Humans walk a fine line between conformity and status. They conform to the point where they eliminate any risk of becoming a pariah, but at the same time strive to be different enough to stand out among their peers and rise above them. In Puritan New England, a place where any oddity was indicative of God’s displeasure or perhaps even a pact with the Devil, it was easiest for an individual to fit the mold that society demanded of them. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which takes place in Salem at the time of the town’s infamous witch trials, examines cultural conformity and its effect on a sequence of events. Through the characters Ezekiel Cheever, Marshal Herrick and Mary Warren, Miller shows that it is human nature to conform to and reinforce
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He is visibly drunk (122) and voices his disillusionment (122) to Sarah Good and Tituba, both of whom are accused witches and have been driven to delusion by the cruelty of their treatment in the prison. At this point, Herrick has lost all faith in the court’s actions, but other than vaguely implying his anger to Danforth (124), he does nothing. Herrick stands by because all of the anger in his heart is not enough to relieve him of the fear instilled in him by Puritan cultural beliefs. As the play ends, Herrick escorts John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and the others condemned to hang out of prison and to the gallows. His actions show the finality of his submission, and they tie together the theme of conformity in the …show more content…
It’s a survival instinct; oftentimes an individual must sacrifice personal beliefs in order to be protected by neighbors and peers. In The Crucible, Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick fear the court that employs them, and Mary Warren fears the girls who are causing the madness in Salem. None of them truly realize their ability to stand up for their beliefs and change the course of events in the town; neither do many of the other bystanders and unwilling participants, neither did people living during the time of the McCarthy hearings, and neither do people today. The power of a single human voice is tremendous, because of what it can do to lift others from a destructive herd mentality. Miller depicts a world where there aren’t enough voices, and he shows how a world can burn without
He is visibly drunk (122) and voices his disillusionment (122) to Sarah Good and Tituba, both of whom are accused witches and have been driven to delusion by the cruelty of their treatment in the prison. At this point, Herrick has lost all faith in the court’s actions, but other than vaguely implying his anger to Danforth (124), he does nothing. Herrick stands by because all of the anger in his heart is not enough to relieve him of the fear instilled in him by Puritan cultural beliefs. As the play ends, Herrick escorts John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and the others condemned to hang out of prison and to the gallows. His actions show the finality of his submission, and they tie together the theme of conformity in the …show more content…
It’s a survival instinct; oftentimes an individual must sacrifice personal beliefs in order to be protected by neighbors and peers. In The Crucible, Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick fear the court that employs them, and Mary Warren fears the girls who are causing the madness in Salem. None of them truly realize their ability to stand up for their beliefs and change the course of events in the town; neither do many of the other bystanders and unwilling participants, neither did people living during the time of the McCarthy hearings, and neither do people today. The power of a single human voice is tremendous, because of what it can do to lift others from a destructive herd mentality. Miller depicts a world where there aren’t enough voices, and he shows how a world can burn without