“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” (John Steinbeck) Within The Crucible, a novel written by Arthur Miller, many characteristics of human nature are symbolized through the means of character portrayal, gaining power by means of fear being one of those characteristics shown. Although many characters show this attributes Abigail, Reverend Hale, and Mary Warren symbolize it the most frequently and the most blatantly. All of these characters are from a small town known as Salem. Within this town, religion is very heavily practiced and respected. Prestige is found and kept by your rank, status, or connections within the church. When the ideals and morals of their beliefs are in question or are threatened
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Those leaders reacting first generally do so in an effort to maintain their power, as the quote above by John Steinbeck remarks “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” A good intention with a poor approach often results in a negative effect and the story of a power-hungry Reverend Hale is no exception to this due to his unorthodox Catholic Behaviors and fear tactics. Reverend Hale a very highly sought after priest from the Salem region and was summoned to the town the dispel a “Lieutenant of Satin” from several of the towns young girls. It is said within the Catholic religion that priests and ministers have the power and ability to absolve individuals from their sins and cleanse them of the devil’s grasp. Hale takes this to an extreme, he sees this an opportunity to grab at power. Instead of just quietly absolving a person’s sins as the church instructs ministers, a frantic and agitating scene is made as he pulls the power of Satin out of the girls. “Now mark me, if the devil is in her you will witness some frightful wonders in this room, so please keep your wits about you.” (Miller 41) In these moves, he shows …show more content…
She takes after both the Reverend Hale and Abigail, within this courtroom scene. She models Abigail when she makes up stories and blames her own faults on the backs of other people, and takes after Hale by Blowing herself way out of proportions by saying “ MARY WARREN, He wakes me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck.” (Miller 119). Mary is like many people in society today, they are willing to partake in the activities to gain popularity but if things go south, they look to find ways out of things, turning misfortune into power, and manipulating fear into a tool of attaining power over
Those leaders reacting first generally do so in an effort to maintain their power, as the quote above by John Steinbeck remarks “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” A good intention with a poor approach often results in a negative effect and the story of a power-hungry Reverend Hale is no exception to this due to his unorthodox Catholic Behaviors and fear tactics. Reverend Hale a very highly sought after priest from the Salem region and was summoned to the town the dispel a “Lieutenant of Satin” from several of the towns young girls. It is said within the Catholic religion that priests and ministers have the power and ability to absolve individuals from their sins and cleanse them of the devil’s grasp. Hale takes this to an extreme, he sees this an opportunity to grab at power. Instead of just quietly absolving a person’s sins as the church instructs ministers, a frantic and agitating scene is made as he pulls the power of Satin out of the girls. “Now mark me, if the devil is in her you will witness some frightful wonders in this room, so please keep your wits about you.” (Miller 41) In these moves, he shows …show more content…
She takes after both the Reverend Hale and Abigail, within this courtroom scene. She models Abigail when she makes up stories and blames her own faults on the backs of other people, and takes after Hale by Blowing herself way out of proportions by saying “ MARY WARREN, He wakes me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck.” (Miller 119). Mary is like many people in society today, they are willing to partake in the activities to gain popularity but if things go south, they look to find ways out of things, turning misfortune into power, and manipulating fear into a tool of attaining power over