preview

The Inevitability Of Greed In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Decent Essays
Open Document
In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, a small Puritan village in Salem turns into a town revolving around accusations and rumors of witchcraft. The defensive actions of the characters involved in the dramatics show their greed to protect themselves at all costs against the allegations of witchcraft that tear the town apart. The characters in the play prove Cormac McCarthy’s assertion that “what is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood and this is a thing that even God - who knows all that can be known - seems powerless to change” (McCarthy 239). The inevitability of greed of mankind will prevail through the motivations to maintain reputation, sustain self-preservation, and get revenge. Reputation is the status a person puts effort into building up, however it can also be tarnished or destroyed with one wrong event. Protecting position or power is a priority for all people of society, because we constantly worry of what others think of us. Throughout history, imperialism to extend a country’s power has been a major priority. The Age of Imperialism was driven solely by the intent of European countries to maintain their status over others by accumulation of land and wealth by extending their empires. Likewise, reputation in Salem was of high value, and Reverend Parris's greed to maintain his image and power drove him to act out during the trials. His fierce desire to upkeep his reputation took priority over even his own daughter. “Now look you,
Get Access
Related
Get Access