“Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death” was said by Coco Chanel. Guilt is the feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation. People can be taken over by guilt and it can lead to disastrous aftermaths. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it is seen many times throughout and is a main theme of the play. Guilt has many effects on people, and throughout the play The Crucible, it overtakes some of the characters, and by their struggles the reader can learn about how real life people respond to guilt. Guilt is one of the strongest emotions a human can experience because of the extreme actions it can cause someone to commit. Because feeling guilty creates the feeling of being weighed down and sometimes depressed, it can push
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People in the town of Salem are not as virtuous as they seem and many have revengeful spirits. Towards the beginning of the play, it is revealed that John Proctor cheated on his wife, Elizabeth, with Abigail Williams. Abigail then accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, and her accusation is motivated by her desire to get rid of Elizabeth and have John all to herself. It is seen in the text when Elizabeth says, “She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John,” (Miller, The Crucible II. 496-499). John’s affair with Abigail is the reason Elizabeth was accused, and throughout the play he feels guilty and does whatever he can to prove her innocent. A similar problem happens with the Corey’s. Giles’ wife is accused after he lets slip that she reads books, which was not common at all among women of the time. This accidental accusation makes him feel horrible and his emotions are depicted when he says “(through helpless sobs) It is my third wife, sir; I never had no wife that be so taken with books, and I thought to find the cause of it, d’y’see, but it were no witch I blamed her for. (He is openly weeping.) I have broke charity with the woman, I have broke charity with her (He covers his face, ashamed...)” (Miller, The Crucible III. 96-104). The court takes his wife away and puts her to trial, where Giles tries to …show more content…
Throughout the play it is shown how guilt leads to extreme choices, like with John Proctor and Giles Corey. It is also shown how it can eat away at people and how it can make them feel awful, like with Giles again. Giles feels terrible after getting his wife dragged into the witchcraft accusations, and it leads to his death. Guilt also destroys relationships between the characters in the play. Elizabeth and John’s relationship is very tense and awkward after his affair and his guilt makes him wish he never cheated on his wife because of the aftermath it caused. The characters in The Crucible react similarly to guilt, and that is true in real life as well. Most people try to make up for whatever they did wrong. Reverend Hale, at the beginning, is called to Salem to investigate if witchcraft is really among the people of the village. He is one of the reasons many people are accused and put to death. But, in the end he realizes he was wrong and feels terribly guilty for putting so many innocent people to death, so he tries his hardest to save as many others as he can from persecution, including John and Elizabeth Proctor, which is seen in Act IV when he
People in the town of Salem are not as virtuous as they seem and many have revengeful spirits. Towards the beginning of the play, it is revealed that John Proctor cheated on his wife, Elizabeth, with Abigail Williams. Abigail then accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, and her accusation is motivated by her desire to get rid of Elizabeth and have John all to herself. It is seen in the text when Elizabeth says, “She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John,” (Miller, The Crucible II. 496-499). John’s affair with Abigail is the reason Elizabeth was accused, and throughout the play he feels guilty and does whatever he can to prove her innocent. A similar problem happens with the Corey’s. Giles’ wife is accused after he lets slip that she reads books, which was not common at all among women of the time. This accidental accusation makes him feel horrible and his emotions are depicted when he says “(through helpless sobs) It is my third wife, sir; I never had no wife that be so taken with books, and I thought to find the cause of it, d’y’see, but it were no witch I blamed her for. (He is openly weeping.) I have broke charity with the woman, I have broke charity with her (He covers his face, ashamed...)” (Miller, The Crucible III. 96-104). The court takes his wife away and puts her to trial, where Giles tries to …show more content…
Throughout the play it is shown how guilt leads to extreme choices, like with John Proctor and Giles Corey. It is also shown how it can eat away at people and how it can make them feel awful, like with Giles again. Giles feels terrible after getting his wife dragged into the witchcraft accusations, and it leads to his death. Guilt also destroys relationships between the characters in the play. Elizabeth and John’s relationship is very tense and awkward after his affair and his guilt makes him wish he never cheated on his wife because of the aftermath it caused. The characters in The Crucible react similarly to guilt, and that is true in real life as well. Most people try to make up for whatever they did wrong. Reverend Hale, at the beginning, is called to Salem to investigate if witchcraft is really among the people of the village. He is one of the reasons many people are accused and put to death. But, in the end he realizes he was wrong and feels terribly guilty for putting so many innocent people to death, so he tries his hardest to save as many others as he can from persecution, including John and Elizabeth Proctor, which is seen in Act IV when he