Theme Of Arrogance In The Crucible

The people of the time were just as paranoid and fearful as Miller and his contemporaries were of the Communists. John Ditsky explains the dynamic of Salem’s Hysteria. “We ought not overlook the fact that the Salem trials were a manifestation of a popular hysteria excited by at least partially genuine causes. (Ditsky, Stone, Fire and Light: Approaches to The Crucible)” Ditsky claims that it was legitimate hysteria. While witches in the sense that they believed did not exist; in the popular mind they did, and it was this hysteria that was dangerous.

She thought ruining his reputation would be the worst thing to happen to him, so she lied to the court, but boy was she wrong. Her little lie would only cost him his life. Act 3 is chock-full of other

The locutionary meaning is the alleged witchcraft used on Desdemona; the illocutionary force is vouching done by Brabantio because in saying this accusation, Othello must be guilty of witchcraft and therefore should face punishment. A perlocutionary effect may be that by vouching this accusation, he either has or has not convinced the Duke and fellow senators of the bewitchment committed on his daughter Desdemona. Brabantio’s illocutionary force does not have the desired perlocutionary effect, which would be Othello’s conviction. Instead the Duke denies Brabantio’s words as proof, and according to J.L. Austin, this infelicitous response results in a violation of condition A1 of the performativity statutes (para.

(Danforth, Act 3). Danforth shows the terrible effect in the Salem witch trials. This leaves out whether the people are trustworthy or telling the truth. He believes that children nor women would lie to him, but it somewhat fears him about the fear of witchcraft in a puritan society. In the Crucible, hysteria can engage by tearing up the whole community.

In the eyes of Danforth people are not innocent until proven guilty; they are innocent until accused guilty. In the eyes of Danforth facts and details mean nothing to him. He comes to conclusions that any rational man cannot come to. He has doomed people to death who were innocent just because they did not want to confess to something that they did not do. This is because Danforth’s rule throughout these trials were that if someone was accused of witchcraft, even if they were innocent they had to confess or they were sentenced to death.

The Red Scare during the mid-twentieth century, sparked by Joseph McCarthy’s accusations, is an event in which mass fear and paranoia of communism hypnotized Americans. Convictions made by McCarthy often placed people on a blacklist, destroying their careers. Because of these certain events, it influences playwright Arthur Miller to write The Crucible. The play demonstrates this hysteria through the Salem witch trials. People who were thought to be a witch have a choice of blackening their reputation by confessing, or hanging under the false evidence of witchcraft.

Hale’s confusion gets the best of him, but shows that he does not agree with the girls’ beliefs anymore that the devil has scouted the accused. He realizes that the court is corrupt and what they are doing is unfair, in the sense that believing the girls was wrong. Quitting the court ends Hale’s confidence and shows he is doubting the validity of his own conclusions that he had made initially. The morning that was set for John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey to be hung; Reverend Hale was at the jail trying to get the accused to confess to witchcraft. Hale begs to Danforth, “If you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are striving for their confessions, that speak mercy on your part” (1223).

He falls to the false accusations of the girls and begins to believe them. It could also be Danforth's fear of witches that causes him to act so blindly. Danforth may be so scared of the devil that he does not act rationally when accusations of witchcraft are made because he takes the accusation with the utmost concern. Because of this Abigail takes advantage of his incompetence. This is displayed when Abigail fools him after screaming.

Likely, this also shown the principles in Waknuk have blinded the people terribly, people always think it is the punishment from God toward them but actually it is not. People in Waknuk are punished each other as well as from the belief spills of the “Old People” have left, however, these principles made the Waknuk society fall. Therefore, people in Waknuk should have acceptance to deviation and mutant people rather than send to the Fringes or kill them because they could lose talented people that could rise their

This act displays that the people are indeed greedy and only look out for themselves. A great line from Miller’s composition describing this situation was, “The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom.” This can be explained as the witch-hunt set in a greater fear of panic when they realized how much freedom they had to accuse someone of witchcraft and the accusers would be able to take the accused

Luckily, Our Father Above showed C.S. Lewis how he could write about the many schemes of the devil and his minions. Unfortunately, the Enemy is very sly, and he will try to convince you to believe that the things in the book simply cannot be true. You all, the humans, must not be deceived by this lie. The next time that a voice pops into your head and tries to make you believe that this book is not true, cast him out.