The Crucible Moral Analysis

In The Crucible, the normal social and moral order is completely inverted. Salem was a secluded village in Massachusetts that was a strict, theocratic, hierarchical, patriarchal society where power and morality were two incredibly important aspects within the community. The men of Salem held all of the political power in the community and their rule was strengthened not only by the law but also by the hypothetical approval of God. However, the Salem witch trials empowered several individuals in The Crucible who were formerly marginalized and powerless and similarly inverted the normal moral order in Salem by forcing the characters in the play to make a decision between adhering to or abandoning their fundamental morals in order to survive or

She was able to blame her outburst on the devil by confessing to witchcraft and accusing others of participating in witchcraft. This shows that those that were previously marginalized and powerless were now in a position of power and those that were once powerful and respected were now at the hands of those that were previously disregarded and powerless. Therefore, the social order of Salem was completely inverted during the brief period of the trials and the hysteria that accompanied

For example, Danforth frequently spoke of the importance of fairness and justice, however when he found out that Abigail’s testimony was false, he refused to stop those that had been found guilty through Abigail’s testimony from being hanged. This is shown on page 100 in Act 4 of The Crucible where Danforth says, “Mr. Hale, as God have not empowered me like Joshua to stop this sun from rising, so I cannot withhold from them the perfection of their punishment.” It is assumed that the court will uphold morality and justice, yet Danforth’s character shows the inversion of the normal moral order in the