Downfall from Arrogance
Downfall from Arrogance
The Crucible is a peculiar name to put for a play. In literal meaning, a crucible is a special pot in which you put materials in. The pot then goes in the fire, and you end up melting the contents, but not the pot itself. The way Miller named his play as The Crucible is what literary experts call symbolism. Arthur Miller’s basic purpose of writing this play was to signify that people react to situations in many different ways. In that same way, he symbolizes the attributes of each character as well. In this play, The Crucible, the character Reverend Parris’s consistent arrogance conveys the author’s message that before anything else, people will always tend to care for themselves. Reverend Parris’s personality trait can be examined through chronological order — from Act 1 to Act 4.
Who was Reverend Parris? As described in Act 1, Parris is the head of the church of the town, and he is considered a respectable person. In his mid-forties, he has already lost his wife, and has a daughter named Betty. In Act 1, Reverend Parris plays a dominant role, along with his arrogance and pride. At the beginning of this act, when Betty is on the bed lying what seems to be unconscious, Reverend Parris tells Thomas Putnam, “leap not to witchcraft”(14). The people wanted to call in Reverend Hale, the town’s expert on witchcraft, to examine Betty and find out what had been going on. Parris, through his arrogance, decided that it would not be a good idea to call in Hale because if Betty were to be announced as a witch, it could ruin his name, since she was his daughter. Just to save his name of being the head preacher of the town, he persisted on not calling in Reverend Hale. Parris, along with his undermining arrogance, created a saddening effect on the the town. He is the main pastor, and so when people hear things from him, they tend to believe him. All that he did was not to keep the people of the ton away from evil. He did what he did so he would hear
The Crucible is a peculiar name to put for a play. In literal meaning, a crucible is a special pot in which you put materials in. The pot then goes in the fire, and you end up melting the contents, but not the pot itself. The way Miller named his play as The Crucible is what literary experts call symbolism. Arthur Miller’s basic purpose of writing this play was to signify that people react to situations in many different ways. In that same way, he symbolizes the attributes of each character as well. In this play, The Crucible, the character Reverend Parris’s consistent arrogance conveys the author’s message that before anything else, people will always tend to care for themselves. Reverend Parris’s personality trait can be examined through chronological order — from Act 1 to Act 4.
Who was Reverend Parris? As described in Act 1, Parris is the head of the church of the town, and he is considered a respectable person. In his mid-forties, he has already lost his wife, and has a daughter named Betty. In Act 1, Reverend Parris plays a dominant role, along with his arrogance and pride. At the beginning of this act, when Betty is on the bed lying what seems to be unconscious, Reverend Parris tells Thomas Putnam, “leap not to witchcraft”(14). The people wanted to call in Reverend Hale, the town’s expert on witchcraft, to examine Betty and find out what had been going on. Parris, through his arrogance, decided that it would not be a good idea to call in Hale because if Betty were to be announced as a witch, it could ruin his name, since she was his daughter. Just to save his name of being the head preacher of the town, he persisted on not calling in Reverend Hale. Parris, along with his undermining arrogance, created a saddening effect on the the town. He is the main pastor, and so when people hear things from him, they tend to believe him. All that he did was not to keep the people of the ton away from evil. He did what he did so he would hear