Puritanism is based on belief that only a few select people are getting into heaven. With that said, Puritans try to maintain a Goddly and holy life. But if anyone questions that, they're thought to be unholy. So in the beginning of the Crucible, Parris' daughter, Betty, is dancing naked with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris catches them both doing this. After this scene, Betty passes out, which causes the townspeople to suspect witchcraft. Because of this a group of girls start havoc amongst the town accusing women and men of being witches. They do this because theyre trying to cover up what they were doing in the woods. These rebelious girls are the reason that some women and men of the town are declared witches and get hanged. The reason this all happened is because some girls just wanted to do something that wasn't considered holy, but while they did this they didn't want anyone to know. If the Puritan town found out then the girls would be considered "Unholy" and were going to hell.
I think the point Arthur Miller was trying to make is much deeper than just a time in history made into a play. I believe Arthur is trying to say that it is impossible for a human to be perfect. We are all going to make mistakes, but that is no reason to believe that we are all going to hell, no matter if you have made one mistake or a billion.
There were so many surprising aspects to this book: the drama, the lies, the unfair judging, and all the people affected. The whole town became infected with this disease of fake witchcraft. The witchcraft was really themselves!
That last sentence of your blog got me thinking. You're totally right. The evil that witchcraft is shown to be is really the evil and wrongness of the people of the town. Your second paragraph enlightened to see that, that was the point throughout the whole story. From the beginning when the girls just didn’t want to be seen as imperfect, to the when people were being killed for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI think the girls fained witches was because they were scared of Abigail. I wonder if Abigail did it partly to make fun of the religion by twisting it to do her will, as she openly laughed in church. It was kind of funny how in the beginning of the book Tituba and the girls just repeated what the adults said and the people didn't even notice it.
ReplyDeleteIf we view God as a form of morality that we are capable of, I think it is possible to work towards a type of perfection. Likewise, when Proctor cries "God is Dead", I think he is saying that the worst in us is surviving. We're becoming "Archie Bunker", from that old TV show.
ReplyDeleteI love how you said that the witchcraft came over the town like a disease! That is so true and a very good way to explain it. I agree that the girls were all afraid of Abigail and that was partly the reason they acted bewitched but I think there could have been other reasons for them to do it. Like Abigail they might have had vengeance for someone.
ReplyDelete