Preview

The Crucible: Abuse of Power

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
514 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Crucible: Abuse of Power
The Crucible: Abuse of Power In a Puritan civilization, the amount of power the Church and the court had on the citizens was unfair. The Church was depended on to make laws and the court acted as a threat and intimidated civilians to obey the laws. In doing so, the life of a Puritan was not a fortunate one. Second, the court is ruled by hypocrites and corruption. Two characters that were mainly at fault were Danforth and Abigail. Danforth was a judge who declared that “this is a court of law. The law based upon the Bible..” (Miller 56). He uses false accusations and assumptions during cases. Danforth knows that, because of his power, he can suspect people without evidence. “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.” (Miller 68). Danforth’s statement is a paradox because he is not considering how people are being accused of witchcraft without concrete evidence. Also, Abigail allows innocent people to be tried and sometimes even hanged without a chance to defend themselves. Her main reason was to prove the hypocrisy within the town. “Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it!” (Miller 59). Abigail is hinting that no one (especially Danforth) isn’t safe from the devil. She sees the trials as a game. Abigail wishes to punish Salem for its hypocritical values by falsely accusing women and men for their wrong doing. First, the Priest of the community was in charge of making and distributing laws. Because of their position, the laws are based from the bible. Parris knew this and abused his power as the Reverend of Salem. “He cut a villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him. He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side…He felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without first asking his permission” (Miller 1). Parris, as the


Cited: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, New York: the Penguin Group, 1982. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a cautionary tale. Miller warns his audience that the witch hunts and the Salem Witch Trials was a very tragic time period and we must not mimic what had occurred in the past in 1692. This affected many aspects of people’s lives. It cautions us to keep history from repeating itself. A way to prevent this is to avoid tolerance against ignorant power hungry officials at all cost so that lives may be spared.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Throughout the play, a stifling atmosphere of fear lingers over Salem. This apprehension is caused by the ever-growing possibility of being accused of witchcraft. During this period, even the mentioning of the word “witchcraft” struck a chord of uneasiness into people. Punishment for this crime was severe and “a hanging error” (18). Witchcraft is closely associated with hanging and being accused meant one is on his way to death. In addition, witchcraft, according to Judge Danforth, is considered “ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime”(100). Only “the witch and the victim” (100) may bear witness to the crime and “we must rely upon the victims [to] [...] testify”(100). The victims, in this case, are the children. Consequently, with such an unjust method of court, the townspeople’s fears are further augmented. Not only do they fear being accused, they fear…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Abigail Williams first begins to show her sinfulness by having a relationship with a married man; John Proctor. It eventually comes back to hurt both of them in the Witch Trials when John confesses to Danforth to help prove that Abigail is faking her witchcraft and that she is trying to accuse John because she is jealous of his wife. It then backfires as his wife Elizabeth Proctor, lies about the affair (Miller Act III). Secondly, she shows wrath by attempting to accuse Mary Warren of witchcraft in open court as well. Abigail tries to say that Mary has taken the soul of a yellowbird in the courthouse and is making Abby and the other girls feel pain (Miller Act III). Both her wrath and lust show how she was trying to seek penitence by confessing work with the devil to Judge Danforth in order to keep her goodness. So, in the end, the Witch Trials proved to punish her emotionally as Abigail eventually flees Salem with another girl and all of Reverend Parris’ money.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Something that I think both the crucible and this article talk about and focus on is how people are power hungry and how they want to gain power and leverage over other people. One example is the judges in the court. Judge Danforth found a lot of power by signing death warrants. He liked signing them because he felt like he could scare people into doing what he wanted them to do and listen to them. In the…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Reverend Parris had one of the most difficult times with keeping his good judgment, especially since he was supposed to be leading the church in Salem. Since nobody in the town really liked Parris anyways, when rumors started spreading about his daughter and niece using witchcraft, he came to be terrified. He thought they would try to over throw him as minister. Parris did anything he could to save his reputation such as interfering with the trials. This concludes why, in the end, Reverend Parris can never succeed in being a good person.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Cruicible

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Crucible is a story of the many wrongs that come from the town of Salem during 1692. The power that is brought fourth through revenge, deceit, paranoia, and sheer naive ness, is enough to turn the town of Salem, Massachusetts upside down. It results with the death of twenty innocent people and the jailing of hundreds more. The surge of power through the young women of Salem, who had never tasted power before complied with the struggle between good and evil are two main points in the play.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Puritans idea of a representative democracy greatly influenced the development of the New England colonies. In England, Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England by getting rid of any ceremonies or practices that were not found in the scripture. However, King Charles would not allow this action. This action leads to the Puritans traveling to America eager to develop a colony that would be a model society for the rest of the world (Doc1). It was this idea of creating a model colony that had the Puritans church taking on a major role in shaping the government. The Puritans believed the government should get its power from the people. You had to be a male church member to be able to vote and participate in town meetings. This type of democracy gave a sense of unity throughout the colony. The narrative “We will do nothing to offend…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they struggled to settle into a strict, religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational fears and a confined lifestyle.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The girl Abigail Williams allegation begins to go a little too far when she blames witchcraft on one of the judges wife. This might have triggered a little bit of disertenty in the judges minds on Abigail's accusations on the townspeople. This is because a judge's wife can't be touched by the devil. When Mary Warren suggested that they confess about dancing in the woods. The next day all the girls turned on her in court and said that her spirits trying to kill them.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The judges had a big role in this part of the play. The judges are only concerned about their authority and power. For example, judge Danforth and Hathorne both believe that they are right because they are supervised by God. Do to this reason the judges believe that their decision is fair. This leads the judges to be biased on their decision and not examine the trial analytically. In The Crucible Miller uses direct characterization so the readers can easily see who the characters are through descriptive diction. For example, in Act three page 85 Miller tells a little about both of the judges. “John Hathorne enters. He is in his sixties, a bitter, remorseless Salem judge.” “Danforth is a grave man in his sixties, of some humor and sophistication that does not, however, interfere with an exact loyalty to his position and his cause.” With this the reader can understand what kind of person is judge Hathorne and Danforth. The judges have the main power in the court house and they are afraid of losing…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the story The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it explains a play that involves historical events like witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This drama is an example of the unjust events that happened, due to the terrible lies that some young girls made up, who were supposedly witchcraft. This was a hard situation for the entire town because of the accusation of witchcraft toward innocent people. In The Crucible, Miller shows us several examples of themes, some interesting themes were man vs. society, man vs. man, and man vs. self-internal.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As you read the play over the next few days, choose any 3 of the following topics and respond to them in a google document or on paper. Each response must be at least 250 words. You must include references to the text and provide support for all of your claims. Please use your best writing- no grammatical/spelling/capitalization errors- divide ideas using paragraphs etc. Each journal entry is 20 pts. You may do one more extra credit. Again, we are working on providing detailed support for your claims. Be specific!…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson once said, "Power is not alluring to pure minds". This quote could fit in nicely with the type of minds there are in _The Crucible._ Pure minds do not want power, which leads any reader to believe that Abigail Williams does not have a pure mind. In the play she is constantly telling on people getting them thrown in jail and hanged. However, she just wanted the attention of a certain man that she loved with a burning passion. In Arthur Miller's _The Crucible_ Abigail Williams lust for power causes mass hysteria in the town of Salem.…

    • 641 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible: An Analysis

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to publicly express his guilt and sin, under the cover of accusations against the victims.” (Page 7 of Act One). These conflicts result and produce even more tragic occurrences. These conflicts are between either those have sinned and been accused – John Proctor, those who have been sinned against and accused out of jealousy and fear – Elizabeth Proctor, and those who conducted an act of rage, jealousy, ignorance, and hatred, as Abigail Williams had. The two relationships between the Proctors and then John and Abigail and the conflict that tie in with all three situations make up the resolution of how, indeed, jealousy, fear, ambition, frustration led to chaos in Salem. With all these factors listed, pride, of all importance of discussion contributed to the tragedies in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    New England Colonies Dbq

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Puritans of the New England colonies influenced the development of political, economical, and social areas throughout the 1630’s-1670 with their ideas and values. They had emigrated from Britain in order to express their beliefs and practices freely. Religion was the foundation of the political, economical, and social developments of the Puritans. From government to living conditions to religious acts, the Puritans were trying to purify the Church of England in their own ways. Some things worked and others did not, but religion still stood at each of the peaks of the list.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays