What Role Does Guilt Play In The Crucible

What is The Crucible? A place or occasion of severe test or trial, but there was more to that in Salem, Massachusetts wasn’t there? Guilt, revenge, hysteria, whatever it was it had a part in the Crucible. Power and lying has a major part to play in this story. The way guilt plays a role in The Crucible is when Giles Corey accuses his wife of witchery because she was reading books unsupervised. “Martha, my wife. I have waked at night many a time and found her in a corner, readin of a book. Now what do you make of that?” (Miller 480) We can learn that a person should think twice before that person speaks based on Corey’s reaction at the end. He regretted getting his wife hanged so he blamed Putnam. “A fart on Thomas Putnam, that is what I say to that?”(Miller 512) When Abigail goes after the Proctors in revenge, it stirs up a whole new problem. For example: Abigail puts a needle in a poppet that Mary Warren gives Elizabeth and she acts like she gets stabbed by that needle. “Why… it is a needle! Herrick, Herrick, it is a needle.”(Miller 500) What we learn about revenge is that is very cruel and I wouldn’t want someone to have vengeance involving me. …show more content…
Parris starts by misusing his power as a minister and got curious about the dancing girls in the woods. “Abigail, I cannot go before the congregation when I know you have not opened with me. What did you do with her in the forest?”(Miller 462) Danforth could have saved a lot of lives if he didn’t misuse his power. He did not want to be seen as a weak person so he didn’t postpone the hangs and let the accused confess. The use of authority taught us that if you are in power make sure you know the whole story and contradict it more instead of doing the things you automatically think should be