Manipulation is something that has embedded itself into society. Much of our lives are and can be manipulated whether we know it or not. In most examples the people who are being manipulated are being manipulated by the ones that they trust the most. Many times use of fear to cause mass hysteria is often invoked. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible characters take advantage of fear in order to manipulate fellow townspeople and gain an advantage in their community. The characters in The Crucible take advantage of their situation and manipulate it in ways that push their own personal gain. This is similarly seen in America during the McMartin case of 1984; wherein children were being questioned and manipulated into believing memories that may not …show more content…
This case turned out to be one of the longest and most expensive cases in U.S. history. Not only was this case expensive but it led to a massive spike in pack mentality which caused many problems around the country; similarly this was seen during the McCarthy era and the Salem Witch Trials. According to The New York Times, “A pack mentality set in after a local television journalist first reported the allegations. Across California and beyond, normal standards of fairness and reasoned skepticism were routinely thrown to the wind, with news gatherers scrambling to outdo one another in finding purported examples of monstrous behavior” (Haberman 7). With this pack mentality taking effect after the McMartin case it led to mass hysteria taking set in the minds of Americans. This is much like what was seen during the Salem Witch Trials simply because how easily this pack mentality took effect on people’s minds. Parents feared for their children even when they were not involved in the case simply because the parent's who were involved were fearful. This led to a mass child care scare which in the end led to many child care workers losing their customers and even their jobs. With many child care workers losing their jobs, workers who did their job properly had to fear for themselves. The New York Times stated, “Teachers across America grew afraid to hug or touch their students, out of fear of being misunderstood and possibly being brought up on charges” (Haberman 8). This quote shows that nobody was safe from this mass hysteria not even the students teachers. The fear arose in all teachers across America that it was not safe to even have a friendship with their students. Similarly this was seen during the Salem Witch Trials where anyone could be condemned as a witch for any reason. If you were not looking out for yourself anything could happen. This goes to show that the McMartin trial and the Salem Witch Trials are very
Yet there is no one who owns as much responsibility as Mary Warren. The Salem Witch Trials were awful in every characteristic; however, the worst aspect is the fact that polemically driven teenage girls had complete control over the court system. The truth of the matter is that human nature can, completely
Arthur Miller’s actions during the Red Scare mirrors the actions of John Proctor during the witch hunts in Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”. In the last act of the play John Proctor was being forced to write down a confession of witchcraft when the court presses him to say more names, but refused. “Then it is proven, why must I say more?” (act 4). This is him refusing to continue the chaos of the witch hunt, instead of adding fuel to the fire he wanted to end it there with him no longer stating any names.
The strained relationships in the play "The Crucible" during act 1 are shown to be rather intense, revealing the relationship between Elizabeth-John-Abigail to be one of the most intense. There is major evidence to suggest that Elizabeth is accusing Abigail of being something of a low life common whore. Such accusations of course drove Abigail to do the ritual to ask for Elizabeth to pass to the afterlife. Being that the town is a very religious, they can take something like this very seriously due to the stigma around it. Abigail tried to deny the fact that she placed a death curse onto Goody Proctor when Betty attempted to confront her of it after her attempt her jump out the window.
The crazy events of the Salem Witch Trials The play the Crucible is about the crazy events and lies that took place in the colony town of Salem which lead them to believe that there were many witches apron them. So they call in a witch hunter from another town his name is Reverend Hale. Then they call in judges to listen to their hearings then decide whether there guilty or not they never found someone that was accused of witchcraft inasent they either confessed or hang if they confessed they would serve prison time put if they didn’t confessed they would hang them anyways. The Author’s purpose is to inform the audience about what happened during the Salem Witch Trials.
The 1954 trial of the murder of Marilyn Sheppard was one of the most well-known trial cases in U.S. at that time. It was the case of the media. The media was the thing that held the power. Along with prejudgments and hidden evidence, this was one of the most unprofessional held cases ever. No one person knows what actually happened that no one ever will know.
The Tragic Flaw of John Proctor in The Crucible Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible takes place in early 1692 in the town of Salem Massachusetts. In this small town of Salem, there is hysteria due to accusations of children that many of the townsmen use witchcraft. Among these townspeople there is a man named John Proctor who knows that all of the accusations are a fraud. In the play John Proctor has many tragic flaws: his lust and pride led to the mounting of hysteria and overall tragic plight of others. Yet, in the end, his pride led to his own death.
Twenty people were killed because of the ignorance of a group of eight girls and a slave. Now that I have your attention I would like to tell you just how historically accurate The Crucible was. In The Crucible there’s actually quite a few things that line up with what history says. For example some of the girls’ names are the same in The Crucible as they were in history but of course not every name was put in the story.
Arthur Miller's utilization of incongruity in The Crucible shows exactly how tricky the human species is. He makes a situation that spins around the congregation and how the general population must take after their decrees and keep their dedication to God, however all they truly do conflicts with their ten edicts. John submitted infidelity by yearning for Abbigail when he was at that point wedded to Elizabeth and had constructed a family with her. Abigail is desirous of Elizabeth for having John and her yearning for retaliation drives her to lie and control the town as she did. It is essentially unexpected how all through every one of the allegations and guards, everyone would lecture their confidence in God and the congregation yet whatever they did was definitely not what they were required to.
"This is a case about abusing power and violating public trust" -John Rice. This quote is a good explanation of how in The Crucible by Arthur Miller a 17 year old girl named Abigail Williams abuses her power of conviction and ruins the town of Salem. When Abigail discovered how much power she had over her friends and the community, she quickly began to take advantage of it by indicting a multitude of innocent people of practicing witchcraft. In the small town of Salem, witchcraft was the worst thing to ever be accused of.
Most people do not run around naked through the streets; they try to hide what lies beneath from prying eyes. Did you think I meant their bodies? Well….you are sadly mistaken because what I am truly hinting at are the innermost sins and secrets held onto by these said persons. When you have done something wrong and it comes to the surface for everyone to look upon, you tend to acquire a sense of insecurity. Throughout The Crucible; John Proctor, Abigail, and Elizabeth Proctor feel God’s “icy wind” and have their deepest hidden sins brought forth to the eyes of the public, making these characters feel “naked” to judgement from others and God himself.
Not everybody has the ability to attain liberty and justice when corruption exists. Arthur Miller, the author of the play The Crucible, corrupts several characters although the court has absolute power over the people of Salem. For example, the Putnams speak to Parris about the murders of their seven babies, and Mrs. Putnam pleads with Reverend Parris, “I take it on my soul, but who else may surely tell us what person murdered my babies? [...] They were murdered, Mr. Parris!
The Crucible: Historical Accuracy The Crucible is a 1996 film (originally written as a play) based on the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s. The story is based on actual events and takes place in Salem in the year 1692, opening with a group of young girls who are caught dancing around a fire in the woods. To keep out of trouble, the girls then accuse other townspeople of forcing them to dance. This begins the witch hysteria and leads to wild accusations, trials, and executions of many innocent people.
Corrupted and driven by shallow, physical necessities, materialism exposes mankind's hypocritical nature. Hypocrisy stems from behavior that contradicts one's values. This hypocrisy is illustrated throughout history as well as in works of literature. In the play, The Crucible, playwright Arthur Miller illustrates the story of the mass witchcraft hysteria led by Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts. The storyline introduces a materialistic character: a greedy minister, Reverend Parris.
Whenever people are caught in a dilemma, they always do what protects their reputation. The first thought that comes to mind is which decision will benefit them the most. However, ignoring the disadvantages presented by the dilemma could lead to further consequences. People do not commit to what they truly believe in, but rather make a decision based off of how everyone else would see them. This is seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
People have a tendency to fight for themselves and for what they believe in no matter what the cost. This is shown in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible when people in a village, named Salem, try kill their neighbors by blaming them for witchcraft. With characters such as John Proctor, he tries to bring justice to the town of Salem with all the false accusations with Reverend Hale. However with Judge Hawthorne, Abigail, Parris, Putnam, and the townspeople standing in their way, Proctor and Hale must fight through to bring justice. However in the end, 20 innocent people died because of people’s vengeance, hatred, and greed.