Puritanism And Reverend Parris In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Puritanism can be somewhat crudely summarized by Batman: “Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough; sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” Though Batman is a fictional character, his words highlight the twisted, unrelenting mindset of Puritan society in the late 1600s. Ironically, in their search for the purest truth, Puritans often dismissed logical, realistic thinking in favor of irrational faith. The notion of finding truth through faith and faith only is - not surprisingly - the cause of many unrighteous deaths in the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, depicts a multitude of characters who are wronged by this exact type of flawed thinking. Reverend Parris at the

Parris believes that the only way to cleanse the society is to hang all those accused of witchcraft ,an idea which was not only supported by the vast majority of the characters in the story, but also an idea which was opposed by contrasting character John Proctor. Furthermore, Parris is a firm believer that religion should be viewed upon as the truth for all situations, therefore regarding possible pretense as valid if it mentions the name of God or the Devil. This is evident during the trial in which Mary Warren claims she is innocent, and Parris says, “Your Excellency, this is a trick to blind the court!”(Miller, 110). When Parris says “this is a trick to blind the court”, the word blind can also be used to explain the Puritan society as a whole, including Parris himself, who is blinded by his dislike for Proctor and obsession with religion. Rather than seeing the truth, he denies all other possible viewpoints in order to strengthen his own. Additionally, Parris’s personal relations with different characters in the play, especially Proctor, also seep into his decisions. During the trial, when Proctor claims that the actions committed by the girls had nothing to do with the Devil’s doing, Parris immediately interferes exclaiming, “He’s come to overthrow the court, Your Honor!” (96) and later, when Mary Warren claims that neither God or the Devil was involved, Parris says, “Surely Your Excellency is not taken by this simple lie,” (111). Miller expresses quite a bit of irony through Parris’s character. Although Parris himself is also lying by telling Governor Dansforth that the girls danced due to witchcraft, he ends up blaming other characters for lying in a last attempt to ensure their death, proving that Parris allows his negative relationship with Proctor to interfere with his judgement.