Character Motivation in The Crucible; Vengeance and Desire Imagine growing up in a Puritan society, constantly having to follow the strict and normally harsh religious rules that were at the very core of the Puritan life. You would think that the townspeople of Salem would have a mindset to obey all the strict rules, due to the fact that they were threatened by the looming presence of the noose. This was not so in the case of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. All things considered, the character motivation was completely different from what you would expect from a Puritan society. This is strange, because they still had the strict lifestyle of every society around them, but the townspeople didn’t heed to it.
Some people used Puritan law in order to gain power. For example, the better off people were the ones mainly accused of being witches because the accusers would gain more land if they were hanged (Linder 5). The accusers used the logic “guilty until proven innocent” for the trials. This used Puritan law to make sure that anyone accused would be convicted and hanged. Just like in the book, The Crucible, when John Proctor was accused of being a witch, he was asked to prove that he was
With power often comes arrogance and abuse from the authority. When humans are given control over situations and the ability to choose how options play out, they often lean towards the choices that will benefit them most. The corruption of leaders and powerful figures are due to this selfishness-- and often vanity--in regards to their own reputation. In The Crucible, this is seen through Abigail’s controlling nature towards the other girls, “Let either of you breathe a word… I can make
The whole town has gone crazy with the thought of witchcraft. The town and its government has killed innocent people and ruined families. This is the setting of Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. Johns emotions have been captured and have shifted throughout the book from fear to redemption. John Proctor is a very thought of man with lots of land in Salem, his wife Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft and in order to prove her innocence he tries everything.
One of the major themes in The Crucible is hysteria and how it allows the people of the town to give up reason and morality. In order to understand why so many of the towns people are afraid, the community of Salem begins to believe that this fear has justifiable origins. The people of Salem are so concerned with their reputations that they are willing to let others be harmed, fuelling hysteria in the process, just to protect themselves (Florman and Kestler). Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible shows how hysteria, powered by religious zeal, replaces logic, leading to chaotic situations that ultimately tear apart the community. Much of the hysteria brought onto the community is powered largely by the strict Puritans’ religious zeal.
The Nazis had empowerment over people. The Nazis (Adolf Hitler) were convinced that if the Jewish people were exterminated, it would be a much better place to live. Innocent people were killed. The Holocaust and The Crucible are about killing people that are different. In The Crucible, Abigail convinced the townspeople that some people were studying witchcraft.
Overall the theme of the The Crucible boils down to being about honesty, weakness, and courage. One example these actions being brought to life is on of page 109 when John Proctor tells Elizabeth “ My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man”. This is quote has so much meaning because previous to this quote John had admitted to the court that he had had an affair with Abigail. By him admitting this he is putting himself in the state to be arrested for adultery, which would later lead to his death. Abigail had accused John's wife Elizabeth of being a witch in hopes that she would be hanged.
The Crucible Essay Izabel Ureta Per. 4 10/19/15 The Crucible by Arthur Miller was written to warn Americans about the propaganda and misleading information that the McCarthy Era advertised in the 1950s. Miller compared McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials in order to demonstrate how both events enabled hysteria by promoting prejudgement and the lack of morality in society. The fear of peers in Salem fuel the act of injustice for the reason that they prejudge and have a misunderstanding of one another. Elizabeth is confused when she finds out that Abigail mentioned her name in court.
Whore!”(Miller 109).The Worst thing that people can do in Salem has committed adultery however John Proctor did along with Abigail. At that point he didn’t care if he lost the image that he was holding in the town, but he didn’t lose his wife because of something he did. Towards the ending of The Crucible John confessed doing witchcraft, but the court wants to put the written confession on the doorway of the church, but instead, he ripped it up because he already gave up his image and he drew the line at his name. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another name in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies!
Several characters exemplify the theme of moral weakness in The Crucible. The first example of this is when the people’s leader, John Proctor, has a relationship with Abigail Williams despite his status of being a married man. When addressing Proctor, Abigail says, “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion every time I came near… You loved me then and you love me now” (Miller 22). Proctor understands that he committed the heinous crime of lechery. This is why he denies his fondness of Abigail after his wife forced her out of their home.