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Examples Of Paradox In The Crucible

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Most communities in the world today believe that excluding harmful thoughts, ideas, actions, and sometimes people are ultimately the best course of action for uniting their group. An example is the exclusion of same-sex marriage in most states, but especially in the Catholic Church. By excluding same-sex marriage, the Catholic Church community unites with a feeling of purity towards their religious community. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the audience with a paradox that was exemplified through the Salem witchcraft trials. The paradox “Unity through Exclusion” means that a community will become closer together through the exclusion or exile of harmful people. However, the exile of the people hurt the conformity of the community …show more content…

In the small town of Salem, religion was a strict priority, and strange illnesses like these were often thought to be the devil’s work. Miller demonstrated the paradox in The Crucible from the beginning of the play by allowing Abigail Williams and the other girls to unjustly accuse whomever they wanted of witchcraft. The play presented us how too much power is dangerous, for the temptation was always there to abuse it. Under the justification of a theocratic government, the people in authority in Salem abused their almost absolute power, destroying many innocent people in the process. What theocracy illustrates is how the law is not always based on truth, and that if it is not we should stand up to it. (Core 5: Noun Clause as Subject). John Proctor stood up to the power by challenging the court. Proctor may have lost his life for his actions, but he did not lose his principles. In the play, he shows us how people chase what they think is evil, for example, not going to church, or not knowing the Commandments. Abigail, Mercy Lewis, and the other girls persecute good people while the true evil escapes and are even seen as the innocent victims (Core 4: Accumulation of

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One example these actions being brought to life is on of page 109 when John Proctor tells Elizabeth “ My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man”. This is quote has so much meaning because previous to this quote John had admitted to the court that he had had an affair with Abigail. By him admitting this he is putting himself in the state to be arrested for adultery, which would later lead to his death. Abigail had accused John's wife Elizabeth of being a witch in hopes that she would be hanged.

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In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.

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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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875 Words | 4 Pages

During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

“The Crucible” is a play about Salem, Massachusetts and its continuous witch trials. In the beginning of the play, the girls are caught by Reverend Parris dancing in the woods (Core 1: Introductory Prepositional Phrase). This is considered a sign of witchcraft. However, the girls blame the act on being bewitched on different people in the town. It all turns out to be a fraud to get Abigail Williams, the minister’s niece, back together with her ex-lover, John Proctor, and to extract revenge on his wife.

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In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the power of the towns government and religion are the backbone of the story, the case of the witch trials. In the book, the main character, Abigail, blames numerous girls for witchcraft. "I'll lead them in a psalm,but let you say nothing of witchcraft yet" (Miller 17). She does this out of spite due to jealousy over goody Proctor. In their town, based on their religion, witchcraft is serious, devilish ritual and forbidden.

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Human is a species that live in group, and conformity is one of the distinct characteristic of human nature. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller investigates various natures in community throughout Act 1 and 2. The play took place at Salem, a town that primarily based on puritanism, the major plot of this play is about witchcraft and witch hunt. Miller conveys a essential message of people always search for conformity from society as a form to prove their identity, further, any rebellion would consider as outcast from majority. The author explores the theme by the use of conflict, this literary element best demonstrates changes of characterizations and complication between others and internal struggle.

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Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and his or her persuasiveness. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, in which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts attempting to navigate through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty. While his name alone is often believed to be able to influence others in to following through in certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” due to his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.

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Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.

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Power in our society nowadays is very misgiven and abused. When people have power they tend to use it for their own benefit and to manipulate people into believing them. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller dramatizes the Salem witch trials of 1692 in order to show his audience how easy it was to be accused and hung for witchcraft. In the Crucible a group of young girls were caught dancing in the woods and in order to not receive a punishment they lied saying they got witched. The girls blamed many people of the town of being witches and caused conflict all over the village.

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In this regard, Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is similar to Robespierre’s France. The Crucible connects American society in the 1950s to Puritan society; in both instances, strict regulation imparted on free speech perpetuated mass hysteria. Miller employs The Crucible to emphasize that conversation is the primary vehicle that drives societies toward beneficial change. The Crucible details Salem town’s descent into a state of mass frenzy as a result of the witch trials; this extensive panic is able to persist because of the limits imposed on free speech.

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However, at what cost? In supporting the Patriot Act, American citizens succumbed to a moment of absolute hysteria, and disregarded any rationale and concern for the future in order to assure temporary security. In doing so, Americans sacrificed their unalienable freedom for protection, granting the government direct access to their privacy. Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, written in the mid-twentieth century, the people of Salem, Massachusetts capitulate their unalienable rights to reasoning and liberty at the price of safety. In his play, Arthur Miller juxtaposes humanity’s desire to feel safe with its needs for logic and all other rights through the character Parris, the willingness of the girls to lie, and the downfall of Salem society’s justice.

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561 Words | 3 Pages

The play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the implications of a society in complete chaos over an irrational fear of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Fear plays an immense role in the way people make their decisions, such as when the characters of Danforth and Mary Warren resort to hypocrisy when no other options remain. Danforth and Mary Warren both embody hypocrisy, as seen when Mary says she cannot lie anymore and then lies when she becomes scared for her life, and Danforth when saying lying will send a person to Hell, but then forcing people to choose between lying and death. Mary Warren exemplifies hypocrisy extraordinarily well in the scene when she and Proctor travel to the courthouse so she can confess that the girls have pretended everything and they never actually saw spirits.

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A paradox is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or obvious but may include a hidden truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted traditional ideas. Authors often use paradoxes in their works to make them more interesting. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the audience with a paradox, which he developed from the Salem witchcraft trials. In the small town of Salem, a theocracy was created for good purposes.

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