“There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning!” (pg 30) Parris tried to defend himself with such passionate and heartfelt comments but Proctor would have none of it. To him Parris was not in his society. Also, his relationship with Abigail Williams was a strained one, plagued with affair, scandal, and betrayal. He did love her, but soon after seeing what she truly was he resented his connection to her and, like what his old true nature told him, he confessed, causing a resent to appear within the town that never gave him his old trust
Parris is a character that allows the audience to see the weaknesses and flaws in the society. Parris gives the audience an insight into the main reasons for the religion and society’s downfall. Of all the characters in the play, Parris feels the least effects of repression. Being of a high up status, and the strong belief puritans have in God gives him power but little freedom. He must constantly please
We see a variety of responses but it is the inability of the majority to understand the roots of the plague that prevents them from undergoing personal transformation. The religious dogma that is directed towards them leaves them ignorant and inflexible their own ideas about God and their place within society for themselves. This causes many to direct their devastation and fear to misunderstood characters that disagree with societal conventions. The crazed mob that accuses the Gowdies of witchcraft exemplifies the notion that faith blinds people to reality in ‘Year of Wonder’. Faith in God is easily converted into superstition amongst the ignorance of the uneducated.
Mr. Hooper, the minister in The Black Veil is a man of secret sin and darkness. Hooper could represent secret sin within his heart or specific sin which could be adultery. The congregation of the church was surprised to see the minister with the black veil on that covered his face. Though they never saw the minister’s actions change, the way people reacted to him did, even his love Elizabeth’s actions. People were afraid and intimidated by the veil that the minister wore and believed it hid some secret sin and reminded them of their own transgressions, which should never happen with the minister.
Danforth shows Salem his authority by wrongly convicting citizens, controlling the court, and enforcing society’s laws. In the play The Crucible, Danforth is considered to be a minor character due to his help in the exposer of the main characters personalities throughout the court room. Also, he is very straight forward and has a static character, which matches his composure due to his belief of being aided by God himself within the court. Some may consider the conflict to be external conflict, or man verses supernatural conflict, in the story because it displays the conflict between the citizens and the Devil, but there is evidence that suggests otherwise. Danforth is a very ethical man, and believes he is very truthful and only convicts those who have done wrong.
Lack of Belief: The people of the land are religious and live there lives according to what messengers and oracles tell them. For Oedipus religion is pushed aside and he believes more in himself. These factors lead the state and the household of Oedipus into contamination which will only be cleansed by the gods and fate. The king's household and family are greatly affected by the religion in that there lack of believe in the gods has caused devastation within there lives. Jocasta’s Beliefs: Jocasta does not want to believe that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother.
Bertrande constantly questioned and confided in those closest to her only to be told she was mad. “All my household believe me to be mad”. The priest, who was an important figure at the time, dismissed Bertrande’s speculations and did not express any doubt about the strangers identity. Rather, he reassures Bertrande that men change over time and that Bertrande should “pray for understanding” . When Bertrande went on to sue Arnaud, he discouraged Bertrande to bringing the lawsuit against the rogue imposter as he was convinced that the man Bertrande was accusing was the real Martin.
This story is about committing a sin against the Puritan culture that is all about holiness and living right before God. Their culture really took ‘living by the Bible” seriously and condemned those who didn’t obey God’s laws. It became a widely-known scandal all around the town and many people condemned and had hateful feeling for Hester. But the real effects of the hurtful sin actually affected the minister. The first character who
Cal The antagonist is Cal. Cal is clearly the opposing character. He may seem as is if he is the victim, but all he does is deliberately attack Andre’s mother not understanding her situation and position. According to the play, Cal states “How many of us don’t want to hurt our mothers and live in mortal terror of their disapproval. Our lives aren’t furtive, just our feelings towards people like you” (50).
Walter is a Cunningham, so he is inferior and should be treated as such. Scout embraces the racism thrust on her and fails to see any other path. Also early in the novel Scout, Jem and Dill are afraid of Boo Radley, they think he is a monster and try to play tricks on him. They don’t know Boo Radley and have never seen him but still judge him on stories they have heard. They are threatened by him, and are scared to go on his property.