Power In The Crucible

Power is something almost everybody strives for at least once in their life. In Salem, the men who own the most land or people who have a great reputation for being very religious are the people with the utmost power. Slaves and women, especially unmarried ones, are the people with the lowest status. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the power dynamic dramatically shifts. Tituba, Betty’s family’s slave, brings a group of Puritans girls, including Betty, into the woods. Tituba is from Barbados and practices a different religion, which goes against parts of the Puritan beliefs. When the girls are in the woods, Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, sees them and they all scatter. Betty worries she will get in trouble, so she falls into a trance,

In the middle of Betty’s fit, she starts to shout that “[she] wants her mama”(19). Betty’s mother passes away when she is young, so her father is in charge of raising her. She is growing up without a female role model, so she is already at a disadvantage. The three characteristics of being young, motherless, and a girl shows she is the complete opposite of the typical powerful figures of this time. She continues to maintain to gain power when she openly disagrees with Abigail, who none of the other girls are willing to argue with. Abigail is powerful in comparison to other girls her age. When Betty yells that Abigail drank blood in the woods, Abigail immediately denies it and tries to get Betty to stop. She is not afraid and continues to yell that “[she] did! [She] drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife!”(19). Betty is not afraid to stand up to Abigail, who does not want anyone else to know what took place when they were in the woods. Even though the other girls are intimidated by her, Betty is not afraid. She continues to maintain her power by naming someone else who works for the Devil. She sits up in bed and tells everyone in the room “[she] saw George Jacobs with the Devil! [she] saw Goody Howe with the Devil!” (48). In Salem, one can get out of witchcraft accusations if they say that they know someone else who is a witch. Betty states a couple of names

Power is a trait desired by lots of humans. People strive for it, but do not always get it. Power can be used to get positive or negative things. When one is typically in a low power position like Betty, they usually will grasp at any bit of power they can get. She sees the opportunity to have power, even though it is through a risky way, and she takes it. She is a young girl, who obviously does not own land, and, sadly, she does not have a mother. All of these things factor into her power status and at this point in her life, she is pretty low when compared to others. She gains power through being ‘bewitched’. Power is a trait that can be gained and lost. Betty currently is clearly gaining it, even though she, normally, would not have