Personal ease of the puritans

The Crucible

Within the Puritan society of the seventeenth hundred years, the fear from the Devil supported the actions of individuals, this idea can be reflected in two significant works of literature, 12 months of Magic by Geraldine Brooks as well as the Crucible by Arthur Burns. This notion of devilish influence is exemplified by the activities of Josiah Bont (for Brooks) and Abigail Williams (for Miller). On the contrary, the virtuous character of Reverend Hale in The Crucible contradicts this prevalent trait of private expediency.

Josiah Bont, Anna Frith’s father, discovered that instead of assisting people who were ill with jobs such as farming, ensuring their particular deaths might be a much easier method to take their belongings and get money. A new girl, Cheerful Wickford, was left only and hungry upon the death of her entire family. Ould – found the young woman and called for Josiahs assist in retrieving business lead from Merry’s familys my own to pay for foodstuff. Unsurprisingly, Josiah refused to help anyone in need. Josiah even visited the degree of burying Christopher Unwin alive to be able to steal Christopher’s property. Christopher survived, a turn of incidents which caused Josiah to obtain the ultimate consequence for his wrongdoings: as you village authority states, “And so each of our code offers penalty enough to deter greedy hands. Your hands had been uncommonly greedy” (Brooks 203). The people of Eyam noticed that the only fitting punishment was to stab knives through Josiah’s hands so that he could by no means again use them for theft or selfishness. The loss of Josiah’s hands, most likely, allowed him to realize that every one of the material items in the world were not worth the cost of his life.

Abigail Williams shows throughout the entirety of The Crucible that her morals had been deeply covered up by her personal expediency. When the whispers of witchcraft began in Salem, your woman saw this case as a perfect time for her love with John Proctor to blossom again. Abigail’s accusations began as a immediate result of fear. She terrifying the consequence she would get for having a cause to destroy Elizabeth Proctor, John’s partner, along with trying to cast a cause on Ruben in order to make him love her. As a result, many innocent everyone was falsely falsely accused of bewitching her and her close friends to perform not Puritan-like and possibly even non-Christian activities. The girl even traveled to the extent of accusing her uncle’s slave, Tituba, of witchcraft to avoid choosing any responsibility for her wrongdoings: HALE. Exactly what you hiding? Have you offered yourself to Lucifer? ABIGAIL. I never distributed myself! I’m a good girl! I’m an appropriate girl! The lady made me do it! She made Betty do it! (Miller 43). Abigail acted childishly by completely blaming Tituba because she knew that Tituba, as a slave, could not imply her of lying. Seeing that Abigail was seen as the superior, Tituba was forced to account for the unholy activities which occurred in the forest. When John came to Salem to assist inside the witch trials, Abigail visited the level of drawing him besides and filing her appreciate and should be with him. Seeing the temptress your woman was, Steve denied any kind of possibility of a relationship with Abigail. This rejection brought on Abigail to be bitter to him and resulted in Elizabeth’s arrest pertaining to witchcraft. Actually at the terrible end of the play, Abigail feels not any remorse on her actions.

During the year 1692, no one was safe from the accusations of witchcraft, not even a Puritan minister. Reverend Hale was obviously a well respected member of the Salem community and a very holy gentleman, so ay that he never had to fear satan. His just fear had been shunned by people of Salem, thus he held quiet about his some doubts that the witchcraft accusations had been simply is. However , this individual realized at the conclusion of the perform that Abigail and her tribe of girls had indeed fabricated each of the accusations. This individual knew that it was his work as a gentleman of Goodness to stop the delusions. As a result, Reverend Blooming swallowed his pride and attempted to encourage Judge Hawthorne that every “witch” was faithful: HALE. Goody Proctor, I possess gone this three month like the Lord in the wilderness. I have sought a Christian approach, for punition doubled on a minister who counsels guys to rest. HAWTHORNE. This can be a lie, you cannot speak of is placed. HALE. It is just a lie! They can be innocent! (Miller 132). By simply telling Judge Hawthorne about the girls’ acts, Good assumed the fact that people of Salem might respect him for keeping them from your real issue: the girls. Sadly, he was not really taken seriously, and this response caused all of his decisions to be viewed as incorrect.

The results of such characters’ expediencies all finished poorly. Josiah Bont was left to bleed away by his own family because he was taken over by avarice. Abigail Williams had to run away Salem and may not end program her evident love. In spite of his attempts to put others before him self, Reverend Hale could not continue the work of God as a result of his decision to maintain the great reputation of call him by his name. Even when a personality, such as Reverend Hale, attempted to value other folks rather than himself, he nonetheless suffered the wrath in the Puritans. His reversal arrived too late. These kinds of characters show that in the event that people do not care about just how their activities affect other folks and only value themselves, the punishments for these actions happen to be ensured.

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