Justice In The Crucible

Arthur miller’s The Crucible is about how a group of girls that start a witch hunt a salem and end up killing many of innocent people. The Crucible has a deeper meaning to it about how people react when fear hits them, and who would be pressured to do the things they do and who would fight for what they believe in. Abigail has the most power in the trials as she convinces the girls to join her to get revenge on people that look upon them. John is a well respected man that realizes that Abigail and the girls are lying about witchcraft and is having the whole town of salem going crazy. Rev.Danforth is a stubborn judge that tries to help keep salem calm and not to cause a overthrow in the court. Danforth is the last decision to decide who gets

In life everyone has their own morals that they live by and everyone has a say in how they choose to live their life. In The Crucible, each character represents a figure of either “good” or “evil” but in reality who is to say whether someone is doing the right or wrong thing. The play brings out many emotional feelings or anger and hate, but also pureness and goodness. Arthur Miller created his characters in such a way that makes the reader realize how everyone is so quick to judge others by their morals, his intentions in doing so are to bring out what life is really like and what people believe others to be.

The unjust execution of 19 innocent people. This was the result of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. The play The Crucible depicts this incident as it closely happened in real life. One character in this play, Judge Danforth, was the judge of the trials who believed that these accusations of witchcraft were true, and order the executions of those 19 innocent people. Throughout his presence in the play, he convinces the people of Salem that what he believes in is correct, and that justice should be delivered to those who have sinned with the Devil. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Judge Danforth employs assertive diction, an aggressive tone, and utilization of ethos to

He is a leader of the court and decides who is guilty, and who is innocent. The people of Salem believe that these two men came to protect Salem from witches. With high credibility from the public, Danforth and Hathorne’s decisions are trusted by the people of Salem. When Danforth realizes the mistakes he made with the people he sent to be hung, he continues to sentence people to be hung to keep his reputation. Danforth claims, “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.” (129). This shows that Danforth would allow more people to die, just to keep his high position, which highlights the power that Danforth possesses. He is able to sentence anyone who he believes to be a witch to death. The people of Salem did not want to question the decision of Danforth, since they did not want to get on his bad side. This show the influence that Danforth has on the people’s

Reverend Parris, worried for his own job, explains to Abigail that her “punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” Even the idea of witchcraft in Reverend Parris’s house could ruin his reputation in the town and therefore risk his job. By Betty being ‘afflicted’, she is holding power over her own father and his position in the town. She knows that the longer she is asleep, the more desperate her father is going to be blame someone for the witchcraft who is not her. Putnam claims that “There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark. Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more” (16). Putnam is yet another powerful male figure in Salem Betty has taken a grip over in the town. He, in this quote, truly believes that the devil is among the town of Salem based on Betty’s current condition. Reverend Hale, encouraging Tituba to give more names of witches, tells her to look at Betty’s “god- given innocence; her soul is so tender; we must protect her; Tituba; the Devil is out and preying on her like a beast upon the flesh of a pure lamb. God will bless you for your help”. (47) Betty has convinced Reverend Hale and the others that she is the

not want to admit they were wrong though because they feel the people will rebel

The audience’ perceptions and understanding of texts depend on the way the composer represents them in relation to politics. Varying texts through their individual mediums offer perspectives on the way people manipulate and are manipulated by politics. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a manifestation of the anger that the composer experienced in his personal life through the accusations which culminated in the McCarthy Trials. His play thus allegorically represents McCarthyism through the Salem Witch trials and exemplifies the false accusations of the people and their injustice from the corrupt politics as well as the influential ideas of power and manipulation. In relation, Geoffrey Robertson’s nonfiction ‘Michael X on death row’ also represents the corrupt and self-centred nature of the politics and the process of manipulation as a facet to gain power and control.

A ‘crucible’ is an object in which substances are combined and then subjected to high temperatures. Arthur Miller uses this theme to guide “The Crucible” from the exposition, when Puritan girls danced in the woods, to Proctor’s death by the hangman’s noose. Hale and Danforth are closely intertwined in their beliefs and views at the beginning of the play, but, as tensions and temperatures rise, they begin to separate; ultimately ending with contrary beliefs. In the opening scenes, Hale and Danforth are present in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 to cast out demons and witches. When the final curtain falls at the end of Act Four, Hale recognizes that the Salem Witch Trials were a result of repressed emotions and conflicts, and the desire to express them under the pretext of witchcraft. Danforth cannot and will not recognize this fact. Thus, Miller develops the characters of Hale and Danforth into foils for each other by the end of the novel; the growing tension is made evident through dialogue, character development, and through the theme of pride.

In the novel, The Crucible by Arthur Miller leads the reader on a journey back to 1692 to reexplore the Salem witchcraft trials. Miller creates an atmosphere and mood in the play with the historical background and Puritan culture. People are being arrested, convicted, and are dying as trust is fading away in the Salem community. The citizens who live in Salem deal with extremely restrictive laws. Evil is characterized by believing illusional ideals that leads people to death which lead Danforth to be selfish, prideful, values his reputation, and tries to do his best for Salem yet crumbles the society.

Reverend John Hale is the minister who is called in to investigate the witch trials in The Crucible. At first he believes them, but later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials. Deputy Governor Danforth is the judge at the witch trials. He is dedicated to removing all witches. He rules by the law and will not allow exceptions or anyone to try to undermine his court.

Through his illustration of Deputy Governor Danforth as a stubborn figure who remains convinced of the accused’s guilt, Miller shows the cause of why following the rules does not always suffice. Although titled “Governor”, Danforth heads the witch trials of Salem. Readers initially witness his nature when the townsfolk refer to him when they explain why the suspected witches confessed to their sins, remarking, “The Deputy Governor promise hangin’ if they’ll not confess”(58). If the women declare

Strange and peculiar happenings occur in The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller. In this story of hypocrisy, guilt, and revenge, innocent people are accused of the bizarre crime of witchcraft. In Salem, Massachusetts, hysteria sets in among every person over fear of being accused of these shocking accusations. Each and every person experiences a severe test or trial in order to live to see another day. In addition to this, these people witnessed their own friends be sentenced to death over a crime in which many were found guilty. The morals of Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor are tested in the crucible of the Salem witchcraft trials.

The founding fathers of our Constitution held firmly to the principle of justice in which “Every man is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.” There have been several episodes in history in which communities violate this principle and allow unsubstantiated accusations to drive their justice system. As depicted in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, during the Salem witch trials, to be accused of “witchcraft” was to be guilty. To be guilty meant a death sentence, which could only be avoided if one was to confess their guilt and to identify other “afflicted girls.” During the McCarthy era, a strikingly similar situation aroused when suspected

One theme from the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller is unfair justice. This has been a recurring theme throughout history, and is portrayed in the book written by Miller. Even now today people are facing unfair justice based on just the word of other people, unfactual or false evidence, and many of these people are facing unfair consequences that even the judges later regret sentencing them to. The book The Crucible shows how unreasonably people were treated in court back in the 1600s and even today these problems are still happening.

If witchcraft is discovered in the Reverend's own home, it can very quickly ruin his reputation. Parris is worried “they will howl [him] out of Salem for such corruption in [his] house”(14). The Reverend is the one preaching God and against witchcraft. If the Devil is found in the Reverend's home, his reputation will be destroyed and he will probably have to leave town. The reverend will be seen as corrupt. Betty is aware of this, but does not change the way she is acting. Betty’s act causes her father to act with . He is supposed to be a calm and a role model. Quaking with fear, mumbling to himself through sobs, he goes to the bed and gently takes Betty’s hand. Betty. Child. Dear Child. Will you wake…” (8). Daughters typically do as their fathers say, but Betty is ignoring her father’s begging. She is able to make her father, the village’s Reverend, cry for his young daughter to do as he says. In a way, Betty causes Parris to lose his ‘masculinity’. During this time, women are the ones thought of to be hysterical and men are supposed to show little emotion, especially strong sadness. Now, the reverend is hysterically crying and repeatedly asking his daughter to wake up. Betty is controlling her father’s emotions and his job. If Betty seems to be working with the Devil, it can force a witch hunt to occur in the town. Reverend Parris wants to stop this from happening. She is in control of whether or not she wakes up and stops the witch hunt. If Betty was to wake, the whole situation would be over. Since she is not, Hale asks Tituba, Abigail, and Betty to “give [them] all their names,” (47). The religious leaders are seeking information from people who are typically of low power. Tituba and the girls start to name ‘witches’ in Salem, which is going to force Parris and the other authoritative figures to make accusations. Betty, regardless of her power status before, now