Jealousies In The Crucible

Usually in short stories , peer pressure is almost always involved. Peer pressure is the influence to do something by your friends. In the Crucible, Mary Warren was John Proctor’s maid and she gave into peer pressure when she was forced to plead murder on Abigail in court. This can relate to many occurrences in our world today.

As we all know reputation is a really big deal in today’s society. Hardly any kid can be themselves because they are so scared they won't fit in or be popular. Many adults feel the same way. If there neighbor buys a boat, they feel like they should buy one to just fit in. In “The Crucible” it is the same way reputation is very important to them and they don’t want to ruin there reputation even if it is gonna sacrifice them being alive, they want to make sure they keep their good name in the community. In this novel there were a bunch of characters who cared about their reputation. Parris, Abigail, Rebecca Nurse, and John Proctor. The main two who cared about their reputation would be Abigail and John. Many characters in “The Crucible” are concerned about their reputations. Two of the main characters especially concerned with the betrayal of their reputations are Abigail and John.

It is 1692 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts; fear and hysteria are running rampant. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the residents of Salem are allowing their grudges and personal rivalries to distract themselves from the truth. The witch trials are escalating, more and more people are being accused, and the tensions are high. The Putnams have different motivations and grudges that are driving the accusations. Ann Putnam is using the trials to harm the women she deems responsible for the deaths of her seven children. In contrast, Thomas Putnam is driven by his greed for wealth and land to accuse those he is envious of. A young girl, Abigail Williams, is a devious teenager seeking revenge on the innocent wife of her past lover.

Enviousness is sometimes described as psychic tumor, and can be destructive at times, how that temptation of jealousy can overwhelm people and ruin people around. This situation is successfully introduced in the play The Crucible, how many characters are jealous of people around them, and such action of envying not only destroyed people who practiced envy but also people around. In the play The Crucible, Miller’s uses of compare and contrast between Abigail William and Mr. Putnam brings out their similar motive for their desire for power, which is envy. As a result of their envying of others, many innocent people died, thus demonstrates the dangers of envy.

Often individuals over dramatize their opinion to convey their attitude. Similarly, Danforth often acts extreme in his attempts to rid witchcraft from Salem when he says, “If retaliation is your fear, know this- I [Danforth] should hang ten thousand that dares to rise against the law” (Miller 129). Danforth displays demagoguery while he explains to Reverend Hale why the executions must happen on schedule because he appeals to Hale’s passionate fear of witchcraft. Danforth’s response to Hale works in the scene to further build the audience’s perception of Danforth as irritable and urgent, yet precise, and support his determination as Deputy Governor. However, Danforth’s determination often misguides his rationality. Furthermore, Danforth supports the thematic topic of law in The Crucible and helps the reader understand the severity of justice Miller conveys throughout the play. Danforth’s role develops the play by illustrating the stubbornness of authority in Salem during the witch trials.

Reputation; what significance does this one word have that a Spanish proverb states, “He who has lost his reputation is a dead man among the living”? According to the townspeople in theocratic Salem, an individual was to become prestigious and sacrifice everything for a good name. There was no such thing as private moralities, instead, a person’s reputation was a public matter showcased for the town to judge and discern. Nothing is more unimaginable than having to lose an influential position. Throughout the play “The Crucible”, individuals base their actions on safeguarding or earning a standing. Miller uses the characterization of Reverend Parris and John Proctor to demonstrate that when one exclusively focuses on the preservation of their reputation, one is more likely t o use outrageous actions and deception to hide one’s faults.

Selfishness, scape goats, and reputations have played a negative role in human nature throughout The Crucible. All humans have different flaws in and out of the text; everyone

Grudges play a huge role in the crucible, family accusing family. It was a good opportunity for those in the community who had a vendetta. The whole judicial system was set up to punish the accused whether they plead guilty or innocent. Being accused was basically a death sentence, because nobody could prove the witness or the accused, and in the court, the witness was never at fault. There are multiple examples in the crucible of this false accusing, whether for greed or revenge.

Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at age ten due to lack of wealth. This misfortune caused Franklin, to be put to the test of challenges in adversity. However, he never stopped pursuing his education which ultimately lead to substantial inventions and America's founding fathers. Similarly, The Crucible, focuses on the conflicts of the Salem witch trials and the uttermost actions that can create dim ambitions. Arthur Miller's play “The Crucible”, exhibits characters that struggle through hardships which ultimately end in union. The Crucible is shown as a severe test or trial, it pertains to characters John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Mary Warren because, they all faced adversity through several young girls unable to speak the

B. Establish Controversy : Love is a main idea that is repeated throughout The Crucible, a 1953 play by playwright Arthur Miller. The Crucible is a play set in Salem Massachusetts in 1692-1693 and is an allegory for McCarthy Hearings which took place in the 1950s. The play focuses on the 1950s human need for norm, the puritanical fear of witches and the inconsistencies of the Salem Witch Trials. Hysteria breaks out in Salem when the minister of Salem Reverend Parris catches his niece Abigail and daughter Betty in the woods with paraphernalia essential to conjuring spirits and Betty becoming mysteriously ill. Parris worries about Betty’s condition and summons Reverend Hale who investigates witchcraft and the suspicions of the illness but indubitably finds witchcraft imperceptible after reflection of the motives. This illness manifests fear throughout the residences of Salem and Abigail deviously exploits this fear by accusing villagers to vindicate herself from any accusations of witchcraft. In doing so she becomes the prime accuser for the Theocracy. Jealousy and grudges empower the hysteria which leads to the death of an abundant amount of Salem’s innocent population. One of the most noteworthy jealousy in the play is Abigail’s envy of John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s marriage because of an affair that took place.

There are many conflicts that arise due to decisions characters make. The characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller all have one thing in common corrupting the entire town and is all at fault for most of the actions decisions, and conflict displayed in the book. This corruption can be described in one word: Greed. Driving the town to go after one another greed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is the true antagonist of the book, for it provokes most of the conflict in the book. This can all be proven with definitions and impacts of greed tot all of the characters, examples and how it relates back to the plot of the book.

Power is the ability to influence an individual or a series of events, most humans crave power and the ability to be in control of others. In Salem Massachusetts the Puritan lifestyle gave individuals few freedoms and little power in one's daily life. They were not allowed to do anything that resulted in enjoyment, an individual's life was not devoted to one's self and well being but only to God. The Puritan lifestyle was a very restricting one, this caused Puritans to crave the power they could not grasp, until the Witch Trials in 1692. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, many characters including Abigail Williams and Mary Warren use the Witch trials to obtain power that they did not possess before the trials occurred.

:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, said by Martin Luther King, Jr. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 introduces us a story of this kind that injustice brought by a character named Danforth brings the social malfunction of Salem accompanied by a breakdown of humanity and faith. In our modern society, the public requires the power and presence of laws and justice system to protect their rights. However, when the structures become shackles and the judges mute off their voice of the truth, it leads the tragedy and misery to the people.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, self- preservation and self-dignity play a vital role. The three factors I listed played a huge role in John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many other lives. Many other characters such as, Abigail Williams and her friends can be characterized by being greedy, bitter, and selfish. In the play, Miller reveals how people can go against their own morals, therefore they can protect themselves. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, he reveals to readers how fear escalated in Salem because of people's desire for personal gain.

Reputation is extremely important in a town where social standing is tied to one’s ability to follow religious rules. Your good name is the only way you can get other people to do business with you or even get a fair hearing. Of course, reputation meant nothing when a witchcraft accusation was staring you in the face. But reputation is what made the Reverend hale begin to doubt whether the accused individuals were actually guilty. And it was for the sake of his reputation and his friends’ reputations that John Proctor refused to sign a false confession. He would, quite literally, rather die. Although John Proctor goes to his death falsely condemned as a witch, he gains his reputation and respect among those who matter, like his wife, because he refuses to falsely identify his friends and neighbours as witches. The loss of Abigail’s reputation toward the end of the play shows that characters in The Crucible eventually earn the reputations they deserve, despite the personal tragedies that might take place along the way. Having a good reputation is very important in The Crucible. It means you can be accepted by society. If you do not have a good name, you will be completely rejected. John Proctor would no longer be thought of a morally straight and righteous person. Reverend Parris would lose all his respect and not be accepted by society. Judge Danforth would be constantly questioned and lose his job. Keeping and maintaining your good name is an overwhelming theme in The