Many are familiar with the concept of an “Achilles’ heel”, the notion that everyone has their own specific weakness that, once exploited, will destroy his or her life. People go to great lengths to conceal their secrets, and keeping their Achilles’ heel protected motivates many of their actions. This is seen in The Crucible, as many of the characters’ actions are motivated by self-interest. In order to protect their own reputations, Abigail and her followers accuse others of witchcraft. They soon become addicted to the taste of their newfound power and authority, and the accusations quickly spiral out of control. It is not until people of high importance and stature are accused that the people of Salem come their senses and see these
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Just like Abigail and her friends, the judges let their power and authority distort their view and corrupt their decisions. When extracting a confession out of Tituba, Reverend Hale reassures her, “The Devil can never overcome a minister” (Miller 1261). Though this statement is meant to comfort Tituba in a time of extreme terror, in actuality, it only shows the extent of the judges’ pride and arrogance. Most of the judges are ministers, and because it is believed that ministers can not be affected by the Devil, Hale and the other judges think very highly of themselves. They view themselves as superior to everyone else, which in turn, makes it all the more easier to condemn the innocent. Blinded by their power and status, the judges exercise their authority and sentence sinless people to hang. In order to keep their authority, the judges refuse to admit their wrongdoing once they begin to realize that it’s all a hoax. Upon being requested to offer pardons or postponements to the convicted, Reverend Danforth replies, “I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement . . . Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part” (Miller 1324). If the judges were to offer pardons or postponements, it would prove that they were wrong. Knowing that confessing to their mistakes would result in the court and the church being overthrown, the judges decide to save their own skins and allow innocent people to die to make …show more content…
By signing the confession, he would have blackened his own name as well as the names of those already convicted, and he would have had to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. Confessing to witchcraft would also destroy his reputation, and it would ruin the lives of not only him, but his children and their descendants for years to come; to him, this fate is worse than death. Because he does not want to sacrifice the integrity and honor of his name, John Proctor is hanged. In The Crucible, it is shown that pride is the ultimate downfall; when given the choice between death (whether it be their own or someone else’s) and keeping their pride, Abigail Williams, the judges, and John Proctor all choose to keep their pride, which results in the demise of themselves and many others. Pride is a peculiar thing. People yearn for it, fight to uphold it and yet, it blinds people; it makes them do unthinkable things. It is a deadly weakness of humanity, an achilles’ heel that, when exposed, is the ultimate
Just like Abigail and her friends, the judges let their power and authority distort their view and corrupt their decisions. When extracting a confession out of Tituba, Reverend Hale reassures her, “The Devil can never overcome a minister” (Miller 1261). Though this statement is meant to comfort Tituba in a time of extreme terror, in actuality, it only shows the extent of the judges’ pride and arrogance. Most of the judges are ministers, and because it is believed that ministers can not be affected by the Devil, Hale and the other judges think very highly of themselves. They view themselves as superior to everyone else, which in turn, makes it all the more easier to condemn the innocent. Blinded by their power and status, the judges exercise their authority and sentence sinless people to hang. In order to keep their authority, the judges refuse to admit their wrongdoing once they begin to realize that it’s all a hoax. Upon being requested to offer pardons or postponements to the convicted, Reverend Danforth replies, “I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement . . . Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part” (Miller 1324). If the judges were to offer pardons or postponements, it would prove that they were wrong. Knowing that confessing to their mistakes would result in the court and the church being overthrown, the judges decide to save their own skins and allow innocent people to die to make …show more content…
By signing the confession, he would have blackened his own name as well as the names of those already convicted, and he would have had to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. Confessing to witchcraft would also destroy his reputation, and it would ruin the lives of not only him, but his children and their descendants for years to come; to him, this fate is worse than death. Because he does not want to sacrifice the integrity and honor of his name, John Proctor is hanged. In The Crucible, it is shown that pride is the ultimate downfall; when given the choice between death (whether it be their own or someone else’s) and keeping their pride, Abigail Williams, the judges, and John Proctor all choose to keep their pride, which results in the demise of themselves and many others. Pride is a peculiar thing. People yearn for it, fight to uphold it and yet, it blinds people; it makes them do unthinkable things. It is a deadly weakness of humanity, an achilles’ heel that, when exposed, is the ultimate