth is revealed. Similarly, a teenage girl lies about her friend’s abortion to protect her. De Paulo says, “People tell these serious lies to protect something when the truth could threaten something that they really value” (Kelleher 1). In this case, the girl took the same step to save her friend. People do not want to see their loved ones suffer. As a result, they hide the truth to protect that person from danger. To protect others, they forget the bad outcomes and the trouble they might have to face for telling lies. Not only do people lie for others, but they lie for their own
In the play: The Crucible Miller reveals the effect of the Salem Witch Trials on the people due to their growing fear. Miller shows that fear exasperates man’s innate vices of self-preservation, greed, and hypocrisy. In The Crucible Miller demonstrates these vices through Danforth, a prestigious judge that should represent the peak of human morality and reason.
with what you feel are the main themes of the play that you want to
A lie can protect the integrity of someone when the truth is nowhere to be found. A lie becomes one 's reality when all hope is lost. Lies can protect bare emotions or embrace one 's false accusations, however once said the truth no longer exists. Spoken with words or depicted by actions, lies evolve from innate feelings within and conspire individuals to act in detrimental ways. The propensity of individuals to lie within the Puritan Society develops from the fear of not fitting within the standards and expectations a Puritan is expected to have. While a lie is a considered a vast sin in the Puritan community, many rely on this sin to covert other ones previously made. In Arthur Miller 's tragic play The Crucible,
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.
In Arthur Miller’s book “The Crucible” there is an inadequacy of honesty which is a very important trait for everyone to learn. In this essay I am writing to prove that the paucity of honesty is negative and was very prevalent in Salem, and that very few people remained truthful throughout the Salem Witch Trials. The dishonesty in The Crucible would soon lead to the deaths and imprisonment of many residents in Salem. Those accused would lie and accuse other people of staying out of trouble from the authorities, but this took the lives of many innocent victims. In Miller's book Dishonesty is expressed by almost everyone included in The Crucible such as Abigail, Mary, and Elizabeth.
Many characters in The Crucible fall under the trap of lying, if not to other people, then to themselves. The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in history, surrounding the Salem witch trials. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Additionally, Miller wrote the play as an allegory to mccarthyism, which is the practice of making accusations without evidence. In the play, Arthur Miller develops the theme of lies and deceit by showing Abigail lying for her own benefit, John Proctor committing adultery, and Elizabeth lying to protect her husband.
There is not just one definition for a witch hunt. A witch hunt can be looking for and possibly punishing people who are accused of having unpopular opinions. It can also be when a group of people go after another group of people that either have opposing views or are outsiders. Just like in the isolation of HIV/AIDS patients in the 1980’s/1990’s, many people go along with the hysteria of a witch hunt out of fear about something that may or may not be true. These persecutions are often “justified” by those participating in the witch hunt. Whether they blame others to save themselves, or do it out of guilt and greed, they
The witchcraft trials became a significant event in Salem. There were 20 innocent people that died and many more accused. There is a debate on whether who was the main reason for the witchcraft trials and all the deaths of the accused. There are good arguments on about every side. Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are all the main arguments for the blame. Personally, I believe that Abigail Williams is the main reason why the witchcraft trials came about and that so many people have died and were accused.
People make life or death choices every day. In The Crucible, John Proctor and others decided dying honestly was better than living a lie. At this time, countless were accused of witchcraft and working with the devil in the town of Salem, MA. In this play, Reverend Hale told Elizabeth proctor “no principle, however glorious, is worth dying for.” He argued that living a life of dishonesty is better than dying for the truth, trying to persuade John to live, but as a devil's advocate. But John believed no life was worth living if it was full of falsifies information.
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character by the name of Reverend Hale says to Elizabeth Proctor that “no principle, however glorious” is worth dying for. This idea is unsound, however. Life may be a precious gift, but people with courage and strong morals would never consider telling such a huge lie in the hopes of living another day. Only someone spinless and with weak morals would lie to save their own skin.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a criticism of the communist witch hunt spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Miller believed that the investigations conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee had as little basis as the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Although Congress was not accusing anyone of being a witch, the intentions of Senator McCarthy and the church who supported the trials in Salem are the same: retention of power. McCarthy intended to create a climate of fear that would ensure his power and the power of his supporters in the government. In Salem, Reverend Parris was so eager to believe Abigail's cries of sorcery because if he did not, he would be thrown from the pulpit after the truth got out that Abigail attempted to summon spirits to kill