How Does Arthur Miller Show Loyalty In The Crucible

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Two Sides of the Coin Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible written in 1953 shows the mass hysteria in the small of Salem during the witch trials in 1692. Within the mass hysteria and accusations being made by a group of girls, the characteristics of self-interest and loyalty are presented by almost everyone in the town. While some see loyalty as being faithful to a good person or a good cause, loyalty can also be to a bad person or cause. The same can be said for self-interest. If loyalty goes both ways, is there a point where loyalty should end? Does the time and place of an event fuel self-interest? Throughout the play, both sides of loyalty and self-interest are shown. The concept of loyalty and self-interest is quite complicated. At first, the girls are loyal to Abby after she threatens them. One of the girls that happened to be in the group was Marry Warren. She was John Proctor’s servant and was loyal to Abby at first. After Elizabeth, John’s wife was accused of witch craft, Mary’s loyalty switched over to John and Elizabeth. She finally confessed that what the Abby and the other girls were doing was “pretense” (Miller 187). However, after Abby and her entourage pulled a believable act, Mary goes back to Abby (Miller 144). In this case, Mary showed both sides of loyalty and self-interest. Mary was not the only person who exposed the opposite sides to these characteristics, Reverend Hale was as well. …show more content…
When he was called into tow to help catch the witches, his books “weighted with authority” (Miller 153) was what most people noticed first, and he was very proud of his books. He believed that the truth only came from his books. If his books said it to be true, then it was true. He could be not convinced any other way. After so many innocent people were falsely accused and hung, he finally saw what was really going on. He turned from his self-interest and was loyal to the remaining residents of the town. This goes to show that self-interest can be so blinding that they forget loyalty. Because self-interest is blinding, there can be a lack of loyalty. John Proctor started the play displaying self-interest. He fell under the spell of lust and committed the worst sin, adultery. When he realized the mistake he made, he turned to Elizabeth and loyal to her until the end. He shows his loyalty by talking to Mary, saying that “my wife will never die for me” (Miller 174). John wishes Mary to testify against Abby in court and try to get Elizabeth off the hook. After all his hard work to save his wife his life is put on the line, but even then, he stays loyal. To me, this is a great example of loyalty. Even to the end, this man, who before had made a terrible mistake, turned himself around and stayed faithful till the end. Staying loyal can be a difficult task to accomplish, but Abby cuts loyalty out of her perspective. From the beginning, Abby only cares about herself and her life. After her uncle, Reverend Parris thinks she has to do with the “sickness” Betty has, she retorts, saying her name is not spoken ill in the town. This is her way of trying to keep her reputation. She

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