The Crucible ends with John Proctor dying a martyr's death. Even though Reverend Hale and Danforth had pleaded him to confess to witchcraft so he could live, Proctor remained adamant. He had faltered when Elizabeth told him that she wanted him to live, but in the end he stuck to his beliefs and refused to confess to a crime that he did not commit, declaring, "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!" Proctor chose to die with a clear conscience and "some shred of goodness" rather than confessing to witchcraft and having to live with the shame of contradicting his principles. I had expected this to be the resolution since Proctor was introduced as being a very principled man, so refusing to back down even in the face of death would be very in-character for him. Proctor's death as a martyr in the final act exemplifies the injustice of the Salem Witch Trials, and thus leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
I also thought the ending of The Crucible was a conciliatory resolution for John and Elizabeth's fractured relationship. At the beginning of the play they lived under the same roof, but they were emotionally distant since Elizabeth's trust had been shattered by John's affair with Abigail. By the end of the play however, John and Elizabeth have been physically separated, but are now more understanding of each other than ever. They recognized the risks they each took to protect each other, with John confessing to adultery to protect Elizabeth and with Elizabeth denying John's affair to protect him. Elizabeth forgives John for his affair, and asks him to forgive her for keeping a cold house. She says, "I cannot judge you, John... it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you'll not forgive yourself. It is not my soul John, it is yours... There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is!" Elizabeth respected John's decision whether it was to live or die, and her forgiveness gave John the courage to march to his death.
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Fear has been ingrained in us for survival, and is thus one of the most powerful emotions and motivations. The fear of consequences motivates us to do many things that we do in life, such as getting good grades at school or following laws. The fear of God is one of the most common motivations people have for following rules. Many preachers such as Jonathan Edwards in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" declared that either you follow religious doctrines and go to Heaven, or you disobey them and burn in the depths of Hell for all eternity. Although this is clearly an either/or fallacy, many fear the possibility of going to Hell and thus obey God, or rather the people who claim to speak for God.
The fear of God was thus prevalent in Salem, where the church reigned supreme. Church leaders such as Reverend Parris in The Crucible used the fear of God to their advantage. Through fear mongering, they bolstered their authority by emphasizing God's wrath. Those who disobeyed them were condemned as being blasphemous and disobeying God, such as John Proctor. The girls of Salem who claimed to see spirits were also guilty of using fear mongering to gain power. They realized that claiming to see spirits gave them religious authority, and they subsequently led witch hunts to get rid of those who they didn't like. Abigail Williams accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft because she wanted to be with John Proctor. Ruth Putnam accused her neighbor George Jacobs so her father could gain his land. Anyone who defended accused witches were also put on trial for witchcraft. Many accused witches like Tituba and Mary Warren were motivated by fear to confess to witchcraft and accuse others to avoid being hanged. As John Proctor said, "Vengeance is walking Salem... little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance walks the law!" The Salem Witch Trials were enabled by the fear of God that was deeply present in the town. The girls took advantage of this fear and spread mass hysteria, causing the witch hunts to spiral out of control. The victims of the Salem Witch Trials were scapegoats. They were innocent and did not sin, but they were punished for the sins of the people of Salem who were driven by fear and vengeance. People in society continue to be driven by fear. Power-hungry individuals thus continue to use fear mongering to gain more power (which I elaborated more on in my previous blog post), and create new scapegoats in modern-day witch hunts. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller connects the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to today's society. Miller argues that "A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence. Once such an equation is effectively made, society becomes a congerie of plots and counterplots, and the main role of government changes from that of the arbiter to that of the scourge of God." I agree with Miller's claim. Authorities use fear mongering to convince their people that they are morally good, and brand those who pose as threats to their authority as evil. During the Salem Witch Trials, people were subject to inculcation by their church leaders and viewed things in black and white terms. Proper obedient Puritans were good, while alleged witches were bad. When The Crucible was published during the Red Scare of the 1950's, people continued to apply black and white logic and religion to politics. The phrase "under God" was added to the American Pledge of Allegiance to emphasize how we American capitalists had the approval of God, in order to imply that the evil Soviet communists did not. We capitalists are good, while communists are bad. This kind of extreme thinking makes us rather trigger-happy, resulting in many instances of calumny through modern-day witch hunts. For example, Donald Trump has continuously employed fear mongering in his presidential campaign to witch hunt his political opponents. Bernie Sanders had described himself as a socialist during his presidential campaign, causing ignoramuses such as Trump to quickly pick up their pitch forks and declare Sanders to be a communist due to the similarities between socialism and communism, even though that was clearly not true. Similarly, Trump has accused President Obama, who is Christian, of being Muslim and the founder of ISIS. The rise of militant Islam has led to the spread of Islamophobia in America with bigots like Trump generalizing all Muslims under a terrorist umbrella, which demonstrates how religion and politics continue to be intertwined today. Christians are good, while Muslims are evil. Today, we look back at the Salem Witch Trials in retrospect and scoff at how delusional it was. However, when we compare them to the political debacles that currently plague America, it is clear that we have not progressed as much as we think we have.
Abigail Williams is two-faced. In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Reverend Parris accuses Abigail of engaging in witchcraft in the woods. Abigail denies this, explaining, "Uncle, we did dance; let you tell them I confessed it- and I'll be whipped if I must be. But they're speaking of witchcraft. Betty's not witched." Parris also suspects that Abigail must have done something sinful that caused the Proctors to dismiss her from her job as a servant. Abigail denies this as well, insisting that "My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!" However, Betty later reveals that Abigail "drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife" that night when they were in the woods. When Abigail meets John Proctor, she pleads, "You loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" While Abigail Williams maintains that rumors about her sinful behavior are slanderous, in reality she did indeed engage in witchcraft in the woods that night, and Mrs. Proctor fired her because she had a licentious affair with John Proctor. Her claims of innocence were lies, and therefore reveal her dissembling nature. |
AuthorChristine Phan is a student in Mrs. White's 5th period English 3A class. ArchivesCategories |