Compare and Contrast Revenge in Scarlet Letter and the Crucible
Abigail’s Versus Chillingworth’s Revenge
What does revenge mean? The definition is "to exact punishment or expiation for a wrong on behalf of, especially in a resentful or vindictive spirit" (dictionary.com). What does that mean? It means to give punishment to someone who deserves it for some specific reason, especially if the reason was personal or offends to the person giving the revenge. In both The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter there was revenge. However, they both had different types of revenge and how it was used. There was a lot of revenge in The Crucible. The first person that was using revenge in The Crucible is Thomas Putnam. From the beginning of the play, Thomas Putnam had grudges against Francis Nurse for preventing his brother-in-law from being elected to run for office as minister. "Thomas Putnam's man for the Salem ministry was Bayley. The Nurse clan had been in the faction that prevented Bayley's taking office" (Act 1). He also dislikes George Jacobs because they have had land disputes in the past. Thomas Putnam decides to have his daughter Ruth charge witchcraft against the man. He does this because if George Jacobs is executed, then Thomas Putnam can buy all of George Jacobs' land. Giles Corey knows this and in the book he says, "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land" (Act 3)! Another person that Thomas Putnam wants to have revenge against is the "witch" that the people of Salem have been trying to find since the very beginning. He and his wife are the reason that the whole witchcraft hysteria went out of control. Thomas Putnam and his wife were very upset about how they lost seven newborns and now their only living child, Ruth, is sick. In the book Mrs. Putnam says:
"Reverend Parris, I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth. Believe me, sir, you never saw more hearty babies born. And
What does revenge mean? The definition is "to exact punishment or expiation for a wrong on behalf of, especially in a resentful or vindictive spirit" (dictionary.com). What does that mean? It means to give punishment to someone who deserves it for some specific reason, especially if the reason was personal or offends to the person giving the revenge. In both The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter there was revenge. However, they both had different types of revenge and how it was used. There was a lot of revenge in The Crucible. The first person that was using revenge in The Crucible is Thomas Putnam. From the beginning of the play, Thomas Putnam had grudges against Francis Nurse for preventing his brother-in-law from being elected to run for office as minister. "Thomas Putnam's man for the Salem ministry was Bayley. The Nurse clan had been in the faction that prevented Bayley's taking office" (Act 1). He also dislikes George Jacobs because they have had land disputes in the past. Thomas Putnam decides to have his daughter Ruth charge witchcraft against the man. He does this because if George Jacobs is executed, then Thomas Putnam can buy all of George Jacobs' land. Giles Corey knows this and in the book he says, "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land" (Act 3)! Another person that Thomas Putnam wants to have revenge against is the "witch" that the people of Salem have been trying to find since the very beginning. He and his wife are the reason that the whole witchcraft hysteria went out of control. Thomas Putnam and his wife were very upset about how they lost seven newborns and now their only living child, Ruth, is sick. In the book Mrs. Putnam says:
"Reverend Parris, I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth. Believe me, sir, you never saw more hearty babies born. And