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Crucible Greed

            Greed can be a very destructive part of everyone's life. It can control our every action at times. Some people let their greed get out of control, which was exactlywhat happened in Salem during the witch trials. Three people's greed brought up this whole tragedy of the trials, convictions and hangings. These three people are Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams. Thomas Putnam was a "well-to-do, hard-handed, landowner." He valued his land probably more than his marriage, his other possessions or his anything else that he had. He used his land as a power source to get anything that he wanted. He also used this power to get his neighbors accused and/or convicted of being witches. Once these people were convicted, he would be able to purchase the deceased's land, just giving him more land and power. This man alone got others to start believing that some people among them were witches. He also used his daughter as a witness to some of his neighbors crimes. Thomas Putnam used the witch trials as an excuse to get even with his neighbors and get their land. He allowed his greed to rule his mind and other decisions during this tragic time in the history of Salem. Another person who was affected by greed during this time was Reverend Parris. He felt that he was underpaid for his services. At one time he said to Giles Corey, "I regard that six pound as part of my salary.You will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year!" Also, Parris preached for twenty weeks about having golden candlesticks on the altar until he got them. As the story progressed, he became greedy for his life and the life of his friends. When Proctor was about to be hanged, he begged and pleaded for Proctor's life so that Parris would not be blamed for killing one of Salem's "upper class". I feel that Parris was not a good man to be the minister in such a town because he helped the whole witch hunt get going.


Essays Related to Crucible Greed

1. Comparison between The Crucible and The Japanese Internment

... incidents upbringings but there were more reasons. Along with fear there was greed. People in both situations used the time as a tool to get ahead of others in the world. In the Play, The Crucible, we see greed take shape in many different forms. One character, Abigail Williams, accuses ... was determined to fall between $810 million and $2 billion dollars."" (Hal Sterns 1) But through the years things had changed slightly. The Crucible and the Japanese Internment do have their differences. In both situations courts were involved with the proceedings, the difference is the way that they ...

  • Word Count: 1683
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2. The Role Of Greed In The Crucible

... Arthur Miller wrote a novel called The Crucible. This book is set in 1962 and it tells the story of the infamous witch trials that took place in Salem,Massachusetts. Throughout this whole story we find that greed effected much of what happened in Salem, in fact greed caused the whole problem. From Abigail Williams ... pewter ones they had. For twenty weeks he preached nothing but golden candlesticks until he got them(Miller 65). Another example of Rev Parris's greed was when Abigail and Mary Warren stole Parris's money from his strongbox, he seemed more worried about losing all of his mon...

  • Word Count: 1303
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3. Themes of The Crucible

... in court in order to accuse everyone that they didn't get along with of practicing witchcraft. Two other major themes which go hand in hand were greed and revenge. Some characters found profit in the witch madness and manipulated events for their own ends. One man, Thomas Putnam, acquired quite a ... bit of land by having his daughter Ruth "cry out" his neighbors. This shows that greed overpowers his mind and instead of friendships he would rather maintain his status as the richest man in the town. Revenge was shown when Abigail Williams ... , "Why, Abigail Williams charge her(CRU 859)....

  • Word Count: 753
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Power as Poison in The Crucible

... of abusing one's authorities and the corruption of power come to life. For instance, abusing one's power and authority for their own personal greed makes for an unstable and dishonest community. Also, authoritative figures that abuse their power to take revenge on long-term enemies can lead to ... who abuse their power simply to inflict revenge on others can lead to the persecution of innocent people. An example of this in The Crucible is when Abigail Williams grows a strong attachment and affection towards John Proctor and wants him to herself, but Proctor's wife Elizabeth stands in ... ...

  • Word Count: 987
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5. Mass Hysteria - The Crucible

The amount of damage that one individual with selfish and narcissistic motives can do to a society is often underestimated. It only takes the greed and self-interest of one person to begin an irreversible process of decay. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, this is the dilemma that faces Salem. Early one morning, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, Betty Parris, is found ... Putnam, Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams display this vindictiveness and narcissistic behavior through Putnam's land-lust, Parris' fixation with his reputation, and Abigail's obsession over John Proctor. Reverend Sa...

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6. The Crucible

... , revenge, and jealousy are personal motives used in the 21st Century as well as in the 1600s. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, illustrates fear, greed, ambition, revenge, and jealousy, and how each of them led to the loss of many innocent lives in Salem, MA, in 1692. Abigail Williams, Ann and Thomas Putnam, and Reverend ... , and she had lost seven of her eight. This resulted in Rebecca being sent to jail and hanged. Thomas Putnam's personal motive was greed. Thomas Putnam, a landowner himself, charged other landowners and farmers with witchcraft out of greed. He wanted their lan...

  • Word Count: 478
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7. Crucible - puritan idealism

... " for going against Puritan idealism, the citizens playing the role of accusers are themselves breaking these basic beliefs and ideals that epitomize their society. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, written in response to the 1950's anti-communist actions, is a play that recollects these famous trials. The play, set during the ... Abigail is many things that Elizabeth is not. Abigail is young, beautiful, and unattached. This envy between these two women goes against Puritan ideals. Greed is another thing that the people of Salem have that goes against Puritan ideals. The Putnams, a wealthy ...

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8. Crucible

... the characters themselves go through. They were put to the test and broken down to see what their original feelings and thoughts were. Miller easily shows the crucible experience in 3 main characters. He shows this by showing each characters" original motivation, how their motivations ended up changing, and also by showing what ... type of people they turned out to be in the end after the crucible experience was all said and done. The three characters that I am going to examine are Abigail, Hale, and John Proctor. But as it is the ... has come out and told the public of it. "It is a who...

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9. The Crucible as a timeless play

... all of history, there has always been discord between the forces of "good" and "evil"; it is the most basic of conflicts. In The Crucible, Miller has submerged the characters in an atmosphere of "evil", such that their true personalities are revealed to the audience, and thus are subconsciously divided ... Abigail and the Putnams); jealousy (Abigail and the Putnams); fear and hysteria (the girls in the court); ambition and power (Abigail and Danforth); and greed and lust (the Putnams and Abigail). Indeed, it seems nearly the entire book is overrun with evil characters and evil intention...

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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

10. The crucible

... Crucible is based on a true story therefore he based his story on real life events in Salem from the 17th century. Miller had to hide the true meaning of the play because he would have been accused of being a communist himself and would have probably been deported. The Crucible is about Witchcraft and peoples greed ... for more land. The Crucible is set in a small village called Salem in the State of Massachusetts in 1692. The story is about ... as John is seen to be a liar. Abigail's credibility is re-enforced because Danforth is leaning towards her side of the argument. In the Crucibl...

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