The Crucible - Belonging

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An individual’s choices can be directly influences by the actions or ideas of others. These choices can lead to an enriched or limited sense of belonging. ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller shows many examples of this, by presenting Abagail, a teenage girl striving to belong in the community and in contrast, John Proctor, who at the start of the play had great respect and power within the town, but was diminished by the end of it. ‘Magician’ by Raymond E. Feist portrays Pug, a young orphan boy who doesn’t have a name or reputation and lives with another family.

The play is set in the town of Salem Massachusetts in 1692. The theocracy of Salem is based upon literal reading of the bible and directly following all the commandments of the bible like attending church every Sabbath and abstaining from work on the Sabbath. Reverend Hale says that “Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in the fortress may be accounted small,” referring to Abigail and the girls dancing being the crack that could bring down the fortress of Theology. John Proctor is an individual who did not care about belonging to the Salem community. Proctor believed that God has left the church and Proctor shows his hate and distrust of Reverend Paris when he says, “I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.” Proctor chooses not to belong to Salem because he “sinned” with Parris’s niece Abigail Williams, and this causes him to see himself as a hypocrite and not worthy to belong to the Salem community. Danforth’s behavior and attitudes in the court exclude Proctor from conforming to the court and led Proctor to tell the court that Abigail told him that the events in “the woods” were “sport” but court quickly turned on him and sees him as an enemy
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