In conjunction with them, Thomas Putnam was another man of relevance. He was a bitter and sly man; on page 11 the audience come to light of his past grievances; he was deeply angered when his wife’s brother in-law was rejected as minister of Salem. Reverend John Hale was totally different; he was a remarkable man, high in intellect and wit; his expertise prompted the public to call upon him especially for this witchcraft case. Known to have handled such cases previously, Hale spoke of Lucifer with assurance and was specific in his investigations. Preferring to die than sin, the civilians believed sinners would spend eternity at the palms of the devil, at his underground lair called ‘hell’. This wave of religious beliefs did get out of hand, some of which I will make apparent later in the essay. Rather like Hale, aged Giles Corey is remarkable too. However, neither his braveness nor innocence prevented him from being blamed for so much! Apart from his virtuousness, his elderly age makes him a man pitied by the audience.
Early in Act 1, Reverend Parris attempted to protect his reputation. Reputation attracted respect; it was the only possible way people would have trusted you or confided in highly confidential matters with you, “… leap not to witchcraft…They will howl me out of Salem for corruption in my house.” [Page 10 Reverend Samuel Parris] Above all other concerns, Parris believed the dancing in the forest fiasco would blacken his name in the neighbourhood. “They will howl me out,” suggests that this topic of accusations could have had a torrid fate install for him. On this note, he not only advised against but also endeavoured in discouraging the thought of witchcraft. Subsequently, John Proctor presented this theme when he opted out of the opportunity to silence the girls and falsely claim guilty of wizardry – so that he could save his life – as opting out would have also disturbed his highly regarded status. In the play reputation was fundamental, so Arthur Miller maximised this in Act 1 by introducing it in this scene. From this, the audience could instantly distinguish that status within the town would have ultimately affected the development of this bizarre case.
In accordance to reputation, personal feuds between members of the society lead to personal grudges. The Putnams disliked Rebecca Nurse; making indirect accusations towards her, “… who else may surely tell us what person murdered my babies?” [Page 12 Mrs Putnam] ‘Witchcraft’ soon began to spread through the community like an infectious disease. By using witchcraft as an accusation, people began to hold their enemies responsible for any trouble or violence that occurred. The Putnams deployed this tactic. Deeply distressed by their child’s ill health, they found none other than a person, whom they had a grudge against to blame.
As hysteria swept in, further more members of the community were raked in. As a matter of fact, Tituba was a victim of these crazed accusations; Abigail utilized Reverend Hale’s persistent implications by blaming Tituba for witchcraft. “She makes me drink chicken blood,” Abigail confessed when interrogated about the assembly in the woods. Tituba was from Barbados and was brought to Salem because of the slave trade; this automatically formed prejudice, especially because she was black. Considered inferior and unusual, Tituba was the best figure in the town to be held responsible. Also, she spoke in non-standard English which indicated Tituba had a low status in society, “There was four… I don’t want kill that man.” The hatred and mistreatment of ‘witches’ later in the play is a tragic event whereby many people paid the ultimate price. Their life.
Arthur Miller dramatised the dancing in the woods to full effect; it symbolised rebellion and escape. Due to strict laws enforced by the Puritan society, the girls in the wood acted vulgarly, “drank chicken blood, naked”, so indicated that they disagreed with the laws therefore decided to break them. Of course, the meeting had to be secretive, as in the event of the assembly being shame-faced; the consequence would have been extremely harsh. In addition, the dance represented ‘escape’ or release from the strains of the puritan lifestyle; many may have considered it dull and strenuous. However, Reverend Samuel Parris’ pressure is made apparent due to his daughter’s quandary. This is implied by his, ‘kneeling…in prayer’, which must be in intense focus, and his abruptness in the introduction of the play, “Out of Here!” This absurd case was a time bomb waiting to blow, so early signs of pressure and disobedience was a clever opening to an exciting build-up.
John Proctor’s ‘dubious relations’ with Abigail made him feel guilty, yet another a theme of this play. As you would have expected, John drew a line over the affair and defended his wife, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” [Page 18 John Proctor] Logically, John had his marriage and his wife’s well being in mind. She had been poorly and an argument lead to a cheap affair with a woman perceived as vindictive. He specifies the pain he would go through, “cut off my hand”, to never be in contact with Abigail ever again. In order to protect his reputation as an honest and trustworthy man, John told the truth to the bitter end, where finally he was executed but died without a guilty conscience; he did not lie to save his life. If he had, then he would have died in the later years, knowing he had committed such a sin. During this period of time, Puritans considered deceit as a sin; it was believed that this would almost certainly result in hell. Puritans were strict Christians who abided by laws such as: only wearing plain clothes, wigs or decoration and make-up were strictly forbidden and puritans were punished for swearing, gambling and drinking.
Abigail wanted to avenge John’s rejection, hence the bogus accusation that Elizabeth Proctor was among the witchcraft party, “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, snivelling woman, and you bend to her!” [Page 19 Abigail Williams] This line indicates the start of her hatred towards Elizabeth. At first, she spoke hurtful words directed at Elizabeth, however the power to condemn her of witchcraft dawned on her later, which took effect towards the conclusion of the play. She faked experiencing demonic presences, blamed it on Elizabeth, and acquired her desired outcome – the imprisonment of Elizabeth. This ties in with the theme of guilt too, as revenge was a result of the affair.
Rebecca Nurse’s involvement in the case portrayed a further key element of this play; she displayed others’ loss of innocence, “It’s strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverley.” [Page 30 Reverend John Hale] We know immediately that Hale highly esteems her; she is trustworthy and possibly the finest character in the play to unravel this mystery. When she came in contact with Betty, she instantaneously soothed her and she could establish the girls silliness, during the bogus ‘devil’s presence’ charade in Act 1. Due to this charade, Salem could not resist hysteria or accusations, hence the harrowing finish to the innocent people of Salem. Even the most righteous of characters were noosed and left to swing – this showed the extent to how matters got out of hand.
Miller stages loss of innocence most significantly during the girls ‘devil’s presence’ charade. “Stop it,” cries Mary as the girls constant echoing of Mary’s words enraged her. This raised suspicion in the court, where Deputy-Governor Danforth seemed convinced. On top of this, Abigail pretended to be attacked by a ‘yellow bird’ while ‘pleading’ with Mary Warren to stop. Arthur Miller intended to develop tension in this part of the act by exchanging the dialogue quickly and concisely, “I’m not hurting her... She sees nothin’! She see’s nothing” [Mary Warren page 93] and “They’re sporting. They –! [Mary Warren], They’re sporting [Girls page 93]… Abby stop it! [Mary Warren], (stamping their feet) Abby, stop it!” [Girls].
If neither of the other topics were a catalyst to the uprising of this insane and barbaric event, then Reverend John Hale’s persistent dangerous implications to a zealous witch-hunt, tightened the knot, “When the Devil come to you does he ever come-with another person? (She stares him into his face.) Perhaps another person in the village? Someone you know?” [Page 37 Reverend John Hale] Hale’s questions prompted false confessions from Tituba and Giles Corey; both characters were able to save themselves and allow another character to take the blame. In the end, Corey’s wife was imprisoned due to this method of interrogation, so Hale pulled out of the proceedings as he distrusted the witnesses condemning her to an ill-fated destiny. The beginning of many dangerous implications to follow only raised one question in the mind of the audience; would the influence of these ridiculed implications determine the result of this witchcraft case? Sadly, the answer was yes.
Highly evident from the dialogue, ‘The Crucible’ was built up of many interesting themes, all of which are of contemporary relevance. It would be easy to fathom about the people in this world that are still affected by these struggles. We only had to see the racial abuse towards black footballers, whom monkey imitations were directed at from the fans. In the zealous witch-hunts case, witches’ unusual view upon lifestyle and faith was discriminated against, so the rituals had to be held secretively. Also in the modern era, we see cases of revenge splashed across newspaper front pages; the events of 9/11 (twin tower suicide bombing) was believed to be an act of revenge from the Afghans towards the USA, due the USA’s previous cases of hatred and abuse. I personally believe reputation was probably one of the most significant themes; most events either improved or did the opposite to a certain person’s reputation. It almost certainly is applicable today: jobs, shops, sports, music or communities portray some form of reputation, which shapes arguments for or against them. As a final thought, ‘The Crucible’ did not only display life in Salem, but displayed life as it were today; it is the humans’ version of the ‘animal kingdom’ and ‘where one stands is how one may live.’
