Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is based on actual events led to the Salem Witch Trials. These trials were a group of hearings to prosecute those accused of witchcraft. Pride influenced the characters throughout the play. Pride is a sense of one's dignity. Excessive pride is the driving force behind arrogance. Throughout the play pride influences the actions of three main characters. The three characters that have excessive pride are, Hale, Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor. Hale’s pride shows through his ability to detect “witchcraft”. He wants the people convicted of witchcraft to confess. He feels he is responsible because he begins to kill innocent people instead of tracking down the source of witchcraft. He thinks of himself …show more content…
Her husband only wants her to find complete forgiveness in her heart and to put the incident behind her. Elizabeth’s pride is illustrated when she would not confess that John Proctor had an affair with Abigail. This is described in the quote, “Elizabeth: ‘Your Honor, I-in that time I were sick. And I- My husband is a good and righteous man’ Danforth: ‘Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery? Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!’ Elizabeth: ‘No, sir.’ This quote demonstrates that Elizabeth has too much pride to bring shame upon her family. Her pride is unjustifiable because she instead of telling the truth, Elizabeth lies to Danforth, therefore condemning both herself and her husband. John John would rather be put to death than ruin his reputation and integrity in himself, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
Honor and pride are two words that can easily be confused, but have vastly different intentions. The definition of honor is to regard with great respect, John Proctor from the Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays when he decides to be hanged as an honest man. On the contrary the definition of pride is to feel satisfaction from one's own accomplishments which few would debate is the reason why John would hang. In the play there are three main points why what John did was honorable rather than prideful. The first point Involves the townspeople of Salem and how he wanted to pay his respects to them and prove that what was going on was a hoax. The second point involves his religion and how he wanted to Honor God. And Final point was
Courage is shown by many characters all throughout The Crucible, however; John Proctor and Abigail Williams are the most courageous of them all. Both John and Abigail show courage because they aren’t afraid to do anything. These are the two characters who stood to be the most courageous. After reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, courageousness is shown through different institutions(such as courts, religion and the church of God), yet; it is genuinely shown through the characters of the play.
A society that praises moral righteousness and piety is destroyed by a series of witch trials that are ironically immoral and unfair. The Salem Witch Trials are fueled by personal motives and feuds that emerge because of the restrictions in Puritan society. The society nurtures a culture of fear and distrust that stems from dread of the devil and strict adherence to the Bible. Salem is the perfect environment for fear and vengeance to spread through witchcraft accusations, because people have no other means to gain power or get revenge on enemies. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays how the Puritan society in Salem influences the witch trials and increases their impact, because of the religion-based justice system, women and
Arthur Miller's verifiable play, The Crucible, depicts the recorded occasions of the Salem witch trials through a swarm of life-changing characters. Trepidation drives these Puritans to uncover their actual feelings while confronting their informers in the predisposition courts before coldblooded judges. While in the long run all the individuals of Salem get subject to this frenzy, two ladies emerge above the rest. Retribution and disgrace live in the heart of the young adulteress, Abigail Williams, while truth and exemplary nature dwell in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's dedicated wife. Although they both elevate the strain and tension of the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's disparities lead to turmoil because
In order for John to save his wife and friends from execution, he has to find a way to discredit Abigail. John decides to admit his affair with Abigail, even though it would ruin his name and the way people see him. But once they bring in Elizabeth to see if this was true, everything backfired and Elizabeth lied to the court about John and Abigail. In the book Elizabeth says “My husband-is a goodly man, sir” (Miller 194). That’s when John realized that Elizabeth was going to lie. Proctor replies to Elizabeth,”Elizabeth, tell the truth!...I have confessed it!” (Miller 195). Elizabeth responds while being taken away “Oh, God!” (Miller 195). John Proctor's motivations directly impacted his
Elizabeth Proctor can be viewed as the most loyal woman in the play. In spite of the fact that her better half, John Proctor, admitted to having an affair with their housekeeper, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth was still devoted to John. At the point, when Elizabeth was questioned as to whether her significant other, John, was having an affair behind her back, she lied for him and denied it. When Danforth stated, "To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery?” and Elizabeth reacted, "No, sir". Elizabeth had never lied before this incident, yet she did now, to save her cheating spouse. Elizabeth is a strong woman who took the fault for something that she was not associated with. She thought she was the reason behind on why her husband cheated, ”I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery". Elizabeth is portrayed as a woman with a strong, loyal character and a faithful wife, yet she has her flaws
To start things off, pride is a personal quality that many individuals encounter. Pride is the delight that a person gets from items or achievements they possess. The play, The Crucible, is based on the impact of pride in the Puritan society. The crucible starts off with the protagonist. A man named John Proctor, who throughout the story is battling against his pride; which leads him to a tragic end.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
“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.
John Hale represents the voice or authority and reasoning. He appears to be strong and assured himself that there was a whole world of witches around him at any given time. He believes in the churches power to be the ultimate law in the situation at hand. This is his source of pride. He sees himself as the person come to save the lives in the New World. As the case progresses though he starts to doubt himself and realizes that he had caused many deaths. His pride is swiftly destroyed and he asks
Pride can be defined positively and negatively, it can mean a sense of one's own proper dignity or value or self-respect, or an excessively high opinion of oneself or conceit, respectively. In the play which portrays both sides of pride we are transported to the late sixteen hundreds and introduced to the town of Salem in the province of Massachusetts Bay during the time of witch trials, and it’s excessively superstitious habitants. Some of the fictitious but notable habitants of the town are John Proctor, his wife Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale, all of whom show various facets of pride, its benefits and its consequences.
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” This quote, by Saint Augustine, looks deeper into the idea of pride and the change it can have on something as innocent as an angel into a devil if not contained and used in a positive way. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, displays this similar theme of pride and the absence of humility in a community and the effect it has. The pride that multiple characters of The Crucible put before everything else drives them to knowingly do the wrong thing and for some, their own personal destruction.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, justice, individuality and dignity play a vital role. These factors define the characteristics of many of the most significant characters in the play. Some of them being John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many others. The Salem witch trials were a result of the lack of expression of individuality and the fact that no individual could expect justice from the majority culture as a result of the deterioration of human dignity in the Puritan society of Salem.
In the play The Crucible by Authur Miller, John Proctor's pride is threatened by the Salem Witch trials. Proctor, like almost everyone else in Salem, is accused of witchcraft and working for the devil. Cracking under constant pressure and fed up with the attacks of the court, most of the accused confess; John Proctor, however, believes that he must stand for what is right and protect his own reputation. Proctor greatly demonstrates the theme of pride, as he constantly seeks ways to improve his reputation and good name; however, when the court tries his wife on account of witchcraft, Proctor is able to turn away from his blinding self-esteem and ultimately sacrifices his life achievements in the hope of freeing his wife of all charges.
Pride can be both beneficial and detrimental. Pride is the feeling of intense satisfaction because of one’s achievements. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller shows different types of pride throughout the play. Miller shows examples of good pride, bad pride, and mixed pride through various characters in the play. He wants us to learn the difference between the good pride and the bad pride so we can focus on the good.