Authority And Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

The great saying, “With great power comes great responsibility”, is only a myth in the context of The Crucible, as the figures with authority are acting upon their selfish desires and not for the people who they should support. The figures with authority of the play is only as corrupted and evil as the devil they fear, as they selfishly kill the innocent lives to seek vengeance and/or to obtain more power. In Arthur Miller’s Crucible, vengeance is only fulfilled by misusing ones authority and power can only be obtained by executing civilians for charges that they have not commit. Authority is abused to maintain power and/or to obtain more power in the town of Salem, and executing civilians for charges they have not committed is inequitable for the purpose of to look fearful amongst others. Authority is also abused when lying to avoid severe punishments, essentially creating a gossip into a truthful and serious matter. Authority is significantly misused when vengeance is the cause of ones purpose to accuse one another, and they fulfill this when others believe what they say due to their authority within the town. Figures with authority misuse their power to fulfill their selfish desire, or to obtain more power, this results in the suffering of the individuals within …show more content…
In the play The Crucible, this factor is root cause to the entire scenario as Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, lies about the others practicing witchcraft to avoid her being punished for dancing in the woods naked which in Puritan times is forbidden. The lie drags others into the matter eventually killing many innocent lives for one small lie. During Act II in Reverend Parris’s home, Abigail lies that she saw people with the devil, she manipulates the adults and with her authority in town, makes them believe that witchcraft is true and it has happened in their town,