Pride In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and his or her persuasiveness. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, in which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts attempting to navigate through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty. While his name alone is often believed to be able to influence others in to following through in certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” due to his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.

Over 150 young women involved with USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State (MSU) recently came out as victims of sexual abuse. The culprit: their well-respected physician, Larry Nassar. The young gymnasts were required to see this physician, and, when a few brave girls tried to report him, they were shut down for being “disrespectful” or “insubordinate.” The organizations who supported Nassar, specifically USAG, MSU, and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), did nothing for these young women because they felt they needed to protect their and Nassar’s reputations as the best of the best. This disgusting behavior seen today is also seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is the story of a young Puritan woman in 1692 Massachusetts who made false witchcraft accusations in an attempt to save her life and to end a rival’s life. While her actions are horrific and the cause of numerous deaths, the actions of the adults around her that enabled her lies to cost lives are despicable. Through his dishonest characters, specifically Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor, Miller exposes the evils of lying to save one’s name and the destruction that inevitably ensues.

In a setting of Salem, Massachusetts 1692, religion is the direct reflection of one's social standing. Reputation is extremely important for the town, as it is your only way to get a fair hearing and respect from the people. The protectiveness of reputation is necessary in The Crucible to justify yourself when presented with fallacious arguments. In this play the importance of reputation is revealed though the uses of ethos, logos and pathos.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible highlights a human frailty, arrogance, responsible for the witch hysteria in the 1690s. Each character portrays arrogance which make him abuse power. The play explores the human nature of being arrogant and the fear of tarnishing one's reputation, by acting unmorally. Through Hale's, Parris's, and Danforth's actions, Miller indicates that arrogance is the frailty most responsible for the witch hysteria.

In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, symbolized truth and justice by displaying honor and pride in his name. The change in balance between those two attributes acted as a catalyst in defining moments of the play. In the beginning, Proctor equally reflected both pride and honor in separate events. However, when forced to make a decision, he chose honor over pride. Ultimately, both his honor and pride pushed him to commit the ultimate sacrifice.

Betty Parris’s great power throughout Act I can be seen by her ability to single handedly create chaos and hysteria within the town for her own personal gain. Her power can first be viewed after Susanna Walcott explains the possibility of a supernatural cause to Betty’s illness, leading Abigail to advise her Uncle about “the rumor of witchcraft [that] is all about: [She] thinks [he 'd] best go down and deny it [himself]. The parlor’s packed with people,sir” (10). This is the first hint that others in the town believe in the presence and of the beginnings of the hysteria that follows. Betty started this rumor in the town by pretending to act sick so that she would not get punished for dancing in the woods. She found a way to deflect the blame

Reputation is something that can be left to linger around, haunting people 's lives for years. In the Crucible, Reverend Parris feels the effects of reputation first hand. Parris is a godly man who wants nothing more than to preserve his image. Parris’s motives are portrayed throughout the story when he catches his niece and daughter dancing the woods, a sign of witchcraft. Yet, after this he is more concerned with how he is being viewed instead of their well being. His own worries are expressed when Parris exclaims, “But if you trafficked with the spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will and they will ruin me with it”(Miller 1131). He knows that if people were to find out, he could lose everything he worked for. Therefore, Parris does everything in his power to at least prove someone guilty, and in the process, completely goes against the morals he teaches. He is seen as a Godly man who is supposed to teach integrity. However, instead he becomes a man that cares less about the truth and more of preserving his own

We often seen someone is only care about himself, they don’t care about others even their family and they always have excuse of it. Reverend Parris is a kind of this person. “The Crucible” is about the Salem witch trials. Starting with several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft and then accuse people in the town of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shapes Parris’s character as a very selfish person, and everything he did was to keep his good reputation in the village and to get rid of anyone against him, which drives him mad.

Arthur Miller, a prominent twentieth century playwright, is well-known for his play The Crucible. The play opens in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Puritan religion is against dancing and singing because the Puritans believe these are sensuous activities. The Puritans also believe that Satan tempts human beings to carry out his work. Fear and hysteria strike Salem over the belief that the devil is in the town because Parris’s niece, Abigail Williams, was found dancing in the forest with other girls and Parris’s servant; and soon after two young girls fall sick. The town suspects the girls of witchcraft; however, Parris does not want to believe witchcraft is the cause of the trouble in Salem; so he calls in Reverend

Parris is a very self-centered man and is very embedded in his place in the community. He is a preacher for the church of Salem and his niece and daughter have been “bewitched” or so he thinks. Parris believes what he does is just and that no one should oppose him. This is also why he refuses to let news about his niece and daughter get out, he doesn’t want people to overthrow his position. Parris is a static character due to his nature of unchanging personality wise throughout the crucible, he is always self-centered.

Have you ever done something out of pure emotion? Have you ever tried to get the blame off of you in a difficult situations? Abigail has done these very things to her full extent in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In Salem, a small village located in Massachusetts, the daily life consists only of work and prayer. When Betty, the daughter of Reverend Parris becomes ill, word quickly spreads of witchcraft, and the town goes into mass hysteria. The niece of Parris, Abigail, soon becomes the center of attention when evidence comes forth of her and a group of girls danced in the woods. To take the attention off herself she begins to blame other people of the village that they are one with the devil. Then, Abigail blames Elizabeth Proctor, in hopes

It took just forty five days for United States citizens to acquiesce their rights to freedom and privacy for the sake of safety following the events of September 11, 2001. Forty five days is how long it took the United States Congress to pass a law that gave up the very concept of liberty upon which this country is founded. The morning sky was a brilliant shade of blue with not a cloud in sight in New York on that fateful day of September. That all changed at 8:45 AM when a Boeing 767 jet plane tore into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Eighteen minutes later, a second Boeing 767 bit into the sixtieth floor of the south tower. Screams and sirens pierced the air; thick, black smoke and flying debris ruined the perfectly clear

of us; character is what God and angels know of us” (“Reputation”). Whether individuals readily

As Bob Marley once said, “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Integrity is the quality of being honest and upholding one’s morals and principles. Living in a fast-paced and ever-changing society, human beings have come into contact with adversity and hardship all throughout history. Those who act with integrity during tough times have a major influence on those around them, and taking a stand and upholding ones’ beliefs and morals at great self sacrifice can inspire and encourage others to do the same. Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible is a prime example of upholding integrity, and the characters within the play face difficult choices between doing

The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem.