The events that partake in the Salem Witch Trials turned the simple Puritan village into the dark, twisted society that was portrayed in The Crucible. These Puritans’ disciplined religious values were practiced to create a better, holier world. In irony, it was these beliefs that pushed the people in Salem to bring about the paranoia and destruction of the Trials. The characters that are the most responsible for the Salem Witch Trials are Reverend Parris, Reverend Hale, Abigail Wilson, and Judge Danforth. Reverend Parris is somewhat to blame for the trials. In order to save his reputation, Reverend Parris supports Abigail’s act to cover the impropriety in the woods, as his daughter, Betty, was one of the girls involved. Parris supports the trials vigorously and would accuse people of being against the court or try to get them arrested if they believed the trials were an act. For an example, when Proctor tries to prove to Danforth that Abigail is lying about the witch trials, he brings up that Parris saw the girls in the woods dancing naked. Parris lies and says that he “never found any of them naked” (The Crucible 1144). Parris’s support and willingness to do just about anything for the trials allowed the Salem Witch Trials to grow to its proportion. Although Hale later became against …show more content…
Judge Danforth keeps the trials and hangings in session in Salem even after Parris, Hale, and Abigail have given up or moved on. This can be attributed to the fact that Judge Danforth believes greatly in the court system and believes that Puritan law is truly God’s will, so much that he would “hang ten thousand who dare to rise against the law” (The Crucible 1158). It can also be assumed that to Danforth, admitting these trials to be a fraud would mean admitting that he had innocent people jailed and
In Act One of The Crucible, Reverend Parris was the most responsible for the uncontrollable situation about witchcraft in Salem. In The Crucible, Parris says “I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it”(1093). Parris was making it clear to his niece that he wasn’t going to keep quiet on the opposed witchcraft he witnessed them do in the forest. When Abigail suggested to Parris that he should go to the people of the village and deny witchcraft himself, he refused. Parris didn’t want to tell people that he saw his daughter and niece dancing ungodly in the forest because that would also ruin his reputation.
Parris questions Abigail after she tells him to deny the use of witchcraft; he sarcastically asks her if he should tell them about the dancing in the woods (Miller 7; act 1). Abigail caused the trials because Reverend Hale
He has been instrumental in these witch trials by spreading gossip and accusing innocent people for his own benefit. Parris had many detractors from the beginning. His selfishness and favoritism rubbed men like Proctor the wrong way. By act 4 the general population of Salem was tired of the hysteria and thus tired of Parris. Reverend Parris, a selfish, hypocritical and petty man, once a prominent and wealthy minister of the community, is by Act 4 reduced to a financially broken man, disillusioned and
In Act 3, Proctor provides evidence that Elizabeth, his wife, and Martha are innocent and this makes Parris very nervous. Parris is always reading over the shoulder of Danforth and whispering into his ear. At this evidence, Parris proclaims that, “This is a clear attack upon the court” (Miller 94). Every defense of someone who is being accused as a witch is seen as an attack by Parris and sways the opinion of Judge Danforth.
He always worried that others wanted to take over his position as a minister and that John Proctor was the leader of those people. Parris made many enemies in the village which caused him to quickly sentence John Proctor and Giles Cory. Parris only cares about his reputation and tells Abigail that he “fought here three long years to bend [those] stiff-necked people to [himself], and now, just now when some good respect is rising for [him] in the parish, [Abigail] [compromises] [his] very character" because of her dancing in the woods (11). Still, Parris is all about his own reputation and his family’s. He supports the judges in exposing the witches because he fears some may accuse his family of witchcraft, therefore he distracts attention away from himself and his family by blaming others.
During the Salem Witch Trials, many people were accused of dealing with the devil and causing mischief among their neighbors and fellow citizens. These allegations caused rifts in the community and isolated nearly everyone from fear of being affected or accused themselves. Although it seems that they handled it as they saw fit, there are several ways that the community could’ve been a little more lenient. There are several courses of action that the Crucible should’ve taken that might have saved lives or more effectively condemned the accused: hold all court proceedings in private with an unbiased jury and judge, make sure all evidence was absolutely irrefutable in every aspect, also be sure to not to hold the accusers above the rest. Several people could’ve been spared and their personal standings upheld in Crucible, by Arthur Miller, if the trials would have been held in
Living a sheltered life, completing the same routine day after day, and not being able to read, write, or do anything but pray. These are everyday struggles Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts faced. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, he explains the hysterical outbreak of the Salem Witch Trials. With many reasons for the occurrence, guilt is the most prominent. This is because Puritans wanted to be seen as good people in the eyes of God and wanted respect and attention from others.
Many ask for his mercy towards the accused and he denies it to them to keep his reputation, “... Postponement now speaks floundering on my part...” (Miller 667). This shows that Danforth could have ended the hysteria in Salem by admitting that he does not believe that any of the accused are guilty and claiming the accused not
Parris tells Danforth that “...Andover have thrown out the court, they say, and will have no part of witchcraft. There be a faction here, feeding on that news, and I tell you true, sir, I fear there will be riot here” (Miller 1220). Parris fears that a riot could occur in Salem if Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are to be hanged. The town would turn against him and the courts, causing him to lose his minister position and have to leave town. A confession from John Proctor would cause the townspeople not to rebel because Proctor’s life would be
In The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, he writes about a story of witches in Salem, Massachusetts. The play is about a group of young girls who control the village with the fake pretense of having seen the devil and who he has worked with John Proctor and Reverend Parris are two characters within the play who both have similar experiences to each other. The story teaches us that different actions lead to different circumstances. Reverend Parris is the uncle of abigail, one of the girls in the wood who chanted.
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.
During the Witch Trials, Parris’ teachings also revolved more around Satan and a person’s sinful ways. Lastly, the final effect of the Salem Witch Trials was that it affected many individuals personally. Reverend Parris’ reputation became so horrible, they voted him out of the church. Then, John Procter was convicted of witchcraft and hung. Meanwhile, Abigail was driven out of town and thought to have become a prostitute in Boston.
Reverend Parris was one of those people. At the start of The Crucible, he found girls, including his daughter and niece, dancing in the forest. He was horrified and constantly worried about his reputation if word got out that his own family was performing witchcraft. After gaining attention from the town through Abigail, his niece, admitting and blaming others of witchcraft, Reverend Parris’ views changed. He then started promoting the arrest of witches in the town and supported the hanging of these innocent people.
That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” This is clear evidence that he knew the truth but tried to hide it. Since Reverend Parris was supposedly a man of God, he ought to have been honest. Because of his self-centeredness, he continued to lie, which finally led to fatalities. Parris was more concerned with maintaining his standing and keeping his job than telling the truth, which is another reason why he is the one most responsible for what happened to the Salem victims.
One of the main elements that eventually build up to the main plot in the play is power. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible have a strong desire for power. The Salem witch trials empowered several characters in the play who were previously marginalized in Salem society. It gave them the chance to misuse it leading to horrible suffering and even deaths of some innocent people in the town. Some of these characters are Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris.