Ann Putnam's statement in Act One of The Crucible that "...there are wheels within wheels and fires within fires" in Salem village present one of the major themes of the novel--selfishness/self-directed society. Which character do you feel is most self-directed and why? How does his/her self-motivation "spin" the wheels of others? In this blogging, you must read the responses given by your fellow classmates who posted before you. Not only must you add to the conversation, you must reply to their responses. I will start the comments. (The deadline to post a comment to this blog is midnight Saturday, February 5, 2011)
13 comments:
The character that I find very self-driven is Rev. Parris. He knows that Betty and Abby were conjuring spirits and dancing in the woods, yet he brings in a specialist to verify it to save his reputation. He must make a respectable excuse for his lack of parental control. He must blame someone to save his job.
Even though Rev. Parris is a very self-driven character I don't believe he is the most self-driven character. I believe Abby is the most self-driven character because she knows what happened in the forest, yet she blames Tituba. Abby doesn't want everyone to think that she is bad or evil, so she blames someone else. Abby is thinking only of herself when she blames Tituba; also she never thinks of telling the truth even though the truth could help Betty.
Abby is one of the most self-driven characters in my opinion. Abby lies to everyone about what went on in the forest to save herself. She knows what they did was wrong, and she doesn't want to get into any trouble or have her name besmirched in the community either. So she lies to Rev. Parris and the others by blaming it all on Tituba. Now Abby's lying causes Tituba to be self-driven as well. As a result, Tituba lies to everyone to save herself. She incorporates what others are saying to make a believable story for the Reverend and the others. All of their lies and accusations causes others to do the same and save themselves.
Although Abby is the very self driven, I have to agree with Mrs. Palombo. Rev. Parris is extremelhy consumed with himself. He is the only minister to ever demand the deed to a house. He complains about his salary and says he is not used to poverty. He has this grand idea in his head that everyone is out to get him when hardly anyone is. Proctor even mocks his self absorption. Rev. Parris believes that if anyone finds out there is witchcraft in his house then he will be dismissed from his job. He won't stand for that. He believes that he is their way to hear from God.
I agree with Katy on this. Abby is the most motivated because her life, or at least her life as she knows it, is at risk. If it becomes known that she danced in the woods and drank blood of her own volition, she would be an outcast in her society. Even once she is discovered, she immediately places the blame on the slave and Goody Proctor. Motivated by fear for her safety and her infatuation with John Proctor, she has the most at stake in this situation. Although I understand that Parris is desparate to keep his job, and therefore must keep all suspicion off of himself, he does not have his entire way of life riding on the outcome. If Abby's lies are discovered, she will never be able to regain any amount of her status in Salem.
I have to agree with Ms. Palombo and Tiffany. I feel like Rev. Proctor will do anything to protect himself and his job. He likes to be in complete control of everything and believes he desirves the best things there is to offer. He pushes his limits of even being a minister by requiring the deed to the house. He would do anything to save himself, even if it means putting his own daughters life at steak.
I must agree with Jessie, Mrs. Palombo, and Tiffany; although many of the characters are self-absorbed I believe Rev. Parris is the most selfish character in the story. Rev. Parris only cares about his image, job, and home. His daughter Betty is accused of witchcraft and he only wants to clear her name in order to preserve his name in the town of Salem. He intends to go to any measure to save his life even if it means having his daughter accused of witchery and hanged. -Channing Boone
I have to agree with Abi, Katy, and Joseph. I think that Abigail is the most self-directed character in this play. Although she blames Tituba for forcing the girls to dance in the woods and drink blood, she does more self-driven things than just that. For instance, after Proctor’s wife fired Abby from having an affair with Proctor, Abby thinks that it is Mrs. Proctor’s entire fault. She also blames Mrs. Proctor for spreading rumors about her in the town.
I have to agree with Mrs. Palombo, Jessie, Tiffany, and Channing. I think Reverend Parris is the most self-motivated character in the novel because he is only concerned with his reputation. He believes that he is the only hope for this town to have a relationship with God, but he is wrong. If the town finds out that his daughter has fallen under the spell of witchcraft, then everyone will turn against him and he will probably lose his job as reverend. Because Parris is so self absorbed, he has conflicts with many people.
I agree that Revered Parris is the most self-driven character in the play. Although Abigail is very self-motivated, she doesn't have a respected position to uphold. Abigail is simply a very manipulative girl. However, Parris does possess a highly envied position in society. He shows his true self and how self-driven he is when betty falls ill. He discovered them doing something that is morally wrong in their community, but he chooses to say nothing to save himself. He is being dishonest with everyone just to save himself.
Well, today we learned that 14 people have been arrested for witchcraft. These people were named by the girls. We also learned that the entire town now considers Abigail a saint. John Proctor knows the truth; Abby told him. Isn't he being a bit selfish by not going into town and telling the truth? It would, afterall, stop Abby's power...
Or would it? From the town's point of view, Abby is someone who has seen the Devil and turned away. She has also given the names of witches in the town and her testimony is backed by enough people (the other girls and even Tituba) to make it seem credible. It is her word against (again, from the town's point of view) someone who has stopped attending church and even openly said that he opposes Reverand Parris and authority. So far, Abby has more credibility than Procter does, especially since John's only shred of evidence was said with no witnesses. They might even say that, because Abby was fired from the Proctor household, that John has a prejudice against Abby and is falsely accusing her to get her in trouble. I Don't think he is necessarily being selfish. I just think that, if it came down to his word against Abby's, he would lose.
I have to agree with John in the town's eyes Abby has more authority then Proctor. With that I also agree with everyone who believes Abigail is the most self-direct character. Abigail is the most selfish character because even though her cousin could possibly be dying she still feels the need to lie to save herself. Also she is jelous of Elizabeth and this is clearly stated when Betty says she asked Tituba to kill Elizabeth. Abigail would rather Elizabeth die then for her to be able to keep John. This self drive selfishness causes Abigail to continue to lie about what has actually taken place in the woods, and this leads to her accusing Elizabeth and many other villigers of witchcraft.
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