The Crucible, Acts One and Two, focus on the placement of
power and the fear of soiling one’s own name. The theocracy of Salem merged the
law with God, therefor making it impossible to argue with the law (giving great
control over a town that is so focused on religion).
“Evidently the time came in New England when the repressions
of order were heavier than seemed warranted by the dangers against which the
order was organized. The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic
which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater
individual freedom” (6). As we have discussed in class, power is put on display
when it has been threatened. The witch-hunt in “The Crucible” is a perfect
example of society threatening that power, in this case, their theocracy. By
the public hanging of those who were assumed to be involved with witchcraft,
power was reinstated by showing society what would happen if an individual were
to act against the law.
Forms of interrogation, as discussed in class, were also
seen throughout “The Crucible.” The suspects of witchcraft were forced to
either admit that they had seen the devil or be hanged for not telling the
truth. The interrogators were focused on hearing responses they wanted to hear,
therefor making it impossible for the individual to give honest answers: “Any why
not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to
anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that” (65)? This is
another weapon of power; misconstruing the truth to get the answers needed in
order to justify their acts.
I agree that the public hangings were used as a testament to the town government’s “power”. The more people that became imprisoned, the more powerful the regime seemed. Like in the other stories of torture we’ve read, the regime, or Salem in this case, targets a nonconformist minority group in order to assert their superiority through imprisonments and public executions. Once people started getting arrested, it seemed to rapidly progress as more and more people implicated each other. It might have even seemed ridiculous the number of people being imprisoned, but the court refused to consider that witchcraft was not involved. It was hard to disprove witchcraft since it was also hard to prove it existed in the first place. I think the court used this idea of “spectral evidence” to their advantage in a self-serving bias. Despite John Proctor’s reasoning “is the accuser always holy now?”, the court found a way to reason that witchcraft was involved. Because people weren’t able to prove their innocence, they were forced to give in to the court and give a false confession, furthering the court’s power over the people of Salem.
ReplyDeleteErin- I like how you focused on the Crucible as a statement on power. I think it is interesting how you isolated this moment as a reaction to a growing movement towards greater individual freedom. In this story, when Putnam and Parris, significant figures in town, sense disturbance through what they call witchcraft, they seek to return the social balance of the town to the status quo. Once others in charge realize the immorality of the entire situation, many abandon their earlier obstinate stance on witchcraft, but others, such as Putnam, stand their ground as a statement on their power.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis Erin. I really enjoyed your use of quotes throughout your explanation. The intertwining of the town's religion with the town's judicial system was definitely worthy of analysis. This warped mentality that is imbedded in their minds, paves the path to destruction for a great amount of their townspeople. The fact that they are so unable to separate the concepts, leads to this aura of self-interest and everyone only looking out for themselves. This is particularly true of the priest, who should have the holiest intentions yet is only ever truly concerned about keeping his reputation clean and keeping his current position of power. This was the flaw of this town.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the process of power, this is definitely prominent in the play. The public hangings were brutal signs and symbols of blind showings of authority. They wanted to make sure everyone in the near vicinity knew who was in charge and what would happen if these law breakings kept happening. They were far from subtle. It was a far from perfect method but it was what they had resorted to.