In the beginning of the play it is made known that Creon is a powerful ruler. It also seems that he is a good ruler and his people are loyal. One of the chorus members states, "If that is your will, Creon son of Menoikus, you have the right to enforce it: we are yours"(Line 37). It is also obvious that Creon ignites fear in his subjects. For example, when Antigone asks Ismene to break the law Ismene replies in fear saying "Think of how terrible than these deaths, our own death would be if we were to go against Creon."
Because of their sins, the townsfolk have guilt and blame others to free themselves of it. People call out names for the witch-hunt on behalf of God; but in reality, they blame others to avoid dealing with their guilt. These accusations make the townspeople turn on their neighbors and friends, ultimately adding to the intensity of the witch trials. In contrast to the townsfolk, Giles deals with his guilt. He asks Reverend Hale to resolve his curiosity about what his wife Martha might be reading behind his back, but instead rouses the town’s suspicion of Martha being a witch.
A lot of it is, I don’t blame you. In a quote by Charles D. Hayes, he says, “Peer pressure has a strong positive component. It provides social cohesion that allows the very development of communal affiliation. But peer power has an extreme force a lot like radiation: a little goes a long way.” People are constantly putting people down and it cause people to do things and change things that they wouldn’t have normally done. People, especially our age, want more than anything to fit in.
Which character does Christopher lose trust and faith in? At the end of the novel does he re-establish his trust? Explain the circumstances/context of this relationship. Christopher loses faith in his father as he lies to him about his mother, and about the real story of why she wasn’t around anymore. Christopher moves away from his father as he cannot stand people who lie to him or anyone as he cannot get his head around what might actually be true.
Pearl’s alienation displays the consequences of not behaving properly as a child in Boston. Chillingworth alienates himself to avoid being ridiculed by the town for having an unfaithful wife. Dimmesdale is emotionally segregated from the people of Boston as the price of his secrecy. Every character becomes isolated in their own way, and Hawthorne uses them as examples of which traits the Boston colony values and which traits it loathes.
The resident may even attempt manipulative behavior to convince family that placement isn’t safe or to instill so much guilt that the family will take them home. One common issue for both the resident and their family is the change in roles that take place. A switch in power occurs. Roles are reversed and now the child is acting in the parental role, the one who makes the decisions and has the authority. For the resident, they are faced with the loss of the roles they played in the workplace and in the community.
It will look at the theme and resolution present throughout the text. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, during the height of the witch trails in 1692, the play follows the protagonist, John Proctor, as he struggles with his conscience and right and wrong. John Proctor is portrayed as a good man who struggles with his own beliefs. He sees himself as a fraud. He is a paradox in that no matter how hard he tries to clear his name, he cannot bring himself to forgive himself of his sins.
John Proctor is one of the characters who is confronted to either belong or not. He initially chooses to not belong to Salem society. His sin with Abigail makes him feel like he doesn’t belong in Salem when only his wife knows
Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century was full of hysteria about witches casting spells, spirits being conjured, and the devil influencing the townspeople. Accusations of witchcraft, for personal vengeance, hurled fellow citizens into jail for eventual execution. The greedy were taking neighbors land once their innocent blood was spilled for crimes of witchery. John Proctor disliked the court’s lack of justice, and thought that the spreaders of the lies only did it to get what they wanted. All he wanted was for fair trials to be conducted and evidence to be looked for, because he was a very just individual and when a debate of who had authority he said “we vote by name in this society, not by acreage” (1.
These works of literature have clear conflicts that revolve around the value of the expectations and aspects of one’s character. In 1692, Salem, Massachusetts was a largely theocratic community. Religion and Law were practically one and the same. From the beginning of The Crucible, Reverend Parris fears that his daughter’s coma and his niece’s, Abigail, suspicious behavior will destroy his reputation and ultimately his career by being associated in any way with witchcraft. “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.” (Miller, 11) John Proctor, the protagonist, is under the manipulation of Abigail throughout the play, because he struggles between preserving his reputation or stopping Abigail’s mischief and saving his wife by exposing their secret affair.