Power And Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is a play that depicts the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. The play explores a variety of themes, including power and authority, deception, and honesty. In this reaction paper, I will focus on the theme of power and authority and argue that it is a central and recurring theme in the play. One example of the theme of power and authority in the play is the character of Judge Danforth. Danforth, who is the highest authority figure in Salem, uses his power to control the proceedings of the witch trials. He abuses his influence to force confessions from the accused Defendant. He is convinced of the guilt of the accused and unwilling to consider any evidence that suggests their innocence. This
Abuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1101 Words | 5 PagesKeira Hine Mr. Christensen English III 01 May 2023 Throughout history, humans have always used the supernatural to explain things they could not understand: The seasons were explained by the corruption of Persephone, famine and plague by sin, and misfortune and success with karma. Just as these ideas were used to make sense of the world, they were also used to fearmonger groups of people and give power to a select few. These few elites will often do anything to maintain their power including destroying those in their communities. Arthur Miller uses The Crucible as an instrument to expose humanity's tendency to prosecute those who threaten the ones in powers narrative.
The Role Of Power In The Crucible
879 Words | 4 PagesDespite their deeply religious values, the members of the Puritan Society in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible are equally as sinful as the rest of the world. The Puritans, known for turning to God when given any matter at hand, lay blame on the Devil, regardless of their contradictory values. By blaming on him for their wrongdoings, the Devil earns power through the Puritans restoring to involve him whenever any one thing goes wrong. Power is defined by one’s reputation, status, wealth, gender, and age; although the natural deciding factor of one’s power in the Puritan society is land, the Devil himself holds ultimate power. Despite the fact that he does not appear as a human figure, he controls the thoughts and actions of the Puritan society, serving as the ultimate threat.
Personal Gain Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
943 Words | 4 PagesTitle Sometimes, it’s hard to see what someone’s intentions are. It may be especially hard to tell if a person in power is truly using their power to do good, or if they’re putting up a front in order to gain personal benefits. In The Crucible, Reverend Parris used his title and influence for personal gain. Things like this don’t just happen in literature. There are people in our world today using their status and influence to gain money or more power.
Why Is The Judge Danforth Important In The Crucible
575 Words | 3 PagesThe Crucible is a play by Auther Miller; based on his experience with McCarthyism, the story of The Crucible is about the historical event of the Salem witch trials. When lies of a group of people challenge the communities religious beliefs. The girls lie about witchcraft to avoid trouble, leading to the false imprisonment of hundreds of people and the execution of nineteen people. Danforth, the head judge and deputy governor, is developed as an stubborn judge with a monolithic code of justice. Additionally, Judge Danforth is invited to Salme by Rev. Parris to help with the “witchcraft” problem.
Reputation And Integrity In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1078 Words | 5 PagesThe reputation of an individual affects the way one is seen in a community and can negatively affect one’s life, which can result in difficult decisions that can define a person’s life. In the town of Salem, reputation and integrity defined who and what a person will be in the given future. The integrity of a person refers more to the moral side of one’s life, whereas the reputation is the physical side of one’s life. Both determine who an individual is going to be, not who they actually are, which refers to one’s integrity. There are not a lot of specific events concerning the reputation and integrity of someone in modern times, but a good reputation in today’s times is how you communicate and thrive within a community; whether that be in
Examples Of Power In The Crucible
739 Words | 3 PagesArgumentative Essay: Power in The Crucible There are many concepts in human society that can only exist if there is a belief in them. One of the strongest of those concepts is the concept of power which can be so strong that it gets out of hand. As John Dalberg-Acton once said, “Power tends to be corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” The feeling of being powerful causes one to go off the rails and believe they are truly invinvible. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a fictionalization of the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s that also acts as an allusion to the Red Scare that happened in America during the early 1900s.
Abuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1013 Words | 5 PagesThe stage is set, 1953, the second red scare provoked mass hysteria through the country. Friends turned to enemies, neighbors turned to strangers, and people couldn’t even trust those in their own government. Panic ensued and at the center was Joseph McCarthy with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Arthur Miller was a popular writer who found himself among the accused during this time. Through his own experience he used The Crucible to connect parallels of the injustice created through the trials, the abuse of power that is created by Joseph McCarthy, and Arthur Miller’s own experience.
Abuse Of Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1278 Words | 6 PagesArthur Miller’s tragedy The Crucible, published in 1953, takes place in Salem Massachusetts around 1692 during the Salem witch trials. The Puritan society's government and laws are controlled by the church. The play follows a group of teenage girls led by Abigail Williams who cause mania by accusing citizens of the town of witchcraft. John Proctor, a farmer who had an affair with Abigail, tries to stand up against the girls and the tyrannical government but falls victim to Abigail’s rampage and is hung as a witch. Throughout The Crucible, hysteria and the abuse of authority are the two most important subjects explored because they are primarily used to manipulate fear while simultaneously promoting excessive avarice that ultimately leads to
Abuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
669 Words | 3 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials forced townspeople to lie and possibly lead another to death or deny accusations and get hung as a result. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people with authority in Salem make unfair decisions in order to punish those that have been accused of witchcraft. Judges knew the hangings were wrong, but continued to hang innocent townspeople. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows hypocrisy,judgment, and abuse of power throughout the town of Salem by explaining people’s lies and accusations in the play. Authorities in Salem were not truthful, felt little sorrow for their wrongdoings, and used their power to their advantag,in a bad way.
Theme Of Authority In The Crucible
703 Words | 3 PagesAuthority is the most important theme because throughout the play the judge is the chosen one as they believed because the way they think is that god chooses the right one, Judge Danforth is the protector of Salem he is the one that sentences and executes men,women, and kids. The way they do it in salem is corroborative because the judge is relied on what the victims says and they don’t always tell the truth so it’s bad on the behalf of the suspect even if they haven’t did anything. As far as authority goes in Salem it all really depends on the main man the judge to condemn one’s life good or bad, the people of Salem is kinda like today’s people because people like to change the words of some things depending on the person they are talking
Essay On Power In The Crucible
520 Words | 3 PagesPower in Salem flourished in 1962 at the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. Power is the ability or right to control people, things, or outcomes. The way to have power is to capture it. In the Arthur Miller play, The Crucible, one person abused their power; while the other person was elevated in their social structure in order to save or end innocent people’s lives with her power within her knowledge. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Tituba express their power through the means of threats and actions, good or bad.
How Does Arthur Miller Use Authority In The Crucible
525 Words | 3 PagesPeople tend to justify their actions, regardless of the outcome. With knowledge of their actions, people misemploy their authority. A remarkable playwright of the American theater, Arthur Miller continues to capture his audience with The Crucible. In the play, Miller portrays several characters, who abuses their authority. However, of the very few, Miller creates a character who makes an important contrast to these corrupt people.
Fear Of Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
807 Words | 4 PagesThroughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.
Power And Influence In The Crucible
1011 Words | 5 PagesPower and influence in society have a huge impact on the way things happen and affects perception. A prime example is the power that presidents and prime ministers have. Given this power they can effectively influence and persuade others. Power and influence is often associated with gender, conflict and roles and relationships. The importance of the power and influence can be thoroughly examined using texts that demonstrate ideas presented as truths.
The Power Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
781 Words | 4 PagesEveryone longs for success. They desire the acceptance and approval for following their moral compass, being rewarded, and being acknowledged. However, one cannot maintain success without a purposeful and achievable position of power. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the power of society is bound upon a pronounced hierarchy. Men naturally are deemed as having higher status than women in society.
More about Power And Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
Abuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1101 Words | 5 PagesThe Role Of Power In The Crucible
879 Words | 4 PagesPersonal Gain Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
943 Words | 4 PagesWhy Is The Judge Danforth Important In The Crucible
575 Words | 3 PagesReputation And Integrity In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1078 Words | 5 PagesExamples Of Power In The Crucible
739 Words | 3 PagesAbuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1013 Words | 5 PagesAbuse Of Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1278 Words | 6 PagesAbuse Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
669 Words | 3 PagesTheme Of Authority In The Crucible
703 Words | 3 PagesEssay On Power In The Crucible
520 Words | 3 PagesHow Does Arthur Miller Use Authority In The Crucible
525 Words | 3 PagesFear Of Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
807 Words | 4 PagesPower And Influence In The Crucible
1011 Words | 5 PagesThe Power Of Power In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
781 Words | 4 Pages