Preview

The Crucible Theme Essay

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
458 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Crucible Theme Essay
Jacob Fallin
Mrs. James
English III
22 November 2010
Themes in The Crucible In my essay I’m going to be talking about the themes in The Crucible. “Saving your image is not worth the lives of innocent people.”
Danforth did not want to postpone the hanging because he doesn’t want to look weak in Salem. So to look powerful he showed no mercy, didn’t not postpone the hangings, and so people with respect him in all ways. “Lies may be truth, and truth may be lies.” Said by John Proctor, innocent persons knew the truth while Abigail said that they were working with the devil. So who is going to believe who? That is what happens danforth does not believe the innocent, but the liers. “It’s better to fail with honor than succeed as a fraud.” John Proctor died knowing the truth while Abigail ran away from the innocent lives that she took from good people and she did that with her life
…show more content…
But only one person stood up for himself and the innocent [John Proctor] and he was hanged for not confessing to witchcraft which he was innocent but since he said “I am not with god.”
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
Abigail and all the other girls, which said the same thing over and over again that was “so and so used witchcraft” and Judge Danforth believed Abigail and all the other girls which caused several death of innocent people like Corey Giles who was pressed to death they did that cause, so it soon became the truth to the court. Whoever was accused was going to get hanged unless the confessed and there were a few that did confess, and will be remembered by being known for doing witchcraft but the ones that didn’t confess were hanged, the last two people that hanged and did not confess was Rebecca Nurse ,and John Proctor.
“One error can lead up to many

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When Proctor was prosecuted for being one with the devil, he was asked a series of questions. Danforth demanded Proctor to confess that is he saw certain people, innocent people, with the devil. Proctor answered with, "No, I did not," (Page 1230), every single time. As other people who were prosecuted did accuse these people, such as Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. He did not put anyone else's life in danger as he was putting his own life in danger by not accusing them. Having the guts to stand up to others is something that all heroes have mastered in.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tituba Act 4

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Others see Danforth as someone bullheaded, doesn’t want to be wrong. The judge, jury and execution, no one has any reason to believe him anymore.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    10. Danforth suggests that a “way out” for the girls when he says that he can kill Mary if she is lying or, if she is telling the truth, they should,” drop your guile and confess your pretense, for a quick confession will go easier with…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abigail Williams and the girls know that those people have been with the Devil. HATHORNE: This is nonsense, can it not be seen that Abigail is a remorseless liar and a wretched manipulative juvenile who spreads destruction and the death of innocents wherever she goes. Eighty-eight people we have accused of and five people dead because of Abigail and the nonsense she is. DANFORTH:…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John and Abigail’s affair causes Abigail to fall love with him and wanting to kill his wife. She wanted to kill Goody Proctor so she can take her place and live happily with John Proctor. This caused John Proctor to confess that he committed adultery so he can prove that the trials are fraud and also prove that his wife is…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Danforth In The Crucible

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Danforth’s stubborn demeanor controls most of his accusations and influences his decisions. He truly believes that the only way to prove there is witchcraft is if the victim accuses the assailant. However, there is a serious flaw in this method. Anyone can make an accusation and no one will be the wiser as to if they are lying. When Proctor comes into the court to give evidence of the girls lies, he accuses Danforth of not using evidence. Danforth tells Proctor if people are accused of being witches then it’s “Ipso facto” and they are guilty (103). Francis Nurse then gives a petition to Danforth. Instead of looking at it as evidence he tells Hathorne to “arrest for examination” the 91 names on the petition (97). Danforth cannot think of the girls as a lie because his behavior prevents him.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    T: Reverend John Hale changed from the beginning to the end of the play the Crucible.…

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible shows how important the decision between honesty and protecting one’s name is. By denying her affair, Abigail Williams protected her name, but was dishonest. When Abigail ran away she, once again, protected her name instead of facing the consequences of her actions. When John Proctor chose death, he chose to be honest and protect his name, instead of having to live a life being falsely labeled as a witch. In some situations, like John Proctor’s, you can be honest, and protect your name at the same time, but, a lot of the time, you will be faced with a decision: honesty, or protecting…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An allegory is a story, poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Arthur Miller’s novel, the Crucible is a fictional play that centers around the Salem Witch Trials. The novel can also be classified as an example of an allegory. The allegorical meaning of the Crucible is that it can be a representation of the Red Scare, the HUAC, and McCarthyism.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In The Crucible

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Proctor lost his life because he stayed true to his morals by not lying about using witchcraft. John would not let anybody take his pride. A man is not a man if he goes everyday regretting that he had lied. John Proctor was the type of man who would wake up every morning regretting that he had lied just so he could live. Proctor’s wife Elizabeth knows her husband better than anyone in the town of Salem. As Hale is mad that Proctor ripped the paper, Elizabeth explains to Hale that, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him” (4,784). She tells Hale that no one can take John’s pride from him.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible Themes Essay

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    If you don't believe in witch hunts, that's fine. But the idea of them is very real. The Crucible is a story that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. This small community is full of superstition and the towns people let their beliefs destroy friendships, and lives. Arthur Miller uses many repeating themes in the play The Crucible. There are many good, and bad themes that come up throughout the play. Some of the common themes of this story are lust, fear, and courage.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Theme Essay

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "You are combined with anti-Christ,are you not?"--Danforth. Within Miller's book The Crucible he portrays and explains how Puritan life was and how the people responded to it on a daily basis. Within The Crucible there is a horrific village known as Salem and in it everything runs off of the bible and the people's thought and if they think you are a witch you will be accused and have to either confess or be brought to death. By closely looking at how Puritanism caused such havoc and destruction . Two themes that obviously dealt with the outrageous destruction and the attitudes of those people would be the philosophical theme of examined their inner lives closely looking for signs of grace or of being damned and the religious theme of which are certain that most of of humanity would be damned for all eternity.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However most of the victims executed during the witchcraft trials were innocent. It all began in 1692 when people began screaming and doing strange dances in the woods. As the settlers began to notice the strange events occurring. They decided that the punishment for witchcraft was death. The only way some lived was when they confessed and helped convicted others. Some of the confessors lied and pointed fingers at innocent. During the salem witchcraft 20 people were executed. Now some people suggest the girls were suffering from epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness. One woman named Susannah Martin was accused of witchcraft. She had been accused of witchcraft before but she was found innocent. This time she was accused again by her neighbors and was hanged. Susannah had been extremely religious. While she was waiting for execution she comforted herself by reading her bible. Later on it was found that she had been linked to an inheritance dispute. During this time people were scared and miss judged some things. “It was the darkest and most desponding period in the civil history of New England. The people, whose ruling passion then was, as it has ever since been, a love for constitutional rights, had, a few years before, been thrown into dismay by the loss of their charter, and, from that time, kept in a feverish state of anxiety respecting their political destinies”( Brooks 1). After the witch trials ended people realized that some of the things done was…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Through my time being with the church I have never questioned or doubted the sacredness of our work once, but recently I have come to find myself realizing that the duty performed by reverends of this sanction are ill minded in determining the wrongfulness of a fellow towns member’s affairs. I am now considering leaving the church; I must record all of my reasons for doing so in this journal.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays