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Corruption In The Crucible

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Back in the 1600’s the only people that had a large say in how things would be directed were the ministers and officials. Men generally had the greater influence, especially in Puritan towns like Salem. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there is an odd shift of power that normally wouldn’t even be possible. Superstition and accusations start going around Salem and people are trying to differ between religious value and common sense. Absolute power and corruption are often a result of fear and this is most evident in The Crucible as young girls gain some influence over the town. Young girls’ words who were once not taken seriously are now taken literally in whatever they say. Abigail Williams and her friends made accusations which led to the …show more content…

If they were correct about their first accusations they must be correct about the other accusations right? The court and other people believed the girls, now they can accuse almost anyone they want: “It’s God’s work we do… I’m – I am an official of the court” (Miller Act II). Mary Warren, who is a young girl, became an official of the court and had a big influence over whether people would be guilty or not. This is a lot of power for anyone, and giving it to a young girl is questionable. Mary also had enough influence to “stop” Goody Proctor from being totally accused in court and said “But I never see no sign you ever sent your spirit out to hurt no one, and seeing I do live so closely with you, they dismissed it” (Miller Act II). People with enough sense know this too and fear starts to creep into those wondering if they will be accused or not. The girls and others also knew that once they accused someone, she would either have to confess or deny being a witch and be killed: “Hale: They have confessed it. Proctor: And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that” (Miller)? So if someone is accused they will not get out of it scot-free even if they were truly

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Abigail then tells John Proctor (a man she had been having an affair with in the past) that the ill girls had nothing to with witchcraft. Elizabeth tells John to tell Reverend Hale what she had said, but he claimed that they would not believe him. The girls then started blaming innocent people of witchcraft from all ages claiming they saw the devil with them. There were many people who were hung pleading that they had nothing to do with witchcraft. John Proctor then grew tired of the accusations the girls so wrongfully laid upon innocent people.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Society as a whole seeks to satisfy themselves. This may be at the expense of their peers or individuals they are associated with. Arthur Miller brilliantly displays this dark side of humanity’s side in his play The Crucible. This play is based on the Salem witch trials in the early 1690s. During the Salem witch trials over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed.

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1112 Words | 5 Pages

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565 Words | 3 Pages

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914 Words | 4 Pages

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1011 Words | 5 Pages

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