Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Salem was a town known for being as pure as possible. One of the top priorities was to cleanse the town of any evil if evil was present. The ideal image for the town was formed by their theocratic religion. The chaos caused was evitable. The play consisted of people trying to uphold standards and lying in order to keep their good name. People who had good reputations were less likely to be accused in witch trials, making it important to have a good name during this time. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Salem is destroyed by the pride of the townspeople trying to uphold their untarnished reputations.

The witch trials began when a group of girls decided to lie in order to cover up what they were actually doing. Abigail Williams lead the group

He was aware that the townspeople were planning to get rid of him as a church official. Because of this, he feared any gossip that had the possibility of pushing him out of his job. Parris understands how fast his reputation will be destroyed when he nerve-rackingly states, “They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house” (889). Once talk of witchcraft started roaming the so called “pure” town, Mr. Parris became very worried. This created a lot of stress and weight on his shoulders for him to carry. While at a meeting, Reverend tries to hide his insecurities and prove himself unshaken by all the gossip. Parris bursts out, “You people seem not to comprehend that a minister is the Lord’s man in the parish; a minister is not to be so lightly crossed and contradicted” (897). Here Parris tries to remind the people how good his name is so maybe they will second guess their thoughts about witchcraft, making sure he is in the clear. Mr. Parris does all of this selfishly to keep his name untarnished in the

John Proctor had a wife and two boys. He was deserving of the respect he had and earned. He does what he believes in and accepts is the right thing. He was seen as a prototypical man in Salem. Proctor and his family, just like the other citizens, believed in god. The only difference was the he stopped going to Church. This small choice affected his credibility once he was accused in trial of being a witch. Proctor tried to explain himself by saying that he stopped attending church because Parris’s preaching were too dark and avaricious, so he just prayed at home. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail and confessed it to his wife, but not to the townspeople. He kept this to himself for a long time because he didn’t want to tarnish his name. Once he realized he could save himself, as well as all the other innocent individuals, he says, “A man will not casts away his good name. You surely know that” (947). Since his reputation was remarkable, his accusation of sleeping with Abigail seemed to be a lie, making everyone question the rest of his answers. When he admitted to seeing the devil, the judges wanted it in writing to show to the town because to them, his own verbal confession wasn’t