Societies often tend to suppress individual freedom in order to maintain social order.Discuss how this idea is highlighted in Arthur Millers play The Crucible
Andrew Grindley
Assignment 2
The Crucible
'Societies often tend to suppress individual freedom in order to maintain social order.'
Discuss how this idea is highlighted in Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible'
Arthur Miller was a playwright who dealt with many issues and themes. His play 'The Crucible' involves a past parallel of McCarthyism in the form of the Salem Witch Trials. McCarthyism came about when a politician named Joseph McCarthy tried to cover up his shaping of an anticommunist policy by using scapegoats. In this play, a girl named Abigail accused almost the whole town of witchcraft. This happened because in her own cunning way she turned the accusation against her, created when some girls in the town becoming ill, and used a scapegoat to avoid being hanged. She had had an affair with a local towns-person, John Proctor.
The play 'The Crucible' deals with many issues and themes relevant both then and now. Persecution and power are probably the most influential. Persecution, by definition, is the subjecting of a group of people to cruel or unfair treatment, for example because of their ethnic origin or religious beliefs. In 'The Crucible' all of the prisoners were persecuted by torture i.e. stoning, or by force i.e. being put in jail. Righteousness is a thing wanted by many humans, mainly religious ones, as they want to be seen as good in the eyes of their God. This can sometimes lead to the persecution and torture of others in order to do something seen as righteous. In 'The Crucible' the whole role of persecution in the trials raises the debate of human cruelty in the name of righteousness. As the persecution of the prisoners is not righteous in itself, the goal it is set out to achieve is.
People's minds work today as they did then. While they carried out hunts for witches to evict them from society, we today 'witch hunt' for paedophiles and terrorists to exclude them. We may think it is radical today to hunt down and kill people just because of what a culture thinks but we carry on doing it to a lesser extent today. The search to uncover paedophiles is a case where people want to know who the paedophiles are in order to avoid them and even hurt them and punish them for what they have done and to maintain a social order. Witchcraft is not a bad practice but the people back then saw it as Satanism although it was not. It was conceived from the fact that illustrations of the Wicca god were found, who had horns, and bared a strong resemblance to the Christian view of Satan. That is why which craft was frowned upon, and people were hunted down in order to stop public outrage.
Wise people of the day, such as Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale, saw the absurdity of the 'witch hunts'. They did not want to play a part in a system where if you confessed to being a witch, which was feared, you were set free; and if you claimed to be innocent, you were killed unnecessarily.
Among many others, these are the main sins committed in the play in this so-called holy society. Throughout the play, Abigail Williams had a hatred for Elizabeth Proctor, for she got to keep John. When Abigail realised that she held the power to destroy a person she quickly accused Elizabeth of being a witch, so she could have John for herself. However, John did not want to be with Abigail and so she ran away to avoid embarrassment and a revolt against her accusations. The innocent people who were accused of witchcraft had an obvious hatred for Abigail and the girls, as they had sentenced them to death.
Abigail's accusation of Elizabeth Proctor stemmed from the affair she had had with her husband. This showed John Proctors lack of self will with lust at the start, which he became to fear later. He feared that if he lusted after Abigail again he would have to stay with her and lose his wife and his clean name. Also he was disgusted with Abigail's accusations in court and was disgraced that he even slept with her. Since Reverend Parris was appointed in Salem, he had done nothing but spend the collection on greedy things such as golden candlesticks. ...
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Abigail's accusation of Elizabeth Proctor stemmed from the affair she had had with her husband. This showed John Proctors lack of self will with lust at the start, which he became to fear later. He feared that if he lusted after Abigail again he would have to stay with her and lose his wife and his clean name. Also he was disgusted with Abigail's accusations in court and was disgraced that he even slept with her. Since Reverend Parris was appointed in Salem, he had done nothing but spend the collection on greedy things such as golden candlesticks. This was seen as valuing mortal possessions over God. With him being a Reverend it caused much uproar with Elizabeth Proctor and the whole community:
Elizabeth " Pewter ones weren't good enough he had to go and get gold ones"
Her shock about the minister expressing such need for golden candlesticks was evidence to her denotation of greed and valuing possessions over God. Reverend Hale of Beverley was so proud of his reputation as a witch hunter that when he thought the accusations had got out of hand he wouldn't speak up and protect innocent people. Rebecca Nurse likewise was so proud of her reputation in Salem that she would not confess to witchcraft to avoid being hanged. It was the extremely good reputation of Rebecca Nurse and her hanging that ended the madness. Abigail had sworn to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor and she did, but it was pointless as she had failed to see the consequences of her actions. John would never have chosen Abigail over Elizabeth whether she was alive or dead.
The community was based upon their strong religious beliefs, as Salem was ruled by a Theocracy. A Theocracy is an area in which religion is law. It differs from Puritanism in the fact that in a Puritan colony one still has a separate law system to the religion although it does not conflict and fits in with the beliefs. When the jury reaches a verdict they do it through how they think God would rule, rather they do it according to what is appropriate considering the circumstances. The judges in Salem thought God would believe Abigail as she had been converted from the Devil and so is strong and willing to know of God. Whereas they did not believe in the innocent peoples strong beliefs as they had nothing to say that they would prefer to stick to Christianity than be summoned to a different religion, Satanism. The theocracy, which Salem was ruled by, believed very much in the community being united through Christianity. It was for this reason that they favoured unity over exclusion. However, when they found out that people who did not believe in Christ were among them they did not hesitate about the exclusion of them as they saw it fit. With John, and Elizabeth to a lesser extent, being both part of the community and living out as an individual they were thought upon with mixed feelings. The people in Salem respected them for maintaining dignity within the town.
Within Salem the powerful people in the village believed that to create unity within Salem people must follow strict rules and all be the same so as not to disrupt the peace. If an individual in the community decided to practice a different religion i.e. Wicca, they were seen as disrupters as the peace and excluded and refused of their individual freedom. Salem in 1762 was definitely a society that suppressed individual freedom in order to maintain social order.
John Proctor is one of the key characters in the play and his views represent an understanding of unity and individualism together. He is the archetypal hero of the play and is thought of by the girls as sexy. We know however that he used to have a weakness for Abigail. He is an individual who creates enmity with people such as Abigail Williams. John Proctor lusting after Abigail and sleeping with her caused the conflict between them. When his wife found out, she banished Abigail from the house and Abigail held a grudge ever since. When Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, John quickly stepped in to heighten the conflict and sacrificed his good name by admitting to the affair:
"I have known her, sir! I have known her!"
This proves he is willing to do anything for his wife and he wants Abigail to be brought down from her now powerful position. By condemning himself to being a lecher, he has also brought down Abigail so as the judges think about whether she is truly holy.
Reverend Hale is a smaller role but still very important. He represents the view of an open-minded priest who is not quick to judge and is both understanding and knowledgeable. He comes into indirect conflict with Abigail, as he does not agree with all the accusations placed in the court. However, the major conflict affecting his part is the one with the other judges involved in the court hearings. While he was drawn into the town to hunt out the witches, he was quick to realise when it got out of hand. Although he cannot convince the other judges to stop taking it so seriously, he is supporting the prisoners and secretly praying with them. When Reverend Hale realises the absurdity of the situation he prays with the prisoners in order to comfort them. He has to do this in secret however as the judges will not approve of the practice. They think he is trying to bring the Satanist's into God's land and converting them, which is what they do not want. When he arrived at the town he was greatly respected as the hysteria of the 'witch hunts' had already set in. The people were hoping for great accusations from him but when he did not produce any witches, he was not as respected and stopped hunting for them. This does not show that Hale was simply trying to avoid embarrassment by admitting defeat. Rather that he is realising what is best for the town and does it in a way in which he would not be accused. Hale is expressing his views on being and individual and not joining the common opinion, however, he doesn't show it as he will be shouted down as a traitor or blasphemer.
Elizabeth is a true and upstanding citizen of Salem who does not run off at a tangent when the accusations start to fly. She denies being a witch for the following reason:
"If you think I am one, then I say there are none."
Elizabeth knew she was an upstanding good-wife, and if all the other witches who were accused were the same then she believed there were no witches representing sanity and logic amidst the madness. This statement shows that Elizabeth has powerful thoughts and although does not show the constantly, when she is faced with being hanged she will draw them to the surface at any cost. Elizabeth believes that forgiveness of sins and a firm belief in God should be at the heart of their society instead of the accusations and executions that are. She was a true Christian in the sense that she would not go over to Satan just to avoid death as she knew that if she died with a clear conscience she would go to heaven. Throughout the play, Salem is thought of as a radically religious town but when they hear the argument from Elizabeth they do not except that she is a true Christian. This is evidence of the public following the masses and leaving their morals and true religion behind.
Abigail is the McCarthy of this movement as the public hung on her every word and believed everything she and the rest of the girls say. She knows that she has power and is not afraid of using it to satisfy her needs. The rest of the towns-people see her as a saviour coming from the Devil to rid the world of the witches she saw with him. The girls and Abigail, however, know that it is just a trick to avoid punishment. As Abigail was the ringleader of the group, she is the first one to use a scapegoat in the form of Tituba:
(When TITUBA enters with MRS PUTNAM)
"She made me do it! She made Betty do it!"
When Tituba enters the room Abigail is quick to noticing that she could use her as a scapegoat. The fact that Tituba is a Negro slave from Barbados makes her an easy target, as the people in the room at the time will not believe her innocence over Abigail's. They were racist at the time, as Senator McCarthy was to communists.
Giles Corey is a person who within the community does not do much. He doesn't go to church very often and so is frowned upon by Parris. When he tries to talk to Reverend Hale about his wife reading books he doesn't quite realise how ignorant he is being. He has landed his wife in unnecessary bother, as, during this period, women seen reading strange books would be accused of witchcraft. His ignorance in this matter leads to his wife's ad his own death. He also carried out a petition where anybody who wrote their names on agreed to the fact that the hearings were a farce. He was stoned to death because he refused to give the names of the people who had signed the petition.
Tituba is the first person to be accused in the play, as she is a Negro slave and was easily believed to be in league with the devil. Tituba confesses, after denying it several times, as she knows she will die a slow and painful death otherwise.
"No, no, don't hang Tituba! I tell him I don't desire to work for him, sir."
Parris threatened her with being whipped to death and Putnam with being hanged if she did not confess. So the thing she did was confess to knowing the Devil but not compacting with him as they would respect her more if she had the strength to stand up to the Devil. Tituba is discriminated against because she was from Barbados and they did not understand and therefore feared her culture. Just as they do with witchcraft. She quickly goes on to accuse somebody else:
"Mister Reverend, I do believe somebody else be witchin' these children." (Who) "I don't know, sir, but the Devil got him numerous witches"
She knows that what she has confessed to will be broken down and she will die, so by saying that the Devil has numerous witches, she has opened the doorway to anyone being accused and this is strengthened by her saying she is a good Christian woman.
Judge Hathorne expresses the same views, in the play, as Reverend Parris although he disliked him. He saw Parris as a far too powerful man within the parish and did not trust him. He was irrational and lost his temper slightly. When interviewing a witness or one of the accused he did not accept what they had to say and changed their words. He only found in them what he is looking for and nothing more. He is a far too powerful man within the play himself a he is an unjust judge and one of the most predominant. He was blessed with too much power and his unjust morals took over the entire community. There are modern social parallels of this, as evidence by Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist accusations ruining the American government.
Senator Joseph McCarthy was involved in the making of an anticommunist policy in America in the 1940's. Due to his input, the policy stated that no communists or communist activities were allowed in America. This lead to the American people hanging on every word of McCarthy's, as communism was feared since the communist take-over in China. Joseph went on to accuse 205 workers of the State Department of being communists and no one would stand up to him or they would be accused also. His downfall came when he failed to produce any hard evidence to confirm his accusations, and he was revealed as being a bully through his hearings in the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Miller uses this event strongly in the play using Abigail as the one whom everyone trusts. She is really the bully and cannot prove anything with evidence, other than playing on the strong religious beliefs of the town.