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Hypocrisy By Arthur Miller And The Crucible By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Hypocrisy plagues the pages of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter as a result of the Puritans deceitful and conforming ways. Trials and rumors bring out the worst of the Puritans in The Crucible. While, in The Scarlet Letter, scandal and humiliation overcast the so called holiness of the Puritans. In the Puritan society, pride and selfishness would bring out one’s hypocritical ways if their reputation was at stake. In both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible a leading male rests his guilt within the woman who is being accused and shunned even though they both played a role in the sin. For example, John Proctor in The Crucible tried to hide his adulterous affair until he eventually confessed: “Because …show more content…

Proctor realized that his reputation was being blackened and the only way to save it was to confess. He would have rather been remembered as an honest man than to live as one with markings on his soul. Similarly, Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter also protects his reputation, Chillingworth notes this about the minister: “His spirit lacked the strength that could have borne up, as thine has been, beneath a burden like thy scarlet letter” (Hawthorne 213). Chillingworth had to bring Dimmesdale’s weakness to Hester’s attention. Dimmesdale could preach about dealing with sin and not doing it all day but could not deal with the repercussions himself. In addition, Dimmesdale also reveals the truth as it bottles up inside him and soon consumes him: “God… is merciful!... By …show more content…

For example in The Crucible, Abigail points blame to Tituba to avoid being convicted: “Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with-…” (Miller 167). Abigail’s false accusation represents the lengths people would go to and the people they would betray, to avoid the harsh cruelty of being a sinner in the Puritan society of Salem. The fact that Tituba was not from there does not help her case as the Puritans were also extremely closed off to difference. In addition, Abigail claimed that she had devotion to the divine when we know she did not: “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus...I go back to Jesus” (Miller 182). Abigail obviously had a devilish way about her as she tried to fraudulently accuse others of witchcraft. She professed her false love of God to gain the support of the people and defer her as a suspect. However, in The Scarlet Letter Hester accepts her sin: “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom” (Hawthorne 56).

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It’s unbelievable that issues from the very early times, like the Puritan Era, still roam around today. The play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, contained issues such as gossip and false accusations which still remain current in the twenty-first century society. Gossiping is a very known issue that happens everyday today. Gossiping is the act of talking idly.

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This disgusting behavior seen today is also seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is the story of a young Puritan woman in 1692 Massachusetts who made false witchcraft accusations in an attempt to save her life and to end a rival’s life. While her actions are horrific and the cause of numerous deaths, the actions of the adults around her that enabled her lies to cost lives are despicable. Through his dishonest characters, specifically Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor, Miller exposes the evils of lying to save one’s name and the destruction that inevitably ensues.

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Pride and the Downfall of Salem A crucible is a laboratory instrument used to heat off any excess water. In the same sense, when “heat” is applied to the Protestant society in Salem, Massachusetts, the readers can see the true characters of the townspeople. The readers see whether the characters are motivated by greed, by pride, by integrity, or by other impulses. Most people are motivated by pride in one form or another.

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Tituba admits to doing witchcraft but has to blame other people. Soon enough people start blaming other people for personal reasons. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller abby is the biggest hypocrite. Abby claims to be a good puritan however she lies a lot.

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In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.

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This is one of the most common traits displayed in The Crucible. The first example I have is when Abigail accused Elizabeth. His is vindictive because Abigail accused Elizabeth so she could get John. The next time this happens is when Mary accuses John so she can live. She told john she would confess then when she tried she got nervous and accused John to save her own life.

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Abigail saying that Tituba corrupts her was why they accused her of witchcraft. These lies laid the foundation for the corruption of justice in Salem. In contrast, the only lie Elizabeth ever told was in the court when she said that John did not have an affair with Abigail. In addition to their honesty they have different perspectives when it comes to how they treat others in their

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One could imagine how a person would feel if the leader of their church was materialistic, narcissistic, and “preached nothing but golden candlesticks for twenty weeks.” The Crucible by Arthur Miller, contains a Reverend of a Puritan church who shows these traits. Reverend Parris thinks mainly of his well being, reputation, and desires. These specific, narcissistic objections directly effect why John Proctor, a farmer in the town who is not a “devout Puritan.” John Proctor will not tolerate Reverend Parris’ way of preaching, and Parris looks down upon John for his lack of attendance to church.

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Throughout Scarlet Letter and Crucible one major similarity is the time setting. Both appear to have occurred in the early settling of the American colonies, particularly Massachusetts. “Hester Prynne,

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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, innocent people are falsely accused of witchcraft and are killed as a result. The importance of one’s reputation is one of the themes presented in the play, as the townspeople are held to very strict moral values and must uphold their good name in society. Some characters in the play that apply to this theme are John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. Those three characters pertain to the theme the most out of all the other characters in the play because their reputations are misrepresented in the court in some way or another. Each one of them were, at one point in the play, being accused of witchcraft or lies from another person so that the person accusing them might save themselves.

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A man once said, “tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable.” This reminds individuals about the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” that provides a life lesson many don’t understand. In The Crucible (TC) written by Arthur Miller, there are many themes that influence the conflicts developed. In Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible, the conflicts between the people of Salem helps the author show the reader that relationships can be stirred by lies and deceit. These conflicts encompass John stirring his relationship with Elizabeth by cheating, Abigail ruining her relationship with the Court, and Elizabeth lying to the Court about Proctor’s affair.

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Although written for different reasons, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller express similar concepts about sin and morality in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. Although these works are similar in time period and aspects of plot, both authors use characters to convey their themes. Readers can see strong parallels between characters, such as John Proctor and Arthur Dimmesdale. The audience can find evidence of sin and morality within all of Hawthorne and Miller’s main characters. Hawthorne wrote during Puritan New England because of personal connection, while Miller drew inspiration from social disorder.

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Playwright Arthur Miller uses deliberate characterization and controlled conflict to highlight societal problems in his play The Crucible. His use of relationships between characters, as well as the interactions that these relationships instigate, in his telling of the Salem Witch Trials is helpful in his ability to convey his overarching idea. The ideas of human failings like hate or greed, blind religious faith or the corruption that occurs in giving power to the formerly powerless, are revealed in Miller’s use of characterization and conflict in The Crucible. Abigail William is a clear antagonist of this play. She stirs up the entire town to chaos.

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The social pattern of patriarchy and woman subordination has pervaded much of history, and consequently, has found itself as a timeless theme in literature. The portrayal of women in literature has also been a constant debate throughout time, and many female characters in literature either promote negative stereotypes, encourage the transcendence of patriarchy, or a blend of both. Such is the case for Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, wherein Miller’s portrayal of female characters, such as Abigail Williams, can certainly be viewed as one-sided and offensive Yet, the depiction of women in the play is not exclusively oppressive, for example, Elizabeth Proctor, who is clearly transcendent of the madness of Salem society. The women of the play are also frequently looked down upon and objectified by male characters, namely by John Proctor, which could also be a statement on the seemingly timeless struggle for women to gain societal equity.

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