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What Is Putnam's Mentality In The Crucible

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When a crisis breaks out and a culprit needs to be found, many people tend to group off and work together, in order to stay safe. This is displayed when the word of witchcraft floating around Salem comes out. For the small city that Salem, Massachusetts is, something as big as witchcraft shakes the society. People accuse others to protect themselves and gather members of the community to follow their lead. A herd mentality is seen commonly in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, with Abigail demanding the girls to do what she says, Thomas Putnam's need for power, and Reverend Parris accusing people because the community believes anything he says, which contributes to the mass hysteria in Salem and leads to the witch trials. Abigail demanding …show more content…

Thomas says, “Don't you understand that it sir? There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark. Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more." (The Crucible, Act 1, Line 108). This symbolizes that the Putnams believe that there is a supernatural explanation as to why their kids died. The rockiness between Thomas Putnam and Mr. Parris’s relationship is shown because Putnam questioning him will raise questions about Parris’s reputation. This means that if there is possibly witchcraft being practiced in Parris’s household, it will hopefully get him removed from the minister. Reverend Parris being demoted from minister would be satisfying to Thomas Putnam because he is still mad that his brother-in-law did not win. This connects to the claim because it shows how badly Thomas wants to get Parris denoted from the minister position, which shows his need for power. Again, Putnam’s desire for authority is exhibited when Giles Corey speaks up. “Mr. Putnam, I have here an accusation by Mr. Corey against you. He states that you coldly prompted your daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs that is now in jail. It is a lie. Mr. Putnam states your charge is a lie. What say you to that? A fart on Thomas Putnam, that is what I say to that!”(The Crucible, Act 3, Lines 190-193). This implies that Giles accused Thomas of being behind Ann Jr. accusing Jacobs. Moreover, this means that Giles’s accusation is right, proving the theory that the men of Salem are using hysteria to gain power. If Putnam is behind the accusation, he could potentially face consequences and all of his work would be for nothing. This connects to the claim because it shows how Thomas is doing any and everything to rise to power, even if it means putting people in jail. Mass hysteria is present here because Thomas’s actions are creating more problems in

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The Putnam family was one of the strongest influential forces behind the accusations. Author Anastasia Karson, described the Putnam family as “strait-laced and self righteous, the family placed themselves at the forefront of the social and political circles of the village.” They had positions as Village Committeemen, deacons, and church elders (Carlson). Their positions gave them lots of political power, which enabled them to accuse people without being doubted. The family started to abuse their power by accusing the people that they did not get along with (Wallenfeldt).

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Mrs. Putnam the wife of Mr. Putnam admitted “ I sent my child- she should learn from tituba who murdered her sisters.’’ She conjured up the dead a type of witchcraft but she said “ I take it on my soul but who else may surely tell us what peon murdered my babies?” She messed around with witchcraft and she is pointing fingers saying “What have you done?” to Rebecca. Telling her basically how dare you do this. Little not so sweet and innocent Abigail.

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Accusing Putnam shows that Corey is brave enough to accuse a powerful and influential man in the courts of trying to steal his neighbors land. Putnam has the power in Salem to have Corey accused of being a witch in court by persuading his daughter, who is one of the afflicted, to say that Corey is one of the witches tormenting the young girls in Salem. Also, Corey refused to give up the name of the man who provided him with information about Putnam’s plan to steal his

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Thomas Putnam and Ruth Putnam; Arthur Miller vs. Real life In “The Crucible” Thomas Putnam was portrayed as an exceedingly greedy person. Thomas used his daughter, Ruth Putnam, as a way to accuse the people who owned property he wanted. For example, Mr. Putnam accused Giles Corey and his wife of witchcraft which led them to be prosecuted and found guilty.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

Putnam claims that “There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark. Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more” (16). Putnam is yet another powerful male figure in Salem Betty has taken a grip over in the town. He, in this quote, truly believes that the devil is among the town of Salem based on Betty’s current condition. Reverend Hale, encouraging Tituba to give more names of witches, tells her to look at Betty’s “god- given innocence; her soul is so tender; we must protect her; Tituba; the Devil is out and preying on her like a beast upon the flesh of a pure lamb.

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In act 3 Giles calls out Putnam to the judge. He says, “I have evidence for the court! .. Thomas Putnam is reaching out for land!” (84) Putnam is of the lower class which makes this case even more believable. The hysteria here is Putnam uses his social situation to take advantage of the judicial branch or Salem.

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One of the samples from “The Crucible” is when Ruth Putnam accused Giles Corey of witchcraft,

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In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller the Salem trials come about in a deeply religious and superstitious society of puritans. The majority of the characters in the play become convinced that the removal of the devils spirit and witches from their community is the work of God. However, there are many intense feuds and rivalries in the small town that arise, which leads to the Salem residents taking advantage of the witch trials to express animosity and to plot the perfect revenge on their enemies. Abigail Williams was the original source of the hysteria in Salem. Abigail's hysteria was fueled by her hatred toward Elizabeth Proctor "She hates me, uncle; she must, for I would not be her slave.

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Rebecca is accused for murdering the seven children of Ann Putnam who have died long before any questioning arose. Following this accusation, which is one of many that are false, Rebecca would go through the court process of either admitting to her actions as a witch or

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.

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Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and his or her persuasiveness. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, in which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts attempting to navigate through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty. While his name alone is often believed to be able to influence others in to following through in certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” due to his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.

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Reverend Parris was in a position of power as the town 's spiritual leader, but he was insecure about his authority. He was willing to say and do whatever it takes to retain control. He was obsessed with maintaining his power because he wasn’t brave enough. We knew that Parris was consistently preaching hellfire before the incident of the girls practicing witchcraft in the forest. He demanded more money and acted as if he deserved more.

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Putnam felt wronged by them because he was not accepted as a candidate for the ministry. He felt as though he was superior to the people around him. He was a vindictive person even before the witch trials. Putnam resented Salem and wanted everyone around him to suffer for not accepting him. He did this by accusing anyone he could of witchcraft.

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The play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the implications of a society in complete chaos over an irrational fear of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Fear plays an immense role in the way people make their decisions, such as when the characters of Danforth and Mary Warren resort to hypocrisy when no other options remain. Danforth and Mary Warren both embody hypocrisy, as seen when Mary says she cannot lie anymore and then lies when she becomes scared for her life, and Danforth when saying lying will send a person to Hell, but then forcing people to choose between lying and death. Mary Warren exemplifies hypocrisy extraordinarily well in the scene when she and Proctor travel to the courthouse so she can confess that the girls have pretended everything and they never actually saw spirits.

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During the Mandatory period, which lasted until May 1948, “the social, political, and economic structure for the future state of Israel was developed. Two factors were instrumental in fostering the rapid economic growth of the Jewish sector: immigration and capital inflows” (Halevi, 2008). However, the major stages in the historical development of ancient Israel are historically known for the narratives in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. “Israel” was named after the Hebrew patriarch Jacob during his encounter with the Angel of God at the river Jabbok (Genesis 32:28). “Israel developed into a kingdom under the leadership of King David, who consolidated the various tribes under his ruling.

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