I find the most fascinating part of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” to be the narrator's explanation of the witch-hunt on page seven of the novel. This event in history is described as a “long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victim.” The narrator goes on to give an example of an incident within Salem, in which a man falsely uses an innocent woman’s name and claims that he was nearly suffocated by her. This false claim is justified in that “of course… it was her spirit only, but his satisfaction at confessing himself was no lighter than if it had been Martha herself.” These very much so false confessions did not only just become possible within this society, but also “patriotic and holy.”
I find this concept very similar to that of our three most recent readings and also to the Abu Ghraib documentary. Like in all of our previously studied documents, within Salem, the less knowledge an individual had, the more torture they would receive. Likewise, the acceptance of false accusations encourage false confessions, furthering the situation. This blurring of the line between right and wrong and the corrupt uses of power found within this setting are no stranger to the history of civilization. The strangest part is that nearly identical parallels from the Salem witch trials can be drawn to incidents within societies today.
No comments:
Post a Comment