is hypocrisy a natural human flaw the crucible

The overall message is that when a person's actions are driven by desires to preserve favorable public opinion rather than do the morally right thing, there can be extremely dire consequences. He is somewhat responsible for all of the witch trials; if he wouldn't of committed adultery with Abigail, she wouldn't have gone on her rampage of blaming people. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. Reverend Parris is in a position of power as the town's spiritual leader, but he is insecure about his authority. Is hypocrisy a natural human flaw? In this environment, whoever yells the loudest seems to get the most credibility. Recall that hypocrisy is when someone's actions don't match up with the professed values. He is weak and vulnerable after Abigail's theft of his life's savings, and hes even facing death threats from the townspeople as a result of John and Rebecca's imminent executions. Proctors good reputation is almost a burden for him at this point because he knows that he doesnt deserve it. The girls are essentially given permission by authority figures to continue their act because they are made to feel special and important for their participation. The accusers cannot present concrete evidences, and their wrongful convictions must be further scrutinized. He believes that Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. Being a hypocrite is one of the worst things you can be called youre someone who criticizes others and yet does the same sin yourself. Giles got arrested for contempt. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. First off, what is irony? They could either confess to being guilty and is punished and put into jail or deny any relationship with the devil and be hanged and killed. Though the play is fictional, the characters are named after real people who lived in Salem during that time. What Are The Human Flaws In The Crucible | ipl.org He shows the hypocrisy of the Puritans by showing their belief system and how they have not acted in accordance with those beliefs. This immaculate proof that has led him to sign numerous death warrants is nothing but the fabrications of teenage girls and other townspeople seeking petty revenge. Themes tell us what the purpose of the work is. Interestingly, she was the first woman put to death in the trials. As mentioned in the overview, religion holds significant power over the people of Salem. These. If you hope to write an awesome essay onThe Crucible, you should have extensive knowledge of its themes. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. In reality, he is constantly judging himself, and this leads to outbursts of anger against others who remind him of what he did (he already feels guilty enough!). Hale pg. Abigail Williams was the main accuser of withes in Salem, and in her accusations she gained power in the town. What the people of Salem have seen as demonic possessions of the girls is nothing more than an act of deception. What Are The Human Flaws In The Crucible 1560 Words | 7 Pages. This hysteria-based evidence of witchcraft includes the discovery of the poppet in the Proctor household with a needle in it. . He questions Abigail aggressively because hes worried his enemies will learn the full story of what happened in the woods first and use it to discredit him. Arthur Miller pokes fun at this in his commentary in the play and explains his intentions to the audience. As the story progresses, Danforth and many other officials begin to realize that the entire situation in Salem progressed to far and honest people will continue to die unless they can convince people to lie in order to save themselves. 130). Danforth has extensive pride in his intelligence and perceptiveness. In the final events of Act 4, John Proctor has a tough choice to make between losing his dignity and losing his life. Along with the final say in the putting to death of people during the Salem witch trials. Both flaws led him to delay telling the truth about Abigail's fraudulent claims and their previous relationship, thus dooming himself and many others to death or imprisonment. She openly threatens Danforth for even entertaining Mary and John's accusations of fraud against her. By Act 2, there have been notable changes in the power structure in Salem as a result of the ongoing trials. Arthur Miller's 1953 play, ''The Crucible,'' features hypocrisy as a recurrent theme. I highly recommend you use this site! The power of collective hysteria ultimately becomes insurmountable because it grows larger than the influence of the few rational voices in the community. She also ran the local tavern. It is another trait we inherited from them, and it has helped to discipline us as well as to breed hypocrisy among us.'' Upon arriving in the court Mary Warren says, I cannot lie no more. Judge Danforth a well respected man in the society that has the supreme rule over the court. Miller addresses a similar hysteria throughout his play. John feels incredibly ashamed of his affair with Abigail, so he tries to bury it and pretend it never happened. Elizabeth doesnt realize that John is willing to sacrifice his reputation to save her life. Is hypocrisy a natural human flaw? - myLot The importance placed on reputation helps perpetuate hysteria because it leads to inaction, inflexibility, and, in many cases, active sabotage of the reputations of others for selfish purposes. Download it for free now: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '688715d6-bf92-47d7-8526-4c53d1f5fe7d', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '03a85984-6dfd-4a19-93c8-5f46091f5e2b', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play based upon events that occurred in Salem circa 1690s. An ad hominem means that it shifts the argument away from the issue to a personal attack on the person involved. In this act, she yells Dont lie! at Tituba immediately before she tells some of the most damning lies of the play accusing Tituba of witchcraft (. Both Hale and Proctor don't want to live with the consequences of their mistakes, so they try to ignore or undo their past actions. This means that much of the population that remains is comprised of the power-hungry, the selfish, and the cowardly. He has sentenced people to death based on lies about their dealings in black magic, and he has accepted other false confessions from those who would rather lie than be executed. Danforth insists that John must know more about the Devil's dealings than he has revealed. Essay prompts will ask about these themes in a variety of different ways. How do you think Arthur Miller wishes the audience to respond - eNotes Act 4 is Danforths turn to shine in the irony department. Though actions are often motivated by fear and desires for power and revenge, they are also propped up by underlying worries about how a loss of reputation will negatively affect characters' lives. Hypocrisy in "The Crucible" and Todays Society Essay Example This causes problems down the line as Parris allows his paranoia about losing his position to translate into enthusiasm for the witch hunt. Ironically, though she is normally honest to a fault, in this situation Elizabeth decides to lie to preserve Johns reputation, not knowing he has already confessed. In a way. This makes him particularly averse to accepting that he's been fooled by a teenage girl. The play is about human weakness, hypocrisy, and vindictiveness. John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his . No one will listen to Tituba until she agrees to confirm the version of events that the people in traditional positions of authority have already decided is true, a pattern which continues throughout the play. She is cast as a villain. People who were accused of witchcraft are wrongfully indicted, and those transgressions must be justified. If Tituba was permitted to explain what really happened, the ensuing tragedy might have been prevented. Greed is a sin in the Puritan religion, so the people who supported the accusations were indeed hypocrites. He is completely oblivious to the fact that the victims might be lying. There are numerous connections between the flaws of individual characters and the overarching themes of the play that could be brought into this discussion. Rebecca Nurse is a pure soul, who always took care of other people's children. Explain the irony of Hales position at the end of the play as compared to his actions at the beginning. The Judge forcing people to lie to save their lives he cant see the wrong hes doing. Historical Context. Giles Cory was expelled from court because he would not list people who signed the document about Putnam wanting to take land. (pg. Hypocrisy is just one of many personality traits along many spectrums. The only power they have left is in refusing to confess and preserving their integrity. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. In the next few sections,I'll take a look at a group of broad themes inThe Crucible, including irony, hysteria, reputation, and power. This is irony of the same type that I discussed in the overview of this theme. Arthur Millers portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall The Crucible, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This act also sees the irony of Hale discussing the powers of the dark that are attacking Salem (pg. He appears to have no governing system of morality. Human flaws such as lust for power, greed and jealousy explain the errors many tragic figures from books make, from Mr Kurtz to Lord Voldemort. How does this philosophy perpetuate hysteria? No one even considers Mary's statement about sticking the needle in herself. Reverend Parris' concerns about his reputation are immediately evident in Act 1. The Crucible's themes have lent the play artistic longevity because they're more or less universal to the human experience across time. Elizabeth notes that Mary's demeanor is now like that of the daughter of a prince (pg. 6). They so fear the devilish consequences of challenging the accusers that theyre willing to take them at their word and ignore any defenses the accused have to offer. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Proctors strengths consist of, honesty and pride. The importance placed on reputation helps perpetuate hysteria because it leads to inaction, inflexibility, and, in many cases, active sabotage of the reputations of others for selfish purposes. While it does provide an entertaining experience at face value, the true literary genius behind the work is Miller's . Arthur Miller portrays the protagonist, Proctor, as the tragic hero of his play The Crucible. While touting his holy credentials, he claims that he dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of my conscience may doubt it (pg. I chose . Salem is under attack from the hysteria that is encouraged by the same people who seek to keep imaginary supernatural demons at bay. Shes not a traditionally accepted target like the others (except in her susceptibility as a woman to the misogyny that runs rampant in the play). The play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the implications of a society in complete chaos over an irrational fear of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Abigails power skyrockets as the hysteria grows more severe. This attitude comes from a man who has shown no remorse for condemning people to death throughout the play. An example of hypocrisy is when Mary defends Elizabeth in court, but then gives her a poppet which lands Elizabeth in jail for owning a tool of witchcraft. These two institutions fuse together in The Crucible to actively encourage accusers and discourage rational explanations of events. In a case like this, you'd be writing directly about a specific theme in connection to one of the characters. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. The idea that a witch's familiar spirit is capable of stabbing people is too scary for the superstitious and now hysterical people of Salem to give Elizabeth the benefit of the doubt. This is especially true with the reputation and hysteria themes. In Act 2, John Proctors guilt over his affair with Abigail is demonstrated through an ironic exchange with Reverend Hale.