Insanity In The Crucible

In the year 1953, a fresh young talent on Broadway released his latest dramatic tragedy known as The Crucible to the public. Arthur Miller, praised by critics since 1947, spun a thrilling tale of a village in Salem whose concept of reality was blinded by a threat -sometimes to the point of mental insanity- that did not actually exist. The plot surrounds an unforgettable series of deaths due to the witchcraft trials of the Puritans in 1692. Miller used his characters in the play to manipulate, lie, and flat out pave their own highway to social and judicial disruption. He used Abigail Williams as the villain with her finger on the controls, John Proctor as the burdened, emotionally unstable hero with all the answers, and Thomas Putnam alongside
I am your third preacher in seven years. I do not wish to put out like the cat whenever some majority feels the whim. You people seem to not comprehend that a minister is the Lord's man in the parish; a minister is not to be too lightly crossed and contradicted..." (1144). This quote from Reverend Parris in Act I is one of many examples of his inflated sense of superiority and most of all: self-righteousness. His narcissistic personality demands special treatment among the people of Salem. He expects every citizen to treat him with a ridiculous amount of undeserved respect that not even a minister should be pampered with. This overload of self-esteem is another trait that drove the Puritans into hysteria that ended the lives of many innocent people. He even uses his "Harvard degree" as a reason why he requires the center of attention and everyone else is below him. "I am not some preaching farmer with a book under my arm; I am a graduate of Harvard College"
But we mustn't forget that Proctor could have been saved, were it not for Reverend Parris. This time, it was his stubbornness for John to sign a piece of paper that kept him from living the rest of his days at the very least in prison. In the last Act, Parris claimed that "the village must have proof" (1231) that he confessed to his loyalty to Lucifer. In this incident, Proctor's life is on the verge of salvation, but Parris insists that he must sign his name to prove he is innocent, even though every judge -including Elizabeth- had witnessed his confession. If he had not been so hardheaded for John to sign, maybe John would have lived. This was not the first time Reverend Parris let his stubborn features irritate and halt the good progress of clarity in Salem. When Proctor tries to defend his wife in court, Reverend Parris claims "This is a clear attack upon the court!" (1194). He is completely convinced that this band of tyranny in the court is doing nothing but goodwill for the citizens, when there are obvious signs of innocent people being killed. Throughout the entire play, Parris is hardheaded in the belief that Salem is infested with evil, and no amount of evidence can change his mind.

Although John was hanged, Abigail escaped, and even Giles was pressed to death, none of these drastic extremes would have occurred if there was no preaching about Hell and damnation