Good And Evil In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

The incompatible and opposing qualities of good and evil in the world have conceivably been caught in an endless battle with one another for an unmeasurable amount of time. Some say the two forces will eternally be at war as there is no apparent solution to deteriorating such prominent factors to the world’s foundation, however, how can the existence of extreme evil truly be such an issue when there is arguably just as much good to counterbalance it? Albert Einstein was once recorded to have stated that “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” In the allegorical tragedy entitled The Crucible, Arthur Miller clearly articulates that ultimate evil in the world is an inevitable …show more content…
It is not uncommon for people to have a constant craving for perfection in life and the slightest possibility of encountering a flaw along the path of achieving it will typically result in small flashes of angst or paranoia. The town of Salem in The Crucible gave no margin of tolerance whatsoever for any kind of imperfection that was perceived as unholy, the main concern of the era being the accusation of witchcraft. When the town began to spiral out of control at the mere thought of just one person possibly being possessed, one by one, more people started to feel the need to mindlessly charge others of partnering with the Devil out of pure desperation. Abigail Williams acts as the source of ignition to the central conflict, and when faced with the possibility of getting caught for lying, claims, “…I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl! She made me do it!” (1.43). At first, Abigail seems unquestionably reliable given the controversial situation of younger girl Betty Parris faking an illness, but as more pieces of the lie are added, apparent faults in Abigail’s story become evident. Someone who acts as one of the only “good” and opposing forces against Abigail is Reverend Hale, a man who saw almost all of the utter truth from the start. Among all of the turmoil, he remains true to himself stating, “I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (3.99). Although it was her initial plan to condemn a specific number of people, Abigail’s plot gradually unfolded into a much larger chaotic scandal that would soon be the cause of countless deaths and murders, all because of the burning desire to rid the village of the impure, when in reality the scornful accusers were the real origin of