The Crucible Essay: Hunger For Power

Power can be as easily obtained as it can be abused by any given person. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible displays the use of power dynamics in many of its characters. The exert of power presented by the proposed children of God, Abigail Williams and Mary Warren, rose to the extent of mass murder through the witch trials.

Throughout the entirety of the play, the crucible Power Is demonstrated in many different ways by different characters at different times. These types of power include legitimate power, expert power, connection power and in particular coercive power. Coercive power can be defined as an authority or power that is dependent on fear. In the crucible this would be when one threatens another or forces another to either give up information or to do as they say. This type of power is demonstrated many times throughout the play.

1. Mary was from a naïve girl who fears John and Elizabeth and does what they tell her to do, to a disobedient and powerful one. Abigail changed Mary. 2. John can’t prove to Elizabeth because Abigail told him this while they were alone, meaning he’s the only witness.

In this passage the truth is not always what it seems. In 1953, Authur Miller’s The Crucible was first performed on Broadway. At this time a witch hunt for communist, was called McCarthyism was in full affect.What are the Parallels?The Crucible parallels effected McCarthyism in three significant ways: naming names, lack of proof and resistance.

Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not murder, and thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor are three of the ten commandments that God created for his people to follow. The Puritans valued the commandments and devoted their lives to following them. They supposedly believed in going to church every sunday, having their children baptized young, and living day by day in accordance with the scripture. The Puritans were thought to be holy and without fault, but no one is perfect; therefore, the Puritan society was bound to make a mistake. Instead of confessing and publicly stating that they were deviant, they chose to cover it up and hide. They claimed to be the innocent Christians that they were raised to be, but deep down, they were

Tatiana Delgado Tracy Bermuda English 3B 8 May 2024 The Crucible DBQ The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller, it is about a group of girls accusing their neighbors of witchcraft. It took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. At the end of the story, John Proctor refuses to lie and confesses to witchcraft.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” ( Dr. Seuss) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” (Psalm 23:4) “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” (William Shakespeare) These quotes, found throughout many different time periods of history, all say the same: “Be who you are and don’t let anything change that.” These are great words to live by, but, in time of weakness, does one stay true? Can even the good be twisted? This is a theme that is represented throughout The Crucible many times. Characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale had good intentions

I agree with this statement because in the crucible one is able to see the complete inversion of the once “normal society” as the young women gain power through their witchery accusations. And with these false accusations it leads to the inversion of the moral order of the society. The normal society we see in The Crucible consists of a village called Salem where power is a big factor that contributes to the way people interact with one another. This power and authority lie with the men and church.

Hannah Seibold Dr. O’Brien American Lit. X 07/11/15 Power, when in the wrong hands, can be misused to cause fatal consequences. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which is set in a small village in Massachusetts in 1692 during the famous witch-trials, illustrates the devastating consequences of a destroyed idyll leading to mass hysteria and a lack of authoritative figures, a deficiency that quickly turns into an abundance. The power vacuum that is created when the illusion of a perfectly biblical life under God falls apart, leads to Rev. Hale taking control of the town with his ability to distinguish between witch and non-witch.

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a rich and enticing play set in the late 1600’s describing the epic horrors and emotions through the events of the Salem witch trials. The Crucible, focuses primarily on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. The play begins with the discovery of several young girls and an African American slave, Tituba, in the woods just outside of Salem, dancing and pretending to conjure spirits. The Puritans of Salem stood for complete religious intolerance and stressed the need to follow the ways of the bible literally without exception. The actions of the women in

Society itself functions as a twisted, whirlwind of a whole. But why has society not evolved to set aside our differences and work as one? Well, it all boils down to privilege. When a certain group of people obtains a higher power or privilege compared to another group, the opposing group becomes jealous. This jealous hunger for power becomes the sole reason that society is unable to function as one; someone always needs to have the most power.

Proctor. For the first and only time in the play we see Abigail as her

Power is something almost everybody strives for at least once in their life. In Salem, the men who own the most land or people who have a great reputation for being very religious are the people with the utmost power. Slaves and women, especially unmarried ones, are the people with the lowest status. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the power dynamic dramatically shifts. Tituba, Betty’s family’s slave, brings a group of Puritans girls, including Betty, into the woods. Tituba is from Barbados and practices a different religion, which goes against parts of the Puritan beliefs. When the girls are in the woods, Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, sees them and they all scatter. Betty worries she will get in trouble, so she falls into a trance,

Thesis Statement: Arthur Miller conveys of the theme of jealousy by how it can ruin lives by abigail was jealous of elizabeth proctor Also John Putnam is moved by jealousy by he is jealous of others people's property.

We have to contend, in the exercise of our personal power, with the influences of such power-channels in our environments and how they add to, limit or distort our exercise of power - e.g. hierarchies, coalitions,