In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible‚ the community in Salem is portrayed as being motivated by fear‚ greed‚ and revenge‚ as shown by the witch trials. Some people of the community fear for their lives of being condemned a witch‚ while others take advantage of those fears. Consequentially‚ people will resort to anything to avert such shame‚ including betrayal. In The Crucible‚ three types of betrayals are evident: betrayal of oneself‚ religion‚ and community. Betrayal of community is the most evident
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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
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agenda. Similarly‚ Arthur Miller’s The Crucible delves into the inner workings that motivate people to lie. To illustrate this‚ Miller uses the various characters of the play to represent the different motives to lie which include fear‚ lust‚ and greed. As the play progresses‚ it becomes clear that all of these motives occur mainly due to self-interest and desire. The initial accusations and labeling of people as “witches” during the era of the Salem Witch trials was a product of fear. When Abigail
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examples of biblical allusions and character development‚ Arthur Miller shows in The Crucible how fear‚ suspicion‚ and greed are infectious and have the ability to destroy society because of the hysteria and destruction that it creates. Many examples of greed are presented in the play. Many of the characters‚ mostly the young girls and the Putnam’s‚ are controlled in their way by greed and envy. The most girl accusing the most in
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the girls worried they were going to get punished. They begin to accuse other people and lie in order to deflect the blame from themselves. This initiated the Salem Witch Trials. Miller portrays human cruelty in the name of righteousness through Abigail and Thomas Putnam in The Crucible . In The Crucible‚ Abigail (Reverend Parris’s niece) accuses Tituba and Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft in spite of upholding her innocence. Hysteria arises as Reverend Hale asks Abigail If she is involved with witchcraft. Abigail replies “I never sold myself
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Alma Mhae Aguzar October 2‚ 2013 Period: 5 The Crucible The theme that I chose for this play is‚ evil triumphs over good. To further this theme‚ I also added three sub-themes that ties in with my main theme. Which are accusations‚ greed‚ and hysteria. Accusations Conflict: [Wo]man vs. Society Quote 1: Tituba says‚ "Mister Reverend‚ I do believe somebody else be witchin’ these children" Then he responds‚ "Who?" She says‚ "I don’t know‚ sir‚ but the Devil got him numerous witches." (188)
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miserable and self-preservation. Thomas Putnam establishes conflict by vying for land with other characters. From the outset‚ he is bitter and quarrelsome over his boundaries. He shouts to Giles Corey‚ "I’ll have my men on you‚ Corey! I’ll clap a writ on you!" (Miller‚ ) Greediness does not play a role in a time of close-knit societies and in seeking the salvation of God. Putnam displays a threatening tone towards Giles over land. By threatening Giles‚ Putnam begins a cause to get what he believes
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Salem Witch Trials of the 1800s. Yet Arthur Miller does not reveal the tragedy of the witch trials in the manner expected. Miller expresses the underlying causes of the accusations made as those stemming from personal greed and the feeling of revenge. Abigail Williams‚ Mr. and Mrs. Putnam‚ and Reverend Samuel Parris all have their own agendas as to why they “cry witch” on others in their village. Miller outlines the history between Abigail Williams and John Proctor in Act One: Abigail was removed
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like Mr. Putnam‚ were out to get an inheritance‚ etc.‚ and there was jealousy and strife (between Parris and Putnam‚ etc.) for prestige and acceptance. | Greed is akin to selling yourself to the devil. Greed hits everyone (Tom and his wife are poor) yet they are greedy. Greed leads to taking advantage of others and prohibits spiritual growth. | Celebrates the person who lives simply and who doesn’t need lots of things and is more concerned with spiritual and intellectual advancement. Greed gets in
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With witchcraft on the rise‚ many citizens of Salem in 1692 were fearful‚ greedy and jealous. Nearly every character in this story gives into one of the factors. In The Crucible‚ by Arthur Miller‚ fear‚ greed‚ and jealousy contribute to the witchcraft hysteria and mass executions in Salem. One of the main contributors to the mass hysteria would be fear. As if the witchcraft hysteria wasn’t enough‚ in 1692 many Salem villagers feared famine due to the upcoming war. The people of Salem contributed
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