Introduction for The Crucible
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about how people can be easily manipulated by fear. I believe that Abigail Williams is to blame for the horrible events that happened at Salem. But the whole blame does not fall just on Abigail; it also falls on all the other girls that supposedly got afflicted by witchcraft, Reverend John Hale, Judge Hathorne, Deputy Governor Danforth and any other bystanders that were there to witness the injustice. Deputy Governor Danforth was the governor at the time of the trials; with these trials, he was between a wall and a sword; he did not have much of an option than to do what he did.
Research Paper on The Crucible
Abigail Williams, to the town, is just an innocent little girl that was bewitched by the town’s many witches. She plays the role of a teen that just wanted to dance in the woods but got forced to do other horrific things. She denies doing any of it under her own will because she is too proud to do so, so instead, she blames people and just starts having plain fun with the whole naming of people. She had admitted that the night in the wood, that they were just playing and nothing bad was going on, she said to John Proctor, “‘Oh, posh! We were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all. (The Crucible, page 22)”’ She admitted this to her lover, John, minutes before she blames Tituba for witchcraft, saying, “‘I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!”, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”, “She makes me drink blood! (The Crucible, page 45)”’ She even went as far as to threaten the other girls by saying, “‘Now look you. All of you. We dance. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! (The Crucible, page 20)’” she threatens the girls’ life that if they don’t go along with her, they will receive the worst.
Argumentative Essay Examples on The Crucible
The blame for all these hangings at Salem does not just fall under one person, but the whole community itself. I say this because there were a lot of bystanders that if they stood together and were not afraid of what the town would say, they could have made a difference and stopped the nonsense before it got too far. Some people, to be specific, are the “afflicted” girls, the accused, Reverend John Hale, Judge Hathorne, Deputy Governor Danforth, and many more citizens of Salem.
For example, John Proctor, in the beginning, does not say anything about what Elizabeth told him because he has no evidence, “‘I am only wondering how I may prove what she told me, Elizabeth. If the girl’s a saint now, I think it is not easy to prove she’s a fraud, and the town went so silly. She told it to me in a room alone-I have no proof for it. (The Crucible, page 56-57)’” He knew the truth from the begging but did not say anything. The “afflicted” girls because they were too cowardly to say what really happened that night. Reverend John Hale because if he was such an expert on witches, why did he not detect that the people being accused were innocent? Deputy Governor Danforth because he cares more about order rather than justice.
Thesis Statement for The Crucible
The citizens of Salem because they knew that some of these people that got accused would not hurt a fly, and yet did nothing to stop it until it was too late.
Titles: The Role of Authority Figures in the Witch Trials
There is no excuse for what the town did, but if you put yourself on some of their feet, you can see why some of them did what they did. For example, Deputy Governor Danforth generally is a good man. He, John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Reverend Samuel Parris had a conversation, “‘It were pretense, sir” “I cannot hear you.” “It was pretense, she says.” “Ah? And the other girls? Susanna Walcott and the others? They are also pretending?” “Aye, sir.” “Indeed.” “Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie be spread in open court! (The Crucible, page 93)’” Even after one of the girls came up clean with what happened, Reverend Samuel Parris, right away, did not even give Danforth time to think before he accused the girl of lying.
The Crucible Essay: Deputy Governor Danforth’s Predicament
These cases with the witchcraft have really messed up his vision of what justice is; he decided not to mess up his reputation rather than go against the whole town. In other words, you could say he was between a wall and a sword. He could not go either way. He had to choose from going by the law and giving every accused person a fair trial, which would be going against the whole town and a few “afflicted” girls, and that would only lead the town to turn against him and say he was also a witch or helping the witches. The other option is that he takes in the accused and lets them confess to the witchcraft, or they would be hanged if they denied any of the accusations. Danforth was in a tight spot, both options were not the best, but he just did not know which one was the best. I believe if he had the support of the town, he would have made the right decision from the beginning, but I understand that it is hard to go against the whole town on your own.
Conclusion
The Crucible is an event that you could reflect on for the rest of time. It shows how you can’t just blame one person but the whole community when it comes to a bad situation like this. It teaches you about the value of words and how fast people are willing to believe something just to feel a lot safer rather than knowing the facts. I don’t set the blame on Abigail Williams only or even Deputy Governor Danforth; I set it on the whole town equally on every single person that ever set foot in the courtrooms where the trials were taking place. This just shows how even this small town was not as united as it seemed. Not only that, it shows how people can easily be manipulated if you put on a fake face.
