In Act III, Governor Danforth says to the people in the court "We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment." Are the people of Salem truly looking for the truth? Do people in general look for the truth or do they just latch on to what they think is the truth and/or what they want to be the truth? What is Miller saying about people, justice, and progress? (This post closes on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at midnight.)
4 comments:
I think that the truth can hurt, and the people of Salem were not willing to accept that pain. I do not think that it is fair to stereotype all Salem people as hypocritical pigs that lied for greed, jealousy, and vengeance. However, many that are depicted in The Crucible are just that. They cannot seek the truth when they breed deception themselves. Some, such as John Proctor, Giles Corey, Reverend Hale, etc. are determined to have justice by seeing through the lies.
For the question referring to all people in general, my answer is simply, “Yes.” I cannot characterize all people with a single answer because everyone is so unique. However, I am willing to admit that fewer people are willing to seek the vindicated truth than follow the bandwagon or believe what is most favorable to them. This is also evident in the memoir Night because the Jews of Sighet remain inactive after repeated warnings of the approaching Germans. They did not want to believe the truth because they did not like the reality. The consequence was dire.
I think Miller is characterizing people as self-centered, greedy, and hypocritical. Many of the characters, at one point or another, were more concerned about their public image or individual welfare than about the crisis at hand. In addition, some actually fueled the crisis for self-benefit. Hypocrisy is emphasized by numerous examples where people were not as they seemed. Some examples include Reverend Parris (greedy, paranoid reverend), John Proctor (publicly respected but a lecher in secret), and Abigail (a liar in reality but the voice of truth in the court).
Miller is also saying that human justice cannot be served without some degree of revenge. Some revenge is born in accusation while some rests in the verdict. He characterizes human justice as tainted when fear of accusation overrules the necessity for the truth (as in the McCarthy trials). He also states multiple times that God will make the final judgment.
Miller indirectly describes the Salem society as anti-progressive. By establishing a theocracy, the Puritans doomed their society. Religion and law cannot combine without occasional turbulence, error, bias, and violence. All of which create a team of great opposition to progress.
Sorry for the long response, but I could not stop. It just kept flowing, and my fingers kept typing.
BS-4
I do not think that the people of Salem are really looking for the truth because if they were they would investigate their sources. They would have surely discovered that Abigail has somewhat of a track record for lying. In my opinion, people today are just as bad as they were in the sixteen hundreds. We are always looking for someone else to blame for our problems. The best examples I can think of are the Holocaust and the McCarthy trials (as previously mentioned by 007.) It seems like it is just human nature to accept whatever is the easiest to stomach as truth. I believe that Miller is saying just that, people only believe what is easiest to hear; he also illustrates that humans are very hypocritical.
BK-4
The people of Salem are not looking for the truth; they are looking for a quick end to their problems. When the end seems to work, the people run with it. Accusing women (and men) in the town of witchcraft and Devil-dealings lets the people blame their problems on the others, and they dare not search for the whole truth for fear of having their scapegoats disappear. People in general do not look for the real truth if what is already there satisfies them. It is human nature for people to make assumptions and jump to conclusions without waiting for proof, and later for them to defend their opinions against whatever contradictory proof may turn up. People don’t like to admit they are wrong.
In The Crucible, Miller points out this characteristic and makes it the downfall of our protagonists in order to emphasize the importance of this problem. He is saying that people are quick to judge, and that justice, when it is tainted with prejudice, can never be fair. For progress to occur, people must throw away their assumptions and search for the truth. It is the only way to expose and bring a resolution to their problems.
JJ-3
The people of Salem are not looking for the truth. Most of them are accusing people, or going along with the accusing to reap the benefits after the accused are dead. Many latch onto others truths to avoid being accused themselves. Also, they do not want to rebel against what most people believe in.
Miller is saying that people are often hypocritical and say they want justice, when they are really doing the unjust. Over hundreds of years, humans still are hypocritical, even today, and therefore, we haven't made much progress.
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