The Good and the Bad “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” as said by John Lord Acton, meaning that no matter how much power is given to a person it will eventually corrupt and destroy anybody and anything. In the play “The Crucible” there is characters that cause corruption in the little town they live in. They cause such corruption by accusing some people of the town of being a witch. In the Puritanical belief they would consider that there is corruption in the town because of the so called accused “witches” not the ones that are accusing the innocent. In this play there are characters that are, in the puritanical belief, good and bad; no in between.
Danforth is too radical for his own good and it ends up creating the nightmare known as the Salem Witch Trials. The fear his beliefs cause make him cowardly and weak minded. Proctor, on the other hand, knows his morals and standards, and lives an honest life. The farmer shows valor by standing up to Danforth, knowing that it would eventually result in his death if he went too far. Subsequently, he goes to the grave still holding onto his dignity and beliefs.
She had people fooled to believe that she had god in her and she could see the evil in people and could tell if they were in witchcraft. One person after another she had them hung. People so clueless of her intentions saw her as a saint for getting rid of the “evil” in the town. In the end of the play Abigail’s reputation was soon found out about, she knew people would come back and accuse her of murder so she ran away with her uncle’s money and Mercy Lewis. In contrast with Abigail Williams Elizabeth Proctor was not your ideal woman.
This vindictive hatred from Abigail soon prompts a witch hunt involving many innocent people: “Twelve have already hanged for the same crime.” While many panics, John Procter knows this from the start ; “this is a whore’s vengeance”. He tersely identifies the main cause for the witch trials to be directly linked with a spurned lover, who has become disemployed by Procter after having a brief extra-marital affair with her. Still overwhelmed with lustful feelings for John Procter, Abigail decides to manipulate the situation by accusing innocent people of witchcraft, to achieve her own revengeful goal. Abigail is not the only one who takes advantage of the witch trials, to accomplish their revenge. Thomas and Ann Putnam, as a resentful and greedy couple, will take it out on anyone who has caused them trouble.
An easy accusation of one’s name could tarnish their reputation and ruin their career. This happens to many citizens in Salem when they are charged with the involvement of witchcraft and do not wish to confess to such an outrageous allegation in honor of their good name. The Crucible is a perfect depiction in how intolerance and paranoia of the supernatural can tear a community apart. The devil and sorcery is used as a scapegoat to cover up ones personal mistakes and bad coincidences. If there is something wrong with the plants or the animals keep dying, it must be the work of black magic.
When Abigail creates hysteria over witchcraft that sweeps over Salem, she views the situation as a chance to lie and manipulate to achieve her goals, while John Proctor sees through Abigail’s deceit and views the situation as a childish stunt that could get many innocent townspeople hurt. Proctor’s fears come true when Abigail begins accusing innocent women, including Elizabeth, John Proctor’s wife, of witchcraft, hoping to have Proctor for herself after Elizabeth has been hanged. Abigail sees Salem as full of gullible and easily manipulated pawns in her evil game of self-aggrandizement and in her quest to be with John Proctor. Proctor, however, regards Abigail’s plot as an atrocity and tries to save his wife and the other accused townspeople at all costs. Unlike Abigail, Proctor degrades himself in front of all of his fellow townspeople by admitting his lechery to the court in an attempt
This play exhibits tragedy because, though Proctor had many opportunities to change his fate, he chooses his demise because his tragic flaw prohibits him from doing otherwise. John Proctor is the tragic hero of the play, “The Crucible.” He has a high social status in the town, yet, because of his tragic flaw, he cannot bring himself to prevent his own death and tragic downfall. Proctor exhibits these tragic traits, making this play a tragedy of self-respect prevailing over shame and public
All three villains may differ in many ways, yet it seems they share a common urge for power, control and a use of sadistic measures. Jealousy is a very powerful emotion that can cause resentment and envy, creating strong anxieties in villains. This enviousness is a common motivational force for socio-paths. Both Iago and the Duke take on this form of motivation, in order to justify their actions that lack morally-correct social behavior. The Duke’s duchess is flirtatious in nature and this displeases the Duke “Sir, ‘twas not her husband’s presence only, called that spot of joy into the duchess’ cheek”.
This guilt weakened Dimmesdale and eventually lead to his death. The society of the town escalated in corruption throughout the book. At first the town actually had morals and would follow them, but near the end of the book, the town people had dropped their morals and standards and had become Satan worshipers who praised pastors committing adultery. In conclusion, Through the Scarlet Letter Hawthorne shows how the puritans ironically viewed sin hypocritically and gave consequences for it unjustfully, how the end result of a victim of sin can end up good, and how dangerous sin can be when it affects people's lives and society's
Abigail’s greed was the most destructive to the outcome of this story. She destroyed most people’s reputation in the town. Many innocent people are hanged for crimes they did not commit including John Proctor. Abigail wanted to get rid of John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was charged with consorting with the devil. Abigail new the punishment for the crime of witchcraft was hanging and carried out her accusation so that she and Jon could “dance upon her grave together.”(Act 3) John Proctor is also charged with witch craft; he had a choice of lying about consorting with the devil or keeping his integrity.