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The Crucible Character Analysis

Decent Essays

The Crucible is set in the seventeenth- century Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trial. It starts of with Reverend Parris, a man very concerned about his reputation, accusing his orphaned niece Abigail Williams of taking part in witchcraft after his daughter is unconscious after dancing in the woods. A technique used by Parris is characterization, which utilizes the thoughts, actions and dialogues in the construction of characters. Arthur Miller uses characterization to build the character of Reverend Samuel Parris as arrogant , selfish, and deceptive. Reverend Samuel Parris could be described as arrogant through his intentions revealed in the play. From the introductory text preceding act one, one can see Parris’ selfish nature when the author states, “ At the time of these events Parris was in his middle forties. In history he cut a villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him. He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side. In meeting, he felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without asking his permission” (Miller, 3). This demonstrated his arrogance, as he holds himself higher than others , and takes away the right of others to perform simple tasks without his permission. In addition, he is not liked by many as he is trying to win their side, and feels he is being persecuted wherever he goes. The fact that he thinks he is being persecuted shows how he

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