Aurther Millers- the Crucible- Issues of Power - 815 Words

The issues of power, that Arthur Miller s The Crucible, portrays are concerned with, who has the power, the shifts of power that take place and how power can consume people and try to abuse it, for either vengeance, jealously, material gain or sexual desire. Who has the Power Salem is an isolated village in Massachusetts where power is one of the main driving forces that contribute to the dynamics of the community and how people interact with each other. Authority and power is dominant in two main areas- The Church and the Males. The society of Salem is a very Patriarchal Society where the men have power over the women. Husbands control their wives and children, males work and earn money, males control the high court†¦show more content†¦They claim to have seen witchcraft and accuse many people of using it. And because the village is filled with devoted Christians, whose whole world revolves around God, what would expect their reactions to be, to these accusations? Hysteria of course, and the use of extreme measures to purge the village of this evil. They become blinded by this hysteria and we see through the course of the play that the power slowly shifts away from commonsense and reason, to the supernatural and supers titions of a group of 10-18 year old girls. Why all of the madness and absurdity we ask because it allows anyone who ‘believes in witchcraft to condemn a neighbour they have a grudge against or dislike. This causes many of the males to loose their power. Abuse of Power The high court and the girls become consumed in their newfound power. They have reversed the order of the village and they are now above the men, women, adults and parents and they have total control of the church. So it is quite evident why they got carried away. The girls were able to blemish a person s reputation, take land, send someone to jail and sentence people the death.( It s a bit morbid, but that s the effect it had). The power they gained was used and abused. Abigail uses her power by seeking vengeance on Elizabeth Proctor, she hope to have her killed and out of the way, because of her sexual desire for John Proctor, when he refuses her advances she