Preview

Evil Triumphs but Never Conquers

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
409 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Evil Triumphs but Never Conquers
Hakeem Hunter
March 27 , 2013
English 3 In literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers. I think that this statement is saying that in works of literature evil might win the battle, as some may say, but it never wins the war. It could also mean that in all literature, there is always two sides. One being good and one being evil. The characters on the evil or bad side usually overpower the ones that are on the good side. I think that this is true because the evil characters are generally portrayed as being very smart and more ahead of the game. I agree with this statement because I’ve witnessed many things that could relate to this. No matter how far evil might seem to be ahead, at the end of the day there is always fairness. In the literary work The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor were accused of being witches. They were then summoned into court even though John Proctor confessed of being an adulterer. He seemed frustrated; he didn’t want to be hung because he was being accused. This example shows that evil triumphs. Dan forth said that his confession has to post on the church door. John immediately changed his confession and followed strongly with the rest of the innocent people to be hung. The evil side cannot conquer the good side. Another example of evil triumphing but not conquering is Abigail. Abigail serves as the spark of hate in the play. She tempts John Proctor into adultery and commits acts against the Puritan Religion. To escape her punishment when found in the unlawful act of dancing she deflects her actions and blames them on others. She has no regard for those whom may be hurt by her accusations of witchcraft on others. It even seems that she takes pleasure in her deception. All those she accuses are innocent, yet she manipulates many into believing her actions are good. Another character that plays, perhaps, the largest role in the play is the Puritan religion itself. It may not have lines

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the play, “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller has a theme about reputation and respect. In the small town of Salem reputation is very important, especially important to the leaders of the town. They want to keep a good name, and the people also want to be good citizens. When people have a good reputation others give you more respect. When you have a good reputation in a small town, it's easier to get a fair hearing. However, when people started getting accused of witchcraft their reputation was destroyed. This made people more cautious of their own reputations. The characters in “The Crucible” John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Judge Danforth all want to be known for something good to have a good reputation. All of the characters in “The Crucible” will make a bad choice in order to keep a good reputation.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the play The Crucible there was a character that was afraid to admit they were wrong. In this particular case, Governor Danforth was afraid to admit he was wrong when accusing people of witchcraft. In the play, Danforth was the judge that determined who was a witch in Salem and who was not. If someone was accused of being a witch and they admitted to it they got to live. However if someone was accused of being a witch and denied it they were hung or killed.…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, The Crucible (1953), the author, Arthur Miller, uses the character of John Proctor to show that someone can make a mistake and still be human. Proctor's name and dignity is put to test when his wife and friends are accused of being witches and his actions to save them are justifiable. Hysteria began to grow due to the belief that the devil is in Salem. A puritan girl named Abigail saw an opportunity to gain power and attention and began accusing poor people in the village of conspiring with the devil. With help from other puritans girls in the town, Abigail accused more people and eventually people with a good name in town, like Proctor's wife, Elizabeth. Of course there was a reason behind her accusing Elizabeth, Abigail wants…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller that tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials, in a time when religion was really important in people’s life and their life basically revolved around it. Throughout this time, there were many trials taking place because of the accusations of people against witchcraft and people involved with witchcraft, specially during the Salem Witch Trials. However, this accusations from time to time were not caused by witchcraft, but because of land disputes. In this play, characters like Mr. Putnam give accusations of people who he wants land from and says that they were seen with the Devil. Together with the likes of Abigail Williams, who is very manipulative, she also accuses people of witchcraft to get what she…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Readers of The Crucible may notice a resemblance between Miller’s trial situation in real life and John Proctor’s trial situation in the play. Miller and Proctor were both urged to put others in trouble by releasing names of those who participated in forbidden acts, but they did not want to let anyone else undergo the same suffering that they were experiencing so they refused to say anything. There have been countless situations in history in which people were pressed to do things that would be harmful to others, and Miller was placed in one of those situations. All of the victims of those circumstances who refused to give in to the pressure are…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "All is fair in love and war"-proverb. People will do anything for love. There is no act that is too bad or too good when going after the loved one. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in Salem in 1692/93 where Abigail Williams is the main character who acts among an evil intent because she can't be with her "love", John Proctor. She is willing to do anything to get Elizabeth out of the way so that she can fulfil her fantasy of being John's wife. John regrets committing adultery while his wife was sick and rejects Abby. Whereas others once reproached her for her adultery, she now has the opportunity to accuse them of the worst sin of all: devil-worship. The sin is fatal. Abigail manipulates and accuses her way up to increase her credibility to get what she wants.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Crucible, the author displays the power that fear and suspicion have over people through the divine will of the main characters as it spreads throughout the community. During act three of The Crucible, Mary Warren was taken in front of the court to confess the lies and suspicion that the young girls were spreading throughout the town. While trying to confess, Mary was pressured into irrational fear of being convicted of being a witch, because of this Mary turned against Mr.Proctor, accusing him of witchcraft. Without thinking Mary let her fear control her actions, which resulted in the arrest of John Proctor. People would rather make decisions based on avoiding fear then facing them, finding the easy way out of a bad situation.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It also played a big part in creating conflicts between John Proctor and his wife, inner conflicts, as well as desperation adds to the stories complexity. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor's stand in a society where opinion drove fate and beliefs. In the beginning John Proctor hid his horrible act of cheating inside. He feared the consequences. In the end it came down to Proctor's reputation and this proved that he was stronger than the entire community of Salem. Proctor's mixed up feeling caused him to come to a conclusion and he wound up confessing his sins. Theocracy came together to take control over Salem. Danforth stated, "You must understand, sir, a person is either with the church or against it, there be no road between. We live no longer in the dusky afternoon and evil mixed itself with good and befuddled…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Guilt In The Crucible

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He takes Mary Warren to court to tell Judge Danforth and Hawthorne that everything he girls have been saying was a lie. Hawthorne asks Mary to faint to prove that she was bluffing, but she cannot do it without the other girls. Abigail pretends she sees an evil bird in the courthouse as Mary Warren. All of the girls are screaming, causing John to suddenly snap. “Whore!!” he shouts. Proctor confesses his lechery, Judge Danforth and Hawthorne are speechless. Danforth tests Proctor’s statement by calling for his wife, Elizabeth and asking her why Abigail was fired from her job. To save John’s name, she lies and says the affair didn’t happen. Shortly after, Proctor confesses himself as the Devil and takes responsibility for the madness in Salem. “He have his goodness now, God forbid I take it from him.” -Elizabeth Proctor. After Elizabeth said this line, she is expressing he will not be happy if he signs the confession and live in pain as a broken man. Hale wanted John to lie and sign the confession, but John couldn’t do it. He took the paper and tore it into pieces so he could save his name. “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller ends with the tragic deaths of John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey. In the final scene, they hang after they all recite “The Lord’s Prayer”. John Proctor sacrificed himself to save the lives of his friends and his wife, to put an end to witchcraft…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the first life lessons a child is taught growing up is that lying can only ever make a situation worse. This claim can easily be proven through Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The story follows the people of Salem, Massachusetts as their lives turn to chaos as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. No matter how farfetched the accusations were, the copious amount of lies told within the small town made it nearly impossible for anyone to know what really happened. These gaps in knowledge made people’s minds open to any kind of explanation. The dishonesty, brainwashing and manipulation exhibited by Abigail Williams, Mary Warren and the court is ultimately what allowed the witch trials to occur and to continue.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    theme. In a famous quote, it is said that “In literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers.” This quote embodies several texts throughout history, such as William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. In these two pieces of literature, the quote is proven true through different means. In Macbeth, evil is motivated by ambition, while in To Kill a Mockingbird, it is motivated by ignorance and prejudice. In these two novels, evil is temporarily triumphant, yet it never completely conquers.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Quotes

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In novella of The Crucible by Arthur Miller the implications can be inferred regarding the scapegoat phenomenon in America today in how we perceive people getting accused of things they are not doing. For instance Muslims are considered bad people only because they had a few terrorist people in their population. The key lessons from the period of time during The Crucible reflects how we could have learned differently. Several people were accused of witchcraft most times they had never practiced witchcraft before. “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Miller 50). This quote is proving the reasoning against how the girls would accuse people of doing witchcraft.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller's 1692 play named The Crucible took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The Crucible is morally about the battle between good and evil in the town of Salem. When you get down to discussing the most eligible persons to be compared for such a position in The Crucible, it all falls on the two characters Abigail Williams and Elizabeth "Goody" Proctor. Many of the people in the story can also be compared, but when you look at the character trait of Elizabeth and Abigail, the two lovers of John Proctor, they morally represent the battle of good and evil. As you will see the traits of Elizabeth, she holds the good of the town, but Abigail makes it obvious that she is the corrupted and the bad.…

    • 664 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Good Vs Evil

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Good vs. evil is a classic theme often found in literature. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor and “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne, the authors focus on this theme to unravel their plots. O’Connor uses the grandmother and a thief, The Misfit, to compare and contrast the good and evil in people. On the other hand, Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” uses the main character, Young Goodman Brown, and his journey from being a respected man to being summoned by the devil. Both authors use their main characters as a comparison of what being good means, however the evil of the story is presented differently.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible: An Analysis

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to publicly express his guilt and sin, under the cover of accusations against the victims.” (Page 7 of Act One). These conflicts result and produce even more tragic occurrences. These conflicts are between either those have sinned and been accused – John Proctor, those who have been sinned against and accused out of jealousy and fear – Elizabeth Proctor, and those who conducted an act of rage, jealousy, ignorance, and hatred, as Abigail Williams had. The two relationships between the Proctors and then John and Abigail and the conflict that tie in with all three situations make up the resolution of how, indeed, jealousy, fear, ambition, frustration led to chaos in Salem. With all these factors listed, pride, of all importance of discussion contributed to the tragedies in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays