How Does Arthur Miller Use Power In The Crucible

The definition about power I think is what rules over what. The plot is three years into the Great Depression. Because of Mayella’s class and gender Mayella lacks power, but ner race makes her powerful.

Promiscuity was also known to be a reason for being accused accused of witchery. Marital problems often led to a disgruntled husband screaming witch. A woman who could not conceive a child, or one who would not give into her husband’s wishes could easily be accused.

Power had a huge part on how people were treated back in the times of slavery. In the novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, an African-American woman named Dana traveled between the 1800s and the present to help her great-grandfather throughout his life while also trying to shape him into a better person in the racist society that he was in. One of the things she noticed was how power could dictate how people lived their lives, especially since slavery was prevalent in the area her great grandfather, Rufus Weylin, lived in. Dana, Rufus, and Alice were all characters whose power affected how their lives turned out and the choices that they made.

Reasons for being accused of witchcraft are multidimensional, and although there is no definitive reason, gender was likely a major reason as to why someone was seem as likely to be a witch. In colonial New England, gender was set by strict standards and was in no way fluid. It is indisputable that women were especially vulnerable to be charged with witchcraft. Puritans were guilty of sexism even before the witch trials; the biblical story of Adam and Eve was an example of how Eve had disobeyed God and caused the downfall of man. Consequently, rebellious women were accused of witchcraft because they emulated Eve’s disobedience (Godbeer 13). Most notably, acting outside of one’s gender roles was grounds for accusations. As previously mentioned,

Sometimes people can get lost in their ability to control others, your mom yelling at you to take out the trash or maybe you pinning your younger sibling down in a wrestling match. It happens to us all, even if you do not realize. It all comes with our ingrained desire for this thing we call power. This desire plagues every society, those of the past and present. For example, in the 1960s an author named Arthur Miller saw his society falling victim to this plague, so he wrote a play. Miller shows us throughout The Crucible that power and the desire for it is a disease that spreads in communities and cripples them, we see this through the actions of Abigail, Danforth, and Parris.

There are many universal truths in the world that reflect both today’s society and show up in different plays like The Crucible. People often “cave in” to “authority” figures for fear of being socially isolated; this is one of the many universal truth quotes. This quote is true in today’s society and in The Crucible. The quote says how people often give in to people with more power then them in the fear of being socially isolated.

The first woman to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts was Bridget Bishop. She pled not guilty; however, after John Louder’s intense testimony, she was found guilty. Despite the lack of actual, physical evidence, the fear that Lounder’s words instilled in the local judges and citizens turned their hearts cold and their logic upside down.

The Salem Witch Trials is know for its hunt of supposed witches. The occurrence first began with the appearance of certain symptoms in a little girl, Betty Parris. The high superstition was immediately taken advantage of by adults, with the leaders being Samuel Sewall, Samuel Parris, Governor Phipps, William Stoughton, and John Putnam. Its origin belonged to the boredom of three teenage girls, Betty Parris, Ann Putnam, and Mercy Lewis, who was diagnosed by the doctor as having been influenced by witchcraft. The first person accused of witchcraft was Tituba, who soon confessed about seeing the devil, despite being innocent. This caused an outrage and fully launched the witch hunt(Douglas).

“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller is a fictional version of the Salem Witch Trials that

The witch-hunt brought many people in accused of witchcraft. Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Cloyce and others high in the Salem community were examined. Nurse and Nehemiah Abbott were the only ones that were denounced as witches. John Proctor was the first of many males accused of witchcraft and none of the males were ever denounced. On May 10 Sarah Osborne Dies in a Boston Prison still accused of witchcraft. Mary Easty, who was accused of witchcraft in the early stages of the witch-hunt was released from prison only to be put back in when public outcry from here accusers.

People got power because they got money. People that don’t got no money have less power.in John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men we also see people with different level of power. In the novel Curley and the Boss and Lennie all have different source of power. In mice and man the the character is the boss he deals with a lot of money. The money help the boss get workers to work for him without the money the worker will leave him.

Even though many believed in witchcraft and supported the trials, some villagers did not. One of the villagers that did not support the trials was a farmer, John Proctor. But because they did not support them, they were accused of witchcraft because anyone who did not believe in witches or defended them was accused of being one as

innocent people of witchcraft, which is a crime punishable by death. The accusations made by the girls, mainly for personal gain and attention, cost many people their lives. For example, Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, was in immense danger because of her husband’s relationship with Abigail. Abigail wanted Elizabeth dead so she could take her position as John’s wife. As a result, Abigail framed Elizabeth of witchcraft, and she was executed for her crimes. Furthermore, with Abigail’s continued support of the trials, people became afraid they would be accused of witchcraft.

It was because of this idea that more women than men were brought to trial, found guilty, and killed. Women, once accused of witchcraft, were almost certain to burn at the stakes because once accused publicly, a woman entered into a "modern" day lose-lose situation. If she sits idly at her trial and makes no attempt to refute the evidence presented against her, she is presumed guilty because she cannot prove herself innocent. However, if she defends herself, she is considered to be possessed by the devil for acting out of her sex. This was the case in the infamous trial of Anne Hutchinson. It is clear from the transcript that Winthrop was accusing Hutchinson of minor wrongdoings and had already set his mind on destroying her.

In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller uses the characters Abigail and the three girls as feminists to gain power. “American laws wanted to move women closer to equality through an Equal Rights Amendment that would ban governments discrimination based on sexes”. “Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes.” He portrayed this by women having the power in a positive and negative way. In the town of Salem, women were given less amount of power, with their ability to have judgments upon other women and men as being witches and wizards. There was no need of evidence to prove if a person was a witch or not. This power was given to Abigail and the girls implying larger comments on the negative effect of women holding power. Although there were good things and bad things about women having power, Elizabeth Proctor lost power over her husband because John Proctor is the head of the house, but “she is submissive to him.” Elizabeth is not secured within her relationship with John Proctor because he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Elizabeth is upset and deeply hurt, and constantly reminding John Proctor that she is still hurt because he cheated on her. Society’s view a husband having more power than the woman. Elizabeth began to have the position of a stereotypical wife. She doesn’t lose power, but suppresses her power and holds her power privately. Society view women to be weak, not intelligent, so they deserve to have less power, and