ipl-logo

Fear And Paranoia In The Crucible

1199 Words5 Pages

Telling the truth may seem like the right path to take, but in the Puritans’ society it leads to nothing but consequences. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, reasoning and logic play a huge role in the society’s fear and paranoia. Proctor, Hale, and Giles are the main characters who have reasonable explanations for the chaos that has occurred. John Proctor is one of few characters that maintains valid logic towards the people’s fear and paranoia. In the beginning, Proctor gets in a dispute over whether Tituba, Sarah, and numerous others have dealt with the devil or not. Hale argues that since the girls confessed to dealing with the Devil, it must be true. Proctor then proceeds to say, “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will …show more content…

Instead of accusing all of the innocent people of witchcraft, Proctor simply gives the explanation that the girls are lying to save their lives. After this, Proctor goes to court to testify his beliefs. In court, Proctor continues to argue with Hale and provides evidence that Abigail is guilty. “Is the accuser always holy now?… This warrant’s vengeance!” (Miller 77). Proctor shows that just because Abigail is the accuser, doesn’t mean she is innocent and that she is lying so she can gain revenge. Once again, the court ignores all of the reasonable answers that Proctor provides and agrees with Abigail’s theory of witchcraft. After further disagreement with the court, Proctor finally decides to confess his affair with Abigail to prove that she isn’t as innocent as she seems. This action sacrifices Proctor’s good name; which is sacred in the Puritan society. Even after throwing away his good name though, the court still denies the truth and puts Proctor in jail. Proctor, furious, gives his final speech before he is escorted away. “…when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our

Show More
Related

  • Danforth Is To Blame In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    929 Words  | 4 Pages

    And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Abigail to Betty and Mary Warren who initially express fear about their actions in the woods and express a desire to confess. Abigail asserts her power over the girls right away so as to ensure she is not exposed. “ (miller page 20) so Marry accused Proctor of witchcraft so she won’t be sent to hang. So Danforth threw Proctor in jail one of the town's most proud men because Mary warren accused him after Abigail and the girls turned on her.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Fear In The Crucible

    789 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 17th century were known for its witch hunts and trials in Salem. A Puritan society with strong hatred towards anything of witchcraft. The fear instilled drives the town, leaving moral of the people to be hysterical. A fear that leads people to purposely, find anything out of place to be blamed on certain group leaving them marginalised in society. Fear influences people to act irrationally and give the response of flight or fight.

    Read More

  • Irrationality In The Crucible

    598 Words  | 3 Pages

    At this instance, he is indirectly fueling Abigail and the girls to accuse whomever they want to. Judge Danforth’s irrationality bubbles out in this situation, as according to his judiciary system any person accused of witchcraft have no chance of being a defendant due to the absence of a witness. This shows incompetence and irrationality of legal judgments on the part of an experienced Judge such as Danforth. Lastly, Danforth’s poor judgment is also revealed in the instance of the play wherein John proctor sacrifices his name and tell the truth that he and Abigail had committed the crime of Lechery. In order to confirm this Judge Danforth calls Elizabeth Proctor to testify in court, in which she lies, as a result Danforth says “She spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied” (Miller 114).

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor Guilt Analysis

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    Because of this, logic behind his actions become lost since he begins executing them with a desire to reform the corruptness of his crime. Elizabeth suggests to Proctor, that by telling the court that Abigail and the other girls bewitchments are of pretense, all women who were sentenced to death would be given their lives back. He knows that telling the judges is the most rational, but he pauses before making a choice as he responds “quietly, struggling with his thought” (53). His uncertainty shows his conflicting emotion because Proctor feels he cannot accuse Abigail because his guilt will not allow him to. But he coexisting feels the priority to accuse her in order to keep Elizabeth in high spirits.

    Read More

  • John Proctor Sacrifice In The Crucible

    705 Words  | 3 Pages

    He defends his wife and tells the court that his wife fired Abigail because of their affair. When the court brought Elizabeth Proctor into the court and asked her about the affair she denied it. Even though she knew the affair was true she denied it because she didn’t know Proctor had confessed and wanted to take her husband’s name

    Read More

  • John Proctor Ethos In The Crucible

    525 Words  | 3 Pages

    The speaker John Proctor, in the playwright The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is portrayed as a noble, and well respected Puritan man. However, it is later revealed that he had an affair with Abigail Williams, as she turns the whole town to chaos to be with him. When Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft by Abigail, Proctor uses logos to convince the court especially Danforth, that his wife is innocent and the girls were lying about their accusations. Yet, the mass hysteria has engulfed the court, making any use of logic useless. So, he uses pathos to appeal the court, tarnishing his name.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ethos In The Crucible

    1198 Words  | 5 Pages

    In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Fear In The Crucible

    534 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fear is mankind’s greatest enemy. It causes ordinary people to do irrational things that someone in the right mind would not do. As stated by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”’. Fear is something that could end all humanity. It causes humans to turn against each other in order to better themselves.

    Read More

  • The Transformation Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    615 Words  | 3 Pages

    he is searching for accused women to warn them that their names have been mentioned in the court. When, Hale is standing at the Proctor’s home. Elizabeth made John Proctor tell him the truth and Hale repeats, “Abigail Williams told you it had naught to do with witchcraft” (p.68, act 2). He is no longer believing that Abigail and her crew were right. He finally opens his mind to the new possibility, when Danforth says to Mary, “You will confess yourself or you will hang” (p.117, act 3).

    Read More

  • Examples Of John Proctor's Tragic Flaws In The Crucible

    594 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Act II, it states, “ Hale: why...why did you keep this? Proctor: I never knew until tonight that the world is gone daft with this nonsense.” This quote explains that Proctor knew the truth about the girls but didn’t go to the court to confront them. This is Proctor’s biggest mistake this decision results in tragic events that take place in the future of this play. These events include, the girls accusing some of the townspeople of witchcraft, and the hangings.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abigail believed that Proctor actually loved her and she waited every night for him. She was brainwashed to think he would leave his wife for her. The witchcraft accusation came from the beginning of the story when Abigail and the girls were dancing naked in the woods and chanting. She made false accusations that people in the village were worshipping the devil to cover what she had done. Many lives were taken but Abigail had no empathy for anyone who was hanged.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Parris And The Salem Witch Trials

    457 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then, Abigail and her friends start to blame others for making them participate in witchery. Eventually, Elizabeth Proctor (John Proctor’s wife) becomes one of the suspects. John Proctor attempts to save his wife, but in the end he had to be hanged in order to save her and his family’s name. Comparison &

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For The Hysteria In The Crucible

    1608 Words  | 7 Pages

    (I.465-472). Seeing Abigail cry, it suggests that Abigail’s affair with John Proctor has influenced her behavior in jealousy and lust as she strives for nothing more than her love for John Proctor. By only being heartbroken, Abigail is not to be fully blamed for the hysteria within the town as her actions are only based on desperate attempts to win John Proctor over, and no intentional harm whatsoever. However, on the other hand, Abigail cannot be excused with outside forces making her the way she is due to the fact that she has clearly had a choice in most of her decisions and actions throughout the witchcraft crisis. When Mary Warren, another girl involved in the forest incident, enters the court, she explains to Danforth, the judge, that the girls are lying and are only pretending to see spirits.

    Read More

  • Is John Proctor Justified In The Crucible

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    By the time Proctor is arrested, there was already over ninety people sitting in jail, waiting for their verdicts for crimes they’ve never committed. Those who have already gone through their

    Read More

  • John Proctor Justice

    638 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is no such thing as the truth, people lie and others continue to believe them. Except one, John Proctor from the beginning of the play is on the side of justice, and finding the truth. From the beginning of the play he questions the idea of witchcraft, and believes that it is just another act from Abigail Williams. An example of how Proctor is always on the side of truth is when he is in court and he confesses to having an affair with Abigail Williams. "A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.

    Read More

More about Fear And Paranoia In The Crucible

Open Document