Ben Rakowski Essay
Submitted By ben-rakowski
Words: 1002
Pages: 5
Ben Rakowski
English 11 H
Mr. O’Brien
10/26/14
Corruption and Accusations The human race is very intriguing. People are known to attack one another in times of distress, even if he/she may not have a solid reason to. This concept is illustrated in Arthur Miller’s paly, The Crucible. Miller uses the Salem witch trials and the history of accusations during this time period to help demonstrate this concept, by applying the accusations of the past to connect to the accusations of the time it was written, (The Cold War). A few ways that Miller highlights how people attack one another during a time of distress are out of fear, ignorance, and personal or political gain. Throughout The Crucible, people are accused of things that are used to benefit the accuser, one such cause is out of fear. During the Salem witch trials, fear was common amongst many of the settlers. They were in an environment which did not have many answers, leading to fear and thus accusations in an attempt to protect themselves. Abigail can be examined to prove the fear surrounding the trails. She is caught dancing in the woods and fears what the town may do to her, so she attacks others to cover herself. Abigail states,
” Shut up! All of you. We danced. That is all, and mark this, if anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will bring with me 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!” (Miller, 20)
She is afraid to face what consequences may come from her actions, so she attacks the other girls to try to scare them into staying quite, further progressing fears involvement in the play. Another example of fear is how Mary Warren reacts under pressure. While in court, Mary is accused of witchcraft. She states,
"I--I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I--It were only sport in the beginning sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I--I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not."(Miller 112-113)
Mary is afraid of what she is enduring so she takes what she hears and imagines that it is true. When she is accused she becomes afraid, and her fear drives her to further believe the hysteria surrounding her case. Fear in the play is used both as a cause and effect of the accusations of the Salem witch trials. Another way that Miller demonstrates how people attack each other is out of ignorance. Closely related to fear, people make accusations to suit their beliefs. One example of this is the accusation of Goody Nurse. Francis states, “For murder, she’s charged! ‘For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam’s babies’” (Miller 75) People do not know the ‘power’ of witches, so Rebecca Nurse has been accused of murder but without any proof. This ignorance shows that people are quick to accuse during a time of hysteria. No investigation was issued so Nurse was eventually hanged due to the ignorance of others in the village. This ignorance is tied to fear because when people are scared, they are quick to accuse others and not investigate what the true culprit may be, thus resulting in the attack of innocent people which are left helpless. A third way that people attack others is out of personal or political gain. This can be demonstrated in the play with the accusation of George Jacobs by Ruth Putnam. Giles tries to defend Jacobs and reveal Putnam by saying,
“If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit
