Power Of Jealousy In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

American film director Oliver Stone once said “[n]ever underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate that”. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible is an allegorical piece that reflects what occurred in the town of Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. He depicts how the town’s once pleasant Puritan lifestyle fell apart when suspicion of devil worshiping came about the town. Throughout the play, Miller expressed how emotions surrounding jealousy among the people of Salem was the main reason for the unjustified accusations and chaos throughout the town. The townspeople’s emotions of vengeance, greed and lust lead to Salem’s downfall, and helped to develop the central theme that jealousy in

Angered by Abigail and the girl’s many foolish accusations, Proctor explains that “vengeance is walking Salem” and declares that “the little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom”(77). He tries to explain to the court, that the girls are taking revenge on innocent townspeople by stating false accusations. The girls, especially Abigail are driven by jealousy, such as when she accused Elizabeth of trying to kill her. They further abuse their powers,bringing corruption to the trial. The town of Salem being run by a handful of mad vengeful girls was an essential factor in the towns collapse. Moreover, in an argument between Mrs. Putnam and Rebecca Nurse, Mrs. Putnam said sarcastically that “[Rebecca had] never lost a

In the beginning of the play, Parris and his niece Abigail are alone in Betty’s room. He persuades Abigail to confess of dancing in the forest because “[his] ministry [was] at stake”(11). Clearly, Parris is more concerned about his own reputation than anything else. Even though his daughter is laying motionless in bed, all he could think about is his reputation and his name in the town. This shows that people would rather place their well-being on top of others. Parris wants to be seen as a powerful figure of authority, and anything that can ruin his image is seen as an inconvenience. He wants to keep his name clear in the town so that he can keep his position as Reverend. In this way, he uses his high position to blackmail others, such as Abigail into confessing. Later on in the play, as Giles Corey points to his desposition, he tells Judge Danforth that “[Thomas Putnam] is killing his neighbors for their land!”(96) This is another example of how greed can lead to corruption. Since after a person died his property was to be auctioned off, Thomas Putnam saw this as a great opportunity to get more land. Thus, due to Putnam’s massive greed, he would accuse people he was at odds with just to buy up their land. He didn’t care about all the innocent people that would go to jail, but only cared about his own benefit. Putnam’s