“The man’s ordained, therefore the light of God is in him,” (Miller, p.63). Whenever someone mentions a reverend, a priest, or a pastor they are automatically pictured as holy, good, morally just, kind people, but in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible Reverend Parris is the farthest thing from it. Parris is a greedy, manipulative, liar the entire time he holds power in Salem, and it is not until he is brought to his knees, powerless, that he begins to find goodness within himself. Through Parris, Miller proves that ambition corrupts everything it comes into contact with, even the most kind and steady of people, due to the fact that once people are exposed to power they will do whatever it takes, morally right or wrong, to hold on to it.
Reverend …show more content…
Parris is saved in a most peculiar way; by hitting rock bottom. Miller makes it clear that Parris’ obsession with power was incredibly extreme and that while that obsession existed it would be impossible for Parris to think of anything, or anyone other than himself, but once that obsession is gone there is truly nothing to stop Parris from returning to the good man he could be. As the play draws closer to the end Parris has lost everything and is terrified. He even goes to the court, distraught, and looking for help due to his pure, unadulterated fear. Parris tells the court, “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house -a dagger clattered to the ground. You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night!” (Miller, p.123). Him confessing this speaks volumes about how he has changed. First, as previously stated, he admits to being terrified, which he would never have done while he held power, as he would have been too concerned with destroying his reputation. Second, the dagger in his door signifies that he no longer holds any sort of respect or power within Salem. Most importantly though, is the fact that he recommends that the court hold back on a hanging. When Parris refers to “this sort” he is referring to respectable, good people, which he has always known them to be. However, despite the fact that he always knew those people to be generally good, it is only when he has lost all of his power that he finally finds the goodness within himself to tell the truth. Reverend Parris’ new found goodness does not stop there though, he continues trying to convince John to confess and save his own life. This can be partially attributed to the fact that he simply does not want to contend with the guilt of knowing that he could have stopped a death, but even if that is the case it still speaks volumes about his character. It is
Reverend …show more content…
Parris is saved in a most peculiar way; by hitting rock bottom. Miller makes it clear that Parris’ obsession with power was incredibly extreme and that while that obsession existed it would be impossible for Parris to think of anything, or anyone other than himself, but once that obsession is gone there is truly nothing to stop Parris from returning to the good man he could be. As the play draws closer to the end Parris has lost everything and is terrified. He even goes to the court, distraught, and looking for help due to his pure, unadulterated fear. Parris tells the court, “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house -a dagger clattered to the ground. You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night!” (Miller, p.123). Him confessing this speaks volumes about how he has changed. First, as previously stated, he admits to being terrified, which he would never have done while he held power, as he would have been too concerned with destroying his reputation. Second, the dagger in his door signifies that he no longer holds any sort of respect or power within Salem. Most importantly though, is the fact that he recommends that the court hold back on a hanging. When Parris refers to “this sort” he is referring to respectable, good people, which he has always known them to be. However, despite the fact that he always knew those people to be generally good, it is only when he has lost all of his power that he finally finds the goodness within himself to tell the truth. Reverend Parris’ new found goodness does not stop there though, he continues trying to convince John to confess and save his own life. This can be partially attributed to the fact that he simply does not want to contend with the guilt of knowing that he could have stopped a death, but even if that is the case it still speaks volumes about his character. It is