The Crucible and Night Through a Critical Lens Essay

Critical Lens

Martin Luther king, a prominent civil right leader, once said The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. In other words, if one would like to measure the character of a man, one should look to how that man reacts in times of distress, rather than times of harmony. Several characters in both the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller and the novel Night by Eli Wiezel, demonstrate how ones true character comes out in times of distress. Both of the protagonists, John Proctor in the Crucible and Eli Wiezel in Night, are able to hold their composure during times of anguish, whereas several of the secondary characters undergo dramatic changes in their character.

The holocaust was one of the most horrific events in the history of mankind, and if it should be justifiable to change ones character based on an event, the holocaust would be worthy of such an event. The novel Night provides a first hand account of the holocaust, and several of its unfortunate victims. An example of how ones character can change for the worse during times of distress can be demonstrated through the character of Madam Schacter. Madam Schacter is a married family oriented woman, who has three children of her own. All signs point to the fact that she was probably a well liked person and respected among the community. She most likely had no history of mental or social disabilities either. However, the event of being separated from two of her children and her husband, caused madam Schacter to lose her mind and become extremely hysterical. She begins to scream and cry incessantly, and it reaches a point where she begins to get beat by the other prisoners. However, some peoples character does not change during a calamity. This was portrayed through the character of Elis father. Elis father was a well respected man in his community and a prominent figure. He always seemed to be complacent and rarely lose control of his feelings. All of this did not change when he entered the concentration camp. He was able to keep his composure for the most part, while at the same time providing positive reinforcement for Eli. Even when he was being beat by the guards for not marching properly he kept his cool and even assured Eli that he was okay and unaffected by the numerous attacks. He demonstrated is strong character and how it was unaffected by the horrific events. Clearly, the different ways peoples characters are affected were demonstrated through the positive reaction by Elis father and the negative reaction by Madam Schacter.

The hangings during the Salem witchcraft trials, was a clear demonstration of how people react differently during times of distress. In the play the Crucible John Proctor was a respected farmer in the community. He was a noble (with the exception of adultery) and righteous man. . Both these characteristics remained with him during the highly emotional times of the hangings. During the beginning of the book when times were peaceful he was seen an immoral man for committing adultery. However during the times of the hangings his true character shined above all Proctor was one of few to keep his composure during the hangings and even tried to warn the other community members of the ridiculousness of their claims. Even though the townspeople didnt believe him and hanged him, he demonstrated his noble character and refused to give in to the hysteria. Even when Proctor was offered to either keep his life or promote the hysteria, proctor chose to give his life which testifies to his strong character. In contrast to Proctor, there was Abigail. Abigail was the one to start the whole crisis by dancing in the forbidden forest. When Abigails uncle fond her dancing naked in the forest, she went along with the witchcraft story and further developed it to save her own neck. She even went as far to accuse several women of committing witchcraft, fully knowing that they would probably get beat or hanged. Furthermore, when the times were getting extremely rough and she felt that she might be found for the liar that she was, she ran away from Salem. Further demonstrating her pusillanimous and cowardly character, that was brought out during the crisis. Obviously, both John Proctor and Abigail demonstrated how ones true character comes out during a crisis, for the better or for the worse.

Evidently, Martin Luther King Jr. was right to say that ones character can only truly be judged during the times of a crisis. This was demonstrated by both Madam Schacter and Elis Father in the novel Night by Eli Wiezel and John proctor and Abigail in the play the Crucible. Abigail and Madam Schacter demonstrate how ones character can take a turn for the worse during a crisis. Whereas Proctor and Elis father portray how people can remain true to their character during times of distress and these people are the one who are truly strong in character. While it is understandable for one who goes through something like the holocaust to change the way they acts, it speaks greatly to those who retain their strong character during times such as the holocaust.