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Who Is A Motivator In The Crucible

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The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is based in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem, a small village, was a hotspot of mass hysteria and paranoia. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that in the Salem witch trials, for many people fear is a greater motivator than morality. Fear is caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm and morality is the principles concerning write or wrong. In The Crucible,The characters that put morality above fear turn out to be a victim of unjustness because for many characters, the threat of witches and the pain and harm of the loss of loved ones is more of a motivator than truth, respect and justice. An example how fear is a greater motivator than morality is Abigail Williams. Abigail is an orphan …show more content…

Parris is the town minister and head of the church in Salem. After his daughter Betty Parris started acting strangely and his niece, Abigail has been accused of conjuring spells, people became suspicious that they were involved in witchcraft. Parris feared ruining his image in Salem. He cared about his reputation as a high figure in Salem more than the safety of his family. "Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character". This fear is the very thing that motivates his hatred towards John Proctor. John Proctor is a very respected person in the village meaning that he could pose a threat to Parris' position. Through the play, Parris questions Proctor about matters to try to dismiss him from the court. "Such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month"! Parris lied in court about Abigail dancing in the woods and telling Danforth that John was "trying to overthrow the court". Parris is completely accepting of lying and putting people on death row to stop his reputation with tarnishing. Parris is another example on how fear is a greater motivator than

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