The Characterization of Parris
Parris is a very selfish person who can do anything for his reputation. He doesn’t change much throughout the play, but he still illustrates a particular theme. Miller portrays Parris as insecure, suspicious, and selfish in order to illustrate that people can lie and frame others in order to protect their own reputation.
Parris is a very insecure character who doubts himself on many occasions, such as when Susana tells him that the doctor said there is witchcraft in his house. Parris replies to this by saying, “There be no unnatural cause here. Tell him I have sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly, and Mr. Hale will surely confirm that (1130).” This means that even though Parris knows that Betty clearly is not sick because of witchcraft, he still wants Reverend Hale to confirm this, which proves how insecure he is. Parris’ insecurity is seen again when Mrs. Putnam tells him that Tituba can talk to the dead and he says, “What may Tituba-? (1134).” Parris throughout the beginning of the play says that there is no witchcraft associated in his house, but now he doubts himself just because Mrs. Putnam says that Tituba is a witch. He later even whips Tituba and blames her for making Betty sick, because he can’t rely on his own senses. As a result of Parris’ insecurity, he often struggles with trusting himselfs and has to look towards others for support. …show more content…
Through Parris’ characterization, he makes the argument that there are many similar people in the world, who are willing to go to extremes in order to save their reputation. He uses Parris in order to allude to the people during the Red Scare who often falsely accused others of being communists. These selfish people didn’t know if the victims were really communism's, but they were willing to frame others in order to protect their own reputation, just like Parris during the Salem Witch
Parris is a very selfish person who can do anything for his reputation. He doesn’t change much throughout the play, but he still illustrates a particular theme. Miller portrays Parris as insecure, suspicious, and selfish in order to illustrate that people can lie and frame others in order to protect their own reputation.
Parris is a very insecure character who doubts himself on many occasions, such as when Susana tells him that the doctor said there is witchcraft in his house. Parris replies to this by saying, “There be no unnatural cause here. Tell him I have sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly, and Mr. Hale will surely confirm that (1130).” This means that even though Parris knows that Betty clearly is not sick because of witchcraft, he still wants Reverend Hale to confirm this, which proves how insecure he is. Parris’ insecurity is seen again when Mrs. Putnam tells him that Tituba can talk to the dead and he says, “What may Tituba-? (1134).” Parris throughout the beginning of the play says that there is no witchcraft associated in his house, but now he doubts himself just because Mrs. Putnam says that Tituba is a witch. He later even whips Tituba and blames her for making Betty sick, because he can’t rely on his own senses. As a result of Parris’ insecurity, he often struggles with trusting himselfs and has to look towards others for support. …show more content…
Through Parris’ characterization, he makes the argument that there are many similar people in the world, who are willing to go to extremes in order to save their reputation. He uses Parris in order to allude to the people during the Red Scare who often falsely accused others of being communists. These selfish people didn’t know if the victims were really communism's, but they were willing to frame others in order to protect their own reputation, just like Parris during the Salem Witch