Theme Of Hypocrisy In The Crucible

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With rocks being stacked on his chest, the innocent man spoke two words, “More weight!”, as the scornful men did nothing but watch. John Proctor and Abigail Williams have an affair which introduces the witch trials. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, human nature leads to greed, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. In the meager town of Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, the guilty, heartless citizens turn against each other for their well-being.The witch hunts begin to shape the way people treat each other because of the greed within the bitter hearts of the citizens. Greed is a crucial cause of the witch trials, and Goody Putnam’s jealousy of Rebecca Nurse’s 11 children and 23 grandchildren burns wildly. Additionally, selfishness ties into greed and is …show more content…
An example of this analogy is Abigail and the girls in court. Their first lie only affects a few people; however, the more lies they tell, the more impact they have on everyone. The lies get so serious, some lose their lives. Giles Corey, an aged man who is concerned with his wife, is under suspicion as to being a witch. Giles was Pressed to death because of another person’s dishonesty. “ I - I have no love for Mr. Parris. It is no secret. But God I surely love.” - Proctor (Miller 117). Proctor is saying he hates Parris, but loves God. This is an example of dishonesty because a person cannot hate their enemy when the Bible specifically instructs Christians to love their enemies. Also, Hale talks about how his witch hunting is “sanctimonious”. This wrong because he is not working for the Lord, but for self righteousness. Dishonesty can lead to hypocrisy because once one lies, most continue lying and results in …show more content…
For example, the people of the court misuse the phrase “God’s work”, when they are trying to take God’s place by judging and accusing people, yet the Bible teaches that judging someone is wrong. They also claim that they are trying to eliminate foes of God; however, it appears they are foes of God.Proctor is accusing people of their sins when he has not confessed his sins. He gets angry with his wife ,Elizabeth, because he is mad at himself and decides to take his anger out on her. The Judge is also hypocritic about the citizen’s actions. His accusations of witchery are obviously baseless and no one does anything about it. Most of the people in Salem take their own problems out on others instead of going to Christ and asking him for guidance. “Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore.” - Proctor (Miller 36). Their religion is corrupt and the pastor says he teaches God’s word, but in reality believes in his own principles, and does not teach God’s

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