Class: American Literature Assignment: Contradictable essay

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The Ridiculous Fear of Mainstream Philosophies





















Mil Alba
B7, Gillette
American Literature
October 17th, 2003








Based on the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller


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If you had the power to make a difference in your society, would you do it to help other people, or would you do it for your own profit and promotion of your authority? In most cases, the idea of having that great of power is too overwhelming, and the pressures that come with it can taint the mind of anyone capable of thinking. In the case of The Crucible, Parris, Hale and Danforth undergo the same situation, enduring it in their own circumstances. Fear of community pressures forces them to administer the law without regard for human welfare.


First of all, Parris chooses not to be greedy and selfish, instead his high position forces him to do what he knows is wrong by administering the law and making himself believe something that he knows isn’t true. Abigail was trying to explain the truth to what she and the other girls were doing in the forest, thus truly admitting to Parris that they were not witches. Parris just brushes Abigail’s confession off like dust on his shirt, and responds in a way as if Abigail was speaking another language that he doesn’t understand, “Abigail, I cannot go before the congregation when I know you have not opened with me. What did you do in the forest?” (10). He knows that what she is saying is true, but his anxiety of losing his position as a minister is preventing him from comprehending the truth. Parris’ fear of losing his position is so strong that his comprehension of a dog barking and Abigail giving her declaration of guilt becomes equivalent. Parris continues to talk to her as if she were a little child or someone that was mentally disabled. Parris contradicts his accusations towards Abigail committing witchery when he assures Goody Putnam that there was absolutely no witchcraft occurring in his household (14). He does this merely just to prevent them further suspicion leading towards recalling Parris as their minister. Parris is scared of losing his high position in the town, and without knowing it, he symbolically spins himself a web of lies in prevention of other people accusing him for something he is not.


Differing from Parris’ motives, Hale on the other hand actually believes in the power and honesty of the court making it hard for him to oversee the lies of Abigail and the girls. He eventually conquers over their dishonesty, yet he could have accomplished more if he had realized it earlier. Hale shows his belief and admiration for the court when he addresses it as the “godly wisdom of the court” (67-68). He knows that the accusations towards Rebecca and Elizabeth are ridiculous, yet does little to prevent them from seeing the court. He truly believes that the court will do the right thing and view them as what they truly are--innocent. Another example of Hale’s tremendous faith in the court is when he expresses his opinions of Rebecca in a good way yet states that “the court will send her home, I know it” (71). He has the comprehension of the absurdity of the situation when Rebecca was arrested of witchcraft, yet assures the others that the court is justified. He prevents himself from stopping Cheever for doing his job because he is scared of going against his faith and confidence towards the court. Another example of the court’s contradictory accusation is when Abigail deceives the others and makes them believe that Mary sent her spirit out to stab her. When Mary notified Hale about the girls’ mischievous propaganda, Hale reasons with the others as if Abigail must be right because she confesses it to the court (76). He’s not necessarily scared of community pressures; he’s more scared of denying the court, thus denying his beliefs. It’s as if the court covered Hale’s eyes and morale with heavy curtains, preventing him from perceiving the truth.


Moving towards a different layer of the power Salem’s community pressures stands Danforth. Danforth’s power and high position in Massachusetts makes it hard for him to be un-biased towards the two sides of the court, even if he realizes that the side that he is prosecuting is innocent. Danforth talks about how many people he has executed and condemned to be hung (87). Doing this, he constrains other people to recognize his power and allows them to know that he isn’t someone to mess with. He does this in hopes of preventing other people from going against his powerful court. He also does this in hopes of intimidating them because he is exasperated with all of the court cases that resemble the Salem witch trials. He refuses to accept Mary’s deposition during the hearing, and tempts Proctor to drop his charges against Abigail to prevent future contradictions on the court (88). He is scared of expanding the time-scale of the court with an accusation such as Proctor and Mary’s, because he believes that this case is just like the others. He has already gone through cases such as these, causing him to be biased against the defendants. Another example of Danforth’s some-what conceit towards his own power, is when Danforth reasons to Hale about his God-given power as he states, “…God have not empowered me like Joshua to stop this sun from rising, so I cannot withhold from the perfection of their punishment” (130). He talks as if he does not have the power to withdraw the execution of these innocent people even if he knows deep inside that they are not guilty of witchcraft. He realizes the chaos that the court had brought to Salem, yet is too headstrong and determined of the truthfulness of the court. He feels that his honorable judgment is fair and just, and doesn’t feel it necessary to suddenly take it all back and send the list of people forthcoming the death sentence back home.


These three contradistinctive men divaricates from each other in multiple angles, yet they have one thing in common. They all live in a time of the suppression of free thought, free will, and free judgment when their actions are weighted on the society as a whole instead of amongst themselves as individuals, causing immense fear in doing what they think is right. We don’t blame computers for making errors from being given the wrong data, so why should we blame these three men for committing inhumane crimes that society itself has taught them? We do this in fear for blaming society, A.K.A. the “majority”, in fears of going against mainstream philosophies. So in other words, all of us (or most of us) suffer along side Paris, Hale and Danforth in their struggle against the fear of community pressures whether we realize it, like it, or not.



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