The Consequences of Pride and False Belief in The Crucible Essay

Crucible Analytical Essay

The philosophical view of the puritan pilgrims affects their actions in the Crucible because their main belief was to purify their surroundings and the church. If they thought that by killing people who were believed to be witches, then that they would be serving god. However by sparing people who plead guilty to witchcraft they would still be purifying. The author, Arthur Miller, uses the theme of paranoia to create world in which people cannot trust anyone for fear of being accused of being a witch. The main paranoia is that people are fearing that others will assume that they are witches for any reason. The author uses examples of paranoia throughout the play. In Act two, Reverend Hale warns the Proctors for not knowing one of the Ten Commandments. They are accused for witches because as Hale said in the Crucible "Any crack in the castle is a cause for alarm", which would mean that since he committed an act of larceny and he cannot remember that commandment it would seem that black magic was upon him. John Proctor could have forgotten the Ten Commandments because it simply passed his mind at the moment, but as it was he was committed of witchcraft because of this small fault of remembrance. A separate example is when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchery, Abigail did this because she was full of lust for John Proctor and believed that he wanted his wife dead so that they could, as John Proctor described, "Dance on her grave together." This describes that Abigail wants Elizabeth dead so she could have John Proctor and so the easiest way to get rid of her would be to accuse her of witchcraft at the time when paranoia of witches was at its highest. Abigail sets up Elizabeth Proctor after she sees Mary Warren making a poppet in court. Abigail stabs herself in the stomach with a needle and so when they search the Proctor house they find a doll with a needle in the place where Abigail was stabbed. Again because of the paranoia they immediately jump to the conclusion that Elizabeth Proctor is a witch and stabbed Abigail by using the needle on the doll, exactly as Abigail hoped. Later in the same act, John Proctor asks Herrick why the accuser is always innocent but, there was no answer. Elizabeth ends up being arrested while Abigail is completely unsuspected by anyone except for John Proctor.

The author uses in great effect the paranoia that swept though Salem by showing examples such as when Thomas Putnam gets his revenge on Francis Nurse by having his wife, Rebecca Nurse, convicted of supernatural powers. This shows just how severely everyone was caught up in the moment with witches. Before any of the girls accused anyone, everybody knew that Rebecca Nurse was the best person in the settlement. Goody Nurse attended church every weekend and was considered the healer in Salem. However, due to the paranoia that swept Salem people are turned and are frightened that anyone could be a witch and they believe every accusation. Rebecca Nurse is convicted of witchcraft and hanged. Putnam is discovered to be a land grabber and certain people are aware that he is using the fear of witchcraft to get people killed so he can grab their land. As another example of the paranoia that swept Salem, Giles Corey's wife Martha is accused of witchery for the simple fact the Giles had mentioned "She read books at night and I could not remember my commandments until she stopped reading." It had only been coincidence but people were so afraid that they jumped on this and she was accused, because she refused to admit that she committed witchery she was put to death. Later on when Giles tries to prove Martha's innocence he gets pressed to death because he refuses to state the name of someone who also knows that Putnam is a liar. This is outrageous because when accusations are made they are evidence for the court, but while people try to prove their innocence the judge does not want to listen to any evidence given. The paranoia of witches that swept through Salem is almost unbelievable and has huge effects on the court system. Evidence is useless while the accuser is trusted in the courtroom and so ones fate is decided almost as quickly as they enter the room.

Confession also plays a major role in the decision of an accused fate. If they decide to confess they are released and they are allowed to live, although their land is sold. The reader has already seen what happened when the town succumbed to paranoia of witches, they also have seen that the accusers are truly the guilty ones but what the readers did not see was that there were no confessions since the act one. Every person that was accused had two choices: either to confess and be guilty of witchcraft, which results in their land and possessions being sold off, or to be convicted and hang. Although it seems like a simple decision to live, almost every victim chooses instead to not confess and therefore they hang. They choose to die instead of pronouncing themselves guilty most people nowadays would rather be guilty rather than die, the people of Salem chose otherwise. To understand why they did this you must understand their philosophies, in Salem reputation was an important thing in people's lives and people wanted to have a clean life, a clean name, and a good reputation. Also their beliefs were, as Proctor exampled in act four as he shouted to Mary Warren, "God damns all liars!" and so therefore if they withstood this trial of faith, they would live forever in the kingdom of God. Therefore, they did not confess and instead just stood quietly giving no confession. In example, John Proctor had the chance of testifying against Abigail and to put away her accusations, but he was not able to do this because his wife wished to preserve his reputation and instead of the truth told a lie that he was not a lecher. John Proctor is accused of witchcraft afterward and his wife is greatly distressed because she had told a lie. John Proctor wanted to maintain a good public reputation. However, John Proctor did not let his reputation stand in the way in the last act. John Proctor pronounces himself guilty so that he may live. Although he did nothing wrong he confessed to witchcraft which was the answer everybody was looking for and therefore would save himself. He confessed and signed his name on the conviction form but then made a heroic action and tore the paper in half, doing so he unknowingly put an end to the Salem Witchcraft Trials and he also put an end to his own life. Officials were unnerved that so many people refused to commit themselves guilty and so therefore they had to stop because they were unsure that they were in the right. Proctor ends up being hanged. A confession was all Danforth should have needed, he got an answer and still wanted Proctor to sign his name and post it because he wanted to tear apart his reputation and rip Proctor apart to prove that he was right to be killing all these people.

Overall, The Crucible shows what can happen when a majority comes into control and when the general public is affected by a belief that goes along with the majorities beliefs. The author gives each victim an excuse to be exempt from confessing, rather the victim dies instead of spoiling their reputation. This goes to show that when the public values something to much it can cost them greatly. Pride still costs us today, right now we cannot simply swallow our pride and reside from Iraq. In the end, the right will always end up residing over the wrong.