Theme Of Ethos In The Crucible

The prominence of one’s name or reputation in the Crucible by Arthur Miller is a vital one. In the restrictive Puritan society of Salem, one’s reputation is established through the demonstration of their honesty, hard-work and strict adherence to the Christian doctrine. Reverend Parris is the first character in the play that openly addresses the importance of his reputation to himself. Even though people dislike his personality, they respect him for his strong belief in Christianity. He is unfavourable of his name getting defamed in the town even when he has seen the girls and Tituba attempting to perform witchcraft: Later in the novel when he suggests a stop on the witch hunts to Danforth, he is afraid that if he reveals too much, he would himself get accused of being associated with the devil.

This shows that John is a merciful being and desires forgiveness from his wife and God, therefore demonstrating traits of a good man. Furthermore, John has a heated argument with his wife, due to his encounter with Abigail, alone. Although, he thinks his wife will doubt him, she states on the contrary, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - only somewhat bewildered” (55).

This in turn jokes on the entire foundation of the character and nature of women. In the end of The Importance of Being Earnest, both Gwendolyn and Cecily claim to be furious with their men and that they won’t be speaking to them. Then, they proceed to speak to them any ways. After Algernon and Jack present their case, which is clearly fake, the girls immediately take them back and forget their anger and how they had been mistreated. They demolished everything they claimed they stood for just because they received an insincere apology.

John has the conscience of an honest man even though he has committed a severe sin, which he hides, adultery. Because of this his name is tainted, making the reader doubt the goodness in him. When Proctor reveals the truth in court, we are surprised because he has confessed knowing it will blacken his name, and he has done this in order to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Because of this we are able to see that Proctor bears responsibility for what has occurred. However when he confesses, Abigail turns against him and accuses Proctor of being a witch.

However, in Act Three Abigail is brought into the courtroom, along with the other girls, by Danforth to be questioned about what Mary Warren had said about them all lying. She denies that she has lied about the supernatural torture she’s been through, confirming that Mary is lying and appears it had insulted Danforth when he asks her if she’s sure it 's not all imagined. In the middle of Danforth doubting her, Abigail suddenly seems to go into a trance. She is trying turn all the attention from her and John onto Mary so she won’t get exposed or in trouble. She is also doing this as revenge of Mary for turning on her and the girls, so she wants her killed for it.

That summons thee to heaven, or to hell” as these reference the unmoral parts of her life suggesting her disturbed nature could be because of her lack of sanity as she hallucinates the blood on her hands. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as disturbed because she subverts the ideas of religion and the supernatural which were contradictory during the Jacobean era. Rather than fulfilling the audience’s expectations that religion and the supernatural are contradictory, she conjures the idea that they are similar as she says, “look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t.” The auxiliary verb “be” is quite disturbing because she is demanding Macbeth to be a certain way showing her rebellion against stereotypes as women had to obey their husbands. Shakespeare could have been doing this to present her as an outcast, disturbing the audience. Also, the personification of “flower” shows her manipulating him to have a facade of morality but deep down know he is the serpent, presenting her as disturbed because she is seduced by power and uses the worst of people to her advantage.

From a man who came to Salem revelling in the fact that his hard won expertise would be put to good use, to a man struggling with his conscience and nearly openly proclaiming the witch trials falsity, Hale changed into a different man over the course of the book. His change would seem like common sense now; no one would believe that witches were enchanting girls and torturing them. However, the extremity of the religion at this time affected how long the false claims were believed. His realization was, for the time, progressive. Arthur Miller did a good job of portraying the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible.

Hester is scarred with her sin and the punishment from the Puritans. Hawthorne portrays Hester's perspective: "Hester had vainly imagined that she herself might be destined prophetess, but had long since recognized the impossibility that any mission of divine and mysterious truth should be confided to a woman stained with sin, bowed down with shame, or even burdened with a life-long sorrow" (274). The transformation of Hester being degraded to the Puritans respecting her actions is a confusing concept. It creates uncertainty of the character and the overall message of the

For instance, when Hermia and Helena start arguing, they project the image of impulsiveness and irrationality. All the while Lysander and Demetrius are foolishly fighting due to the love spell, Helena and Hermia, supposed lifelong friends, start a quarrel, equally as foolish, believing that they were betrayed by the other. Helena believes the situation to be a “jest” (III. ii. 239) made by the others but Hermia accuses Helena, out of anger, to be a “thief of love” (III.

Perdition catch my soul/ But I do Love thee! And when I love thee not, /Chaos is come again” (3.3. 90-92). Othello is experiencing absolute internal hell. He’s struggling to believe that Desdemona is cheating on him.

Jealous of Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail begins her witch frenzy. Proctor is so obsessed with his public reputation that he refuses to confess to adultery. With Abigail driving the train of havoc in Salem, Proctor realises at some point he must admit to lechery to bring her to a halt. When John finally releases his secret, it keeps his personal integrity intact but majorly damages his reputation. By the end, he becomes disinterested by the public opinion and concerned about his personal integrity.

Throughout the play, Reverend Hale serves as the voice of reason in the trials. Hale is well educated and respected, and is initially brought in from Beverly to determine the cause of Betty’s ailment that keeps her inanimate in her bed. He directs his focus to seeking out the presence of the Devil in Salem, and then to cleansing the village. However, when Hale realizes that the Girls were manipulating the trials for their own gain, he seeks instead to undo the actions of the court in the name of truth. Miller develops Hale as a character who is willing to sacrifice what might be moral in the name of truth as a means to show how

As already mentioned at the beginning of the story, she was “seizing at every chance to change Bailey’s mind” (O’Connor 112) regardless of his opposition, which is a clear act of manipulation. Another evidence of her influenceable behavior shows up during her conversation with the chief criminal “I know you are a good man” (O’Connor 121). By this statement, Bailey’s mother tries to influence the Misfit so that he will change his mind. Also, she repeatedly evokes religious belief, as a way to convince the Misfit to “pray” (O’Connor 123), and ask for forgiveness to Jesus Christ. Moreover, failing to achieve her goal, she calls the Misfit “one of my babbies” (O’Connor 125), which upsets him and causes her death.

This kindled a powerful hatred that Abby had towards Elizabeth that would soon cause much more than a little harm. Once the idea of witchery took deep root into the hearts of the people, many were accused and arrested. Out of the selfishness of her heart, Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft in an attempt to be rid of her so she could have John. She kept telling herself that she was in love with him, and she would use any opportunity to her advantage to be rid of Elizabeth. This however, would not bode well with John.

His love affects all aspects of his life and eventually leads to him going insane and running away from the castle. His relationship with Guenever causes Lancelot to behave much differently than how he typically does. He betrays Arthur, his religion, and himself. The hatred for himself continues to grow as he admits to himself that he has betrayed others for the love he feels with Guenever. White shows Lancelets’ inter-strife to examine how his love with Guenever overrides the basis of his