Crucible Essay
The Predicament of Justice
Standing by one’s beliefs during a time of arising chaos, especially when they go against the majority of society, could result in one’s inevitable death. This message, along with many others, is conveyed throughout Arthur Miller’s brilliant play, The Crucible. His script focuses on the universal ideas of justice and witchcraft, both known to have existed during the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the play, many characters’ moral strength is tested, and the local inhabitants of Salem, Massachusetts begin to lie and blame those innocent. People like Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth begin to accuse the innocent, and subsequently, the convicted are hanged due to their lack of confession. The people of Salem, whose inherent human qualities of greed and lying become evident over the course of the executions, indirectly create a monstrosity of violence.
Under the pressure of court officials and high profile society members, many of the accused save themselves by lying and blaming others. The biggest offender of deceitfulness is Abigail. In fact, even before the court case, she blames Tituba: “instantly Abigail points at Tituba. She made me do it! She made Betty do it” (Miller 43). Abigail insists that she is a “proper girl” and that Tituba is the one at fault. To avoid her name from being blackened, Abigail abruptly blames the person she knows of the lowest class, hoping to escape the situation with as little punishment as possible. Abigail understands that Tituba will not be believed, and that she will also have a much greater punishment than others accused for the same crime. Without fearing Abby’s intimidating reputation, the girls would most likely expose Abby for her true self, and the upper class society members in Salem would bring her to court. Abigail’s true intentions are discovered once the girls are alone and Betty states, “You drank blood Abby! You didn’t tell him that! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s
Standing by one’s beliefs during a time of arising chaos, especially when they go against the majority of society, could result in one’s inevitable death. This message, along with many others, is conveyed throughout Arthur Miller’s brilliant play, The Crucible. His script focuses on the universal ideas of justice and witchcraft, both known to have existed during the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the play, many characters’ moral strength is tested, and the local inhabitants of Salem, Massachusetts begin to lie and blame those innocent. People like Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth begin to accuse the innocent, and subsequently, the convicted are hanged due to their lack of confession. The people of Salem, whose inherent human qualities of greed and lying become evident over the course of the executions, indirectly create a monstrosity of violence.
Under the pressure of court officials and high profile society members, many of the accused save themselves by lying and blaming others. The biggest offender of deceitfulness is Abigail. In fact, even before the court case, she blames Tituba: “instantly Abigail points at Tituba. She made me do it! She made Betty do it” (Miller 43). Abigail insists that she is a “proper girl” and that Tituba is the one at fault. To avoid her name from being blackened, Abigail abruptly blames the person she knows of the lowest class, hoping to escape the situation with as little punishment as possible. Abigail understands that Tituba will not be believed, and that she will also have a much greater punishment than others accused for the same crime. Without fearing Abby’s intimidating reputation, the girls would most likely expose Abby for her true self, and the upper class society members in Salem would bring her to court. Abigail’s true intentions are discovered once the girls are alone and Betty states, “You drank blood Abby! You didn’t tell him that! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s