Greed. Self-centeredness. Stinginess. Self-indulgence. Self-worship. All are words that mean the same thing: selfishness. The nature of lacking concern or care for one another. It is something that all children are taught is wrong from as far back as many can remember. “Share your toys” becomes ingrained in the minds of the youth. Casting aside self-interest is challenging for many, but what does that have to do with the hangings and executions in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible? Plenty, actually. When it comes down to it, the “pure” town of Salem’s real devil is it’s nature of self-regard. No one is safe from it, but some are worse than others, especially one. Reverend Parris refuses to differentiate the events in Salem as a problem and thus …show more content…
It is well known that John Proctor does not see Parris to be a godly man. He disagrees with his teachings and his candlesticks and is not shy in admitting that he possesses “no love for Mr. Parris”(90). Parris no doubt sees this and relishes in the idea that he can use witchcraft to discredit Proctor so that there will be no displeasure from anyone in the town toward him and his teachings. In the court, he does everything possible to discredit John Proctor’s argument by influencing Danforth’s view of him in a negative manner. The reverend argues that Proctor is “such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month” (90). Parris uses Proctor’s disparity towards his ministry against him. This way, it seems to the court that the failure is not in his teachings, but instead John’s failure to attend. He very much refuses to believe that John Proctor is solely trying to save his wife, instead of taking the court down which, through Abigail, is directly related to him. By insisting that “this is a clear