How Does Giles Corey Show Integrity

Giles is canny, inquisitive, strong and muscular, and thinks women wanting to read "strange" books is weird. Went to jail and pressed to death with stones. Martha Corey- Giles Corey's wife. Gets convicted of witchcraft because of Giles and wanting to read.

Giles Corey ‘More weight” This quote was said by Giles Corey from the crucible, while he was being pressed to death for not saying if he was a witch. Giles Corey was an 83 year old farmer who was accused of witchcraft. He didn't say if he was a witch or not so, his family would keep their land. Also for not saying who accused Ezekiel Cheever, he was pressed to death.

When the outbreak first began, Giles wanted to watch the examinations and trials of the accused witches, but his wife wanted him to have nothing to do with them. She “took the saddle from his horse and hid it” (Starkey 64) because his “life had been punctuated by lawsuits and worse” (64). When his wife Martha began to publicly question the accusations and credibility of the young girls, she herself was accused as a witch and brought in for trial. Giles Corey was brought in to testify against his wife and, being a “great blundering husband” (Starkey 75), attempted to provide as many facts to the judges as possible, not understanding the power of his words. Thinking back to when his wife denied him from witnessing the examinations, Giles started to wonder if the girl’s accusations might actually have some truth behind them. In Giles Corey v. Martha Corey, he recounts several examples of how his wife behaved in ways he could not explain. His first example was one night when she asked him to go to bed, “I told I would go to prayr. & when I went to prayer I could nott utter my desires w'th any sense, not open my mouth to speake,” (Boyer and Nissenbaum 259-260), but that once she came towards him, he was able to speak and pray

Although Hale’s overall goal was to bring justice and protect those who were innocent, Giles Corey’s only priority was to protect his wife from being falsely convicted of being involved in witchery. Corey’s guilt is intensified when, because of his comment about his wife’s reading habits, she is accused of being a witch. Believing that his comment might lead to her ultimate demise, Giles Corey heads to the court with Nurse, Hale, and Proctor to plead his wife’s case. Once in the court, Corey attempts to bring to light the fact that greed and selfishness are the motivation for the accusations of many of those convicted of being witches. He even believes that this is the cause for his wife as well stating that “Thomas Putnam is reaching out for

The reader learns of Giles Corey’s sacrifice from Elizabeth Proctor: “Giles is dead… He were not hanged… They press him…” (125). Giles Corey is pressed to death because he refuses to tell the court whether or not he is a witch. According to Elizabeth, if Giles had told the truth and said he was not a witch, “… [the court] would hang him surely” (125).

One of many reasons the witch trials were able to continue was because of Judge Danforth’s ignorance towards what was actually going on in Salem. When Francis Nurse and John Proctor try to explain to him the girls are deceiving him, he over rules their ideas by challenging “And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?”(Miller 179). Danforth is proud to say that he has put people in jail, put people to death for witchcraft because his ignorance blocks him from seeing the evidence he is presented with is false. As well as being exposed to false evidence, Judge Danforth also makes the claim that witchcraft cannot be disproved; therefore the court has to rely solely on the girl’s accusations. Danforth declares, “But witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime, is it not?

For Giles, he came to action when his wife was charge for witchcraft. This happen because of his wonders about the strange books she reads at night. ''It discomfits me! Last night-mark this- I tried and tried and could not say my prayers. And then she close her book and walks out of the house, and not suddenly -mark this- I could pray again!''(p.155) Corey not realizing what he did. His

Giles Corey explains how others use improbable reasoning for incriminating his wife: “he goes to court and claims that from that day to this he cannot keep a pig alive for more than four weeks because my Martha bewitch them with her books” (Miller 72). Miller portrays how hasty generalizations can cause wrongful consequences to fall on innocent individuals. Accusations form when people want to find answers to every dispute, even when they cannot find solutions. As shown in The Crucible, unevaluated observations can affect others when they mistakenly place blame on

“Giles Corey was not executed for refusing to name a witness, as in the movie. The play is accurate: he was accused of witchcraft, and refused to enter a plea, which held up the proceedings, since the law of the time required that the accused enter a plea. He was pressed to death with stones, but the method was used to try to force him to enter a plea so that his trial could proceed. Corey probably realized that if he was tried at all, he would be executed.” (Burns 4)

Giles Corey leads a life with purpose outside of his internal self as he laid down his life for his family. When Giles was being crushed he gave out his two gutsy last words, “more weight” (4.459-60). Giles was being interrogated to give the authorities the answer that he either confesses to witchcraft and lives or he says he isn’t a witch and would have to be hanged. Giles is in excruciating pain and if he is going to die it might has well be now rather than having to face the gallows later. On the other hand Giles could say he is guilty and would get to live. Giles knows if he were to confess he would be stripped of his land and rights. His dignity would be gone and he would have nothing to support his family. Giles wanted to be taken out

Furthermore, Judge Danforth applies the rhetorical appeal of ethos to prove that what he believes is right. By establishing his credibility as a judge and and a person, he hopes to convince the people of Salem to believe in what he is saying. He does so by making references to important religious figures. When Giles Corey refuses to give up the name of his witness, Danforth claims that “the government and central church demand of [Giles] the name of him who reported Mr. Putnam a common murderer” (Miller 97). By stating that both “the government” and the “central church” are demanding that Giles give up the name, Danforth is establishing authority behind what he says. He is utilizing ethos by showing that he is credible because of his connection with the government and the church. As these two establishments held the most power and importance in Puritan society, he significantly validates his points to the people of Salem by relating himself to them. Judge Danforth continues to establish his credibility by referencing a religious figure. He claims that the trial is justified because “the voice of Heaven is

As the trials go on, many more accusations are made. Giles Corey accuses Putnam of trying to get other landowners hanged for witchcraft so that he can have their land for himself. Marshall Danforth asks for a source and the person’s name. Giles says that he cannot give out the person’s name. Giles is in the court because his wife, Martha Corey had been arrested and accused of witchcraft. She gave away a pig to a man, and the pig became ill and died shortly after the pig was acquired. Francis Nurse is in the court because his wife, Rebecca Nurse was arrested too. He along with Giles continue to confront Danforth about Putnam’s doing, but Danforth responds with that they will have to put their thoughts into writing

Giles Corey is a hot-tempered farmer that lives outside of Salem. His wife, Martha Corey, was one of those accused of practicing witchcraft, and was sentenced to death, by hanging. Giles Corey was also sentenced to death by being pressed with stones for contempt of court. Giles Corey was one that had good demonstrations of good character in the story. In the story Giles pronounces “...I heard it from an honest man who heard Putman say it! The day his daughter cried out on Jacobs he said she’d given him a fair gift of land” (Miller, pg. 183), this quote shows that Corey is an honesty person. He then later states after the court asks him for a name “Why I - I cannot give you his name… you know well why not! He’ll lay in jail if i give his name.” (pg 183). This shows

As well as, his fate is bigger than what he deserves, though he tried to fix or be forgiven of all the sins he made by confessing. He understands his downfall and is aware of his mistakes (Aristotle). He does try and hide his crime with Abigail. But when it is time to confess, he does not have the courage to be freed and be saved by a lie. All this happening to Proctor makes him a tragic hero, defined by Aristotle. Likewise, Proctor portrays as being a martyr, person who is killed for their beliefs, provided that he was willing to give up his life in order to clear his name so his family will not have to live with his lie, or “sin” as well. Giles Corey also represents this trait, when he does not say a word for his indictment and gets crushed with stones on his chest, asking for more weight. He only does this to “die Christian under the law” and for his sons to have his property (Miller 125). Their purposes were different but similarly, both were sentenced for being a wizard of such or having a deal with the Devil, withholding the lechery part from

Giles Corey values his family, he also values that his family is provided for after his eventual death, you can see he values his family when he goes with Proctor to get their wives out of jail even though he is sort of the reason she is in jail. By trying to get his wife out of jail Giles pays a steep price he not only gets a bunch of other people jailed which can not be good for his conscience but he also gets jailed and accused of witchcraft in the process. The second instance you can see that he values his family and values that they are provided for after his eventual death is ironically at the time of his death. As seen when Milles writes “ He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they’d hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died christian under the law. And so his sons will have his farm” (Miller 1328). In the play we see Elizabeth explaining to john how Giles died. Elizabeth explains that Giles was asked to confess Giles however, refuses to confess because he knows that if he does not confess before he dies his children can keep the farmland he owns. Not confessing and dying Giles pays the steepest price he can for his values and that is his life. I feel that this also says that Giles is a very stubborn man willing to do anything to prove a point and defend his