How Is Putnam Justified In The Crucible

Improved Essays
In The Crucible, the townsfolk comply and come to be involved in the discriminate climate not only out of authentic religious devotion but also because it gives them with an opportunity to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held bitterness under the shield of righteousness. Thomas Putnam is behind the accusations toward many people. After accusing Sarah Good, Osburn, and many others he eventually accuses Rebecca Nurse. 'For murder, she's charged! For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam's babies';(71). Thomas Putnam stands out of the crowd with this accusation due to the fact that he very well may be the only person fraudulent enough to accuse Rebecca.
Christian persecution is rising in Pakistan, “The 97-percent

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller Is much more than just a dramatization of a Witch Hunt but instead is an example of human weakness, hypocrisy and vindictiveness. Throughout the Witch Trials people in Salem were able to seek revenge on their enemies, human weakness, and show the outright hypocrisy of the witch trials as a whole. Throughout The Crucible you see examples of these three elements through Abigail, Mrs.Putnam, Parris, and many other characters. Quotes and examples from the text will show how The Crucible was a clear illustration of these elements through the storyline, conflicts between characters and the play itself. The Crucible as a whole is a pure example of hypocrisy through some of the main characters.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible’s Blind Truth Arthur Miller’s portrayal of mass hysteria accurately depicts the enormity of unjudicial falsehoods from a communal perspective. The Crucible’s setting is in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 when the controversial witch trials occurred. Parallel similarities arise to the way in which the Red Scare affected the people of the 1950s. Many of which became fully blind to truth of who was at fault for this mass hysteria. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams are largely blind to the truth that holds them back from achieving true justice.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine being killed for a crime you did not commit. Unjust people out of fear, shame, or pride will perpetuate and defend their mistakes. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller takes place during the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams, a very naughty teen, is caught with her friends dancing naked in the woods during the nighttime. These acts are considered signs of witchcraft.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The court does not question the accusers, only the accused, and many of the townspeople see this. The system that the town uses to investigate the accusations allows anyone to accuse whoever of witchcraft with no evidence other than their word. When Rebecca Nurse is accused, Francis says “with a mocking, half-hearted laugh: For murder, she’s charged! Mockingly quoting the warrant: ‘For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam’s babies’” (Miller 71). John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Rebecca’s husband Giles are in shock that such a Christian women would be charged with witchcraft.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a partially fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials. Miller depicts Salem as a community filled with mass paranoia and fear that leads to the an atmosphere in which everyone was a potential witch. The story is centered on John Proctor and tells the story of the witchcraft accusations that lead to his death. Many people blame his death and the death of many others on Abigail Williams, a young woman whose lies lead to the death of many innocent victims. However, it’s difficult to blame one particular character when so many others are complicit in the abomination of the Salem Witch Trials.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, develops strong ethos in order to develop the position of the characters. First, the author develops the credibility while portraying the issue of witch craft. For instance with Parris: “My ministry is at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life” (Miller 11). The development of Parris as a character occurs in this first act because it shows that he is a minister and is worthy to identify lies because they are a sin. Also in this section, the issue of someone’s death is developed, achieving the portrayal of views and positions for some of the characters: Betty and Parris.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible & Xenophobia It is often hard to find American literature that is still as relevant today as it was when it was written. This is especially the case when it comes to pre-constitutional america. As the country is constantly changing and evolving, sometimes the constitution itself seems to reflect the needs of a different time. With regards to this, A play such as the crucible stands as a reminder that there will always be “witch hunts” as long as there are people in positions of power, such as Reverend Hale, or more contemporarily, Donald Trump. It could be said that Trump, who has threatened to deport 11 million immigrants, to ban immigration to those of islam _____, and to completely overturn same-sex equality laws, is a modern…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The play, “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller starts off with an unconscious girl named Betty Parris, and her distraught father. The situation that led to this outcome started a whole pandemonium which was known as The Salem Witch Trials. A few centuries later, a similar issue called McCarthyism would come up, and yet again, destroy people’s lives. In the Salem trials, however, innocent people were killed, and there was one main man to directly blame for those lost lives: (Judge) Thomas Danforth. While Danforth seemed very pretentious in Arthur Miller’s adaptation of the trials, the script and characters were embellished.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religion, repression, and revenge all play vital roles in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, by motivating the citizens’ accusations, rebellion, and mass hysteria. Without these elements, the witch trials would not have taken place. The religion of the Puritans, and their theocratic society caused the witch trials to worsen, citizens to make drastic choices, and fed the spread of mass hysteria throughout Salem. Since no separation between church and state existed, the people were forced to live a godly life in order to keep from breaking the law.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller we see many themes and lessons in the story. The main theme is focussed on deceit and lying and how lies can lead down a dark road which results in the ruin of many. The Crucible is a fictional play based on the Salem Witch Trials which occurred between February 1692 and May 1693 and resulted in over 150 people being accused of witchcraft and 20 executed. The story focusses on the story of John Proctor and Abigail Williams, his niece, and how lies, jealousy, revenge, and deep seated feuds caused a community to turn on each other in a vicious circle of accusations and misunderstandings. The characters in the play who lie significantly are Abigail, John Proctor, and Mary Warren…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible is full of blaming and lying. The blaming begun when Mr. Parris caught the women dancing in the woods. After that blaming showed up everywhere from Abigail blaming Tituba, to Proctor blaming Abigail. It was nobody’s fault but the person next to them. Everyone felt the need to tell their own lies.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    History can be characterized as a constant repetition of men and woman on an acquisitional search to find prosperousness, power and formatting lies to cope with incomprehensible effects of nature. These same principles did not escape the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts in the late Seventeenth Century, and these causes of the Salem Witch Trials are indistinctly presented by Arthur Miller through her historic drama, The Crucible. Greed is a dangerous nature and is one of the driving elements that motivated the murders of a few of the innocent victims of the Salem witch trials. Arthur Miller reveals to us the importance of how greed took a roll in the accusations through the character Thomas Putnam. Thomas Putnam is first introduced with an untasteful characteristic because of the ungratefulness he has towards his wealth despite being one of the wealthiest men in town.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Although humans develop a strong sense of logic and rationality through both real-life experiences and education, they are, at heart, social beings. The ability to connect with others is what allows people to create networks of thriving civilizations. That ability, however, is a downfall in the face of hysteria. Fear disseminates throughout a community, causing human rationality to be susceptible to influence. Arthur Miller illustrates this idea through his play, The Crucible, where an early American society is torn apart by the fear of witchcraft.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction and Thesis Statement – Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a novel set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Its primary focus is the description of the chaos, struggles and difficulties which arise as a result of the witch trials taking place during this time. The Crucible has been referred to as a “Morality” play. A morality play is a drama in which the characters personify qualities or concepts such a having virtues or vices and generally involves a conflict between right and wrong or good and evil from which a moral lesson may be drawn. There are numerous characters and circumstances in The Crucible that support the assertion that it does indeed represent a morality play.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Crucible Critical Analysis In every human, there exists an impulse to harm or help. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place in a community that believes a person and their reputation are more important than living honestly and helping others. Many acts of selfishness, which occur in the town of Salem, bring about immense consequences. The themes of dishonesty and deceit are important aspects in The Crucible because they reveal the drastic character developments of the protagonist and antagonist.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays