Examples Of Authority In The Crucible

Throughout Act I of The Crucible, Reverend Parris’s selfishness and Abigail’s manipulation becomes apparent. Giles Corey and Parris get into an argument about Parris’s income before Reverend Hale arrives. In this argument, it is revealed that Parris demanded the deed for his house. Traditionally, the minister does not own his house, but Parris wanted the wealth associated with owning land. Reverend Parris also demonstrates his self-serving mentality when questioning Abigail. Parris explains, “Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest-”. Instead of worrying about Betty’s health, he cares about his reputation and employment.

All throughout the book, The Crucible, John Proctor maintains the same stance on the book’s plot, while keeping his moral viewpoint constant. For example, Proctor was demonstrating effective efforts to maintain his relationship happy and healthy by not giving in to Abigail's flirting attempts. While doing this, Proctor uses many different rhetorical strategies that help him seem morally credible to the reader. These rhetorical strategies are known as ethos and pathos.

For instance, Proctor’s stage direction and his response to Danforth’s question is “Crying out, with hatred: I have no tongue for it.” The response sets off an emotional tone that deeply touched Parris and Hale, therefore they jump in to help Proctor out by persuading Danforth to let him sign his confession. Additionally, as an effort to fight for his name, Proctor argues “God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees ny bane; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!”

The swiftness of judgment of many people led to unfair trials. Many people from the play were considered guilty until proven innocent, and even then it was hard to prove innocence. You either conformed and said that you did witchcraft, or kept your dignity and went to the gallows. The fears of evil encroaching upon the people of Salem in The Crucible led to coincidences turning into witchcraft, harsh judgment of the accused, swift judgment of the accused, and many lives being ruined.

Martin Luther King, Jr once commented:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 introduces us a story of this kind that injustice brought by a character named Danforth brings the social malfunction of Salem accompanied by a breakdown of humanity and faith which destroys the interpersonal trust, social relationships and even many lives of many Salem residents. Obviously, when the structures become shackles and the judges mute off their voice of the truth, it leads the affliction and misery to the people. In our modern society, the public requires the power and presence of a fair justice system to protect their rights and convince, punish the offenders.

There are many strategies that an individual can use to maintain and establish power over the majority, both negative and positive. Many of the characters in The Crucible use these tactics throughout the play to give themselves an advantage with regard to their place in the community. Some of the characters include Abigail, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Cheever, and Danforth. The individuals are able to establish and maintain power over the majority by using fear, logic, and authority.

In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Arthur intrigues audience time and time again with the historical context, social implications, and the Salem, Massachusetts Witchcraft Trials of 1962. Most members in Salem feel the need to prove their authority in ways such as accusing those who have done nothing or hanging them without proving their innocence first. The thing is authority is not made up by an authority figure, but by society. Miller’s The Crucible, demonstrates how people misuse their authority for cruel purposes through a fascinating plot, well-crafted characters, and well-set theme. During the hysteria of witchcraft trials in Salem, there were multiple figures of authority or per say the community who abused their power, Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth.

There are many things that typical Americans expect from their courts. They count upon the ability to use a lawyer, trial by jury, and basic rights to protect themselves. However, what makes a democratic judicial system function is a person’s right to a fair trial, which is judged by someone who is impartial and applies only the law when judging. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the flaws within the religious Puritan courts are on full display. Danforth, the judge of the trials, is seen by most as the essence of the entire mess. Danforth is one of the most important judges in Puritan society, so his compliance with the Puritan trials should demonstrate that he truly believes in that Judicial process. Yet, throughout the book we see Danforth apply the law, instead of religion, more than what would be expected in a Puritan court. So, what is it about this trial that makes Danforth’s style of judging seem less Puritan? Danforth is used to his secular beliefs being in line with his religious values. In most of his trials, he is judging based on religious laws that are written on the side of “righteousness”, so his lawful morals do not prove to be a problem. However, the fact that this trial is based off of an “invisible crime” requires Danforth to rely completely on his own beliefs while judging, therefore shedding light on his attempts to separate the law from religion within his court.

“The arrogant are wise in their own eyes, but the wise will recognize their lies” (Anonymous). This quote accurately describes how the events in the Salem Witch Trials unfolded. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, places the reader into the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller tells a fictional story based on real events of how people who were wise in their own eyes used others to better themselves in a community based on honesty. Three characters from the story stand apart in their arrogance. Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris were conceited and cared only about their personal gains. These characters used their power to blame, but not to be blamed or accused of alleged witchcraft which resulted in the deaths of several townspeople. Arthur Miller used these characters to illustrate how simple lies and rumors can spread and become an unstoppable force. With these simple but powerful accusations, well respected citizens soon became the targets of these characters manipulation.

Life teaches one very valuable lesson: with power comes the abuse of power, which results in hysteria and fear. Fear comes in many forms; fear for loved ones, fear for health, fear of losing reputation and fear of reprisal. Throughout history, a powerful few have abused their power. An example of this dilemma occurred in the 1950’s when Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing innocent people of being communist sympathizers. Contemporary author, Arthur Miller, visited this concept of corrupt power and disapproval of McCarthyism in his classic, The Crucible. Good Night and Good Luck, a movie which was about the hysteria McCarthy caused to innocent lives, and The Crucible have one major thing in common: the corruption of power. This thematic idea reveals that the corruption of power can not only affect and impair mainstream society, but also the people which live within it.

The McCarthy hearings (The Red Scare) in the 1950’s with the political issues that were happening during those years could be depicted as the 1692/93 Salem Witch Trials. Accusing people of being communists is the same as accusing people of being witches. Arthur Miller, the author of the play,The Crucible, that was based on the Salem Witch Trials is a good example of a morality play. In 1692, there were accusations against innocent people in the town of Salem. In The Crucible, a group of teens accuse others of witchcraft even though, they are trying to cover up their mistakes that had been caused. After John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams this had opened a full can of worms throughout Salem. The Crucible displays characterization and bold symbolism and is represented in good and evil morals during the Salem Witch Trials.

Authority is the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. This can often be portrayed in many ways like an authority figure. In the play there are multiple characters that start with a strong sense of authority in given situations. The idea of having authority lead to some conflicting situations. However, at certain points some of the characters begin to lose their authority as the problems continue. Throughout The Crucible, the amount of authority and power one has is a concern due to the lying that occurs.

Another lesson I learned from reading The Crucible, is to not abuse power. Abusing power is using power to an advantage in a bad way. Good leaders use their power to influence people in a positive way, while bad leaders use their power mainly for personal benefits. In the play, many of the characters with power abused it. They took complete control of situations influencing other characters to do bad things. One character from the book that abuses his power is Judge Danforth. Danforth ran all the trials for the witches , and was completely unfair. He made it basically impossible for an accused witch to be innocent. He also didn’t allow suspects to have lawyers or anyone give information that disagreed with him. He considered different opinions as “contempt of court”. When Mr. Nurse was clashing with Danforth over the issue, Danforth said, “do you know who I am, Mr. Nurse?”(Act lll, Scene l) This shows that Danforth has the cocky mindset that he is above everyone. Good leaders should be able to listen to critics. Danforth believed that everyone accused was a witch; so he didn’t even bother giving them a fair chance. Many people died under his signature. He used his power to contribute to the destruction of the town and many lives.

“Reputation is important in the theocratic Salem, where public and private moralities are one and the same. Focused on maintaining public reputation, the townsfolk of Salem must fear that the sins of their friends and associates will taint their names.” “Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something”

The Crucible is a play that revolves around the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts. In any trial, it takes a lot of persuasion for a lawyer to convince the courtroom to favor their side. There is one character in particular that strongly uses the three rhetoric devices; ethos, pathos, and logos. Deputy Governor Danforth’s life revolves around public opinion and his reputation. To protect him and other government officials, he persuades the town to believe his opinion. By analyzing Danforth’s use of rhetoric in the courtroom scene, it is evident that the use of ethos, pathos, and logos can successfully win any case.