Coach Craig

Eng. 11 

Date: march, 16, 2017

“By the power vested in me ”

“Power is like a revolving door of chances if you stand and wait it will come back to or it can destroy you.”(Jesus Christ) In the late 1600’s in Salem Massachusetts the salem witch trials took place. Also in the late 1940’s and in the early 1950’s the red scare was in the process of progressing . As a result of both disrupting events a man named Arthur Miller was inspired to write a book called The Crucible. In The Crucible the power that is held adjusts between Abigail,John and Mary.  

 In The Crucible it shows that   having  power placed in the wrong hands can put people in a dangerous situation Such as the antagonist of the stor Abigail Williams .Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. However, many people abuse their power and start to put people in harm's way for example, Abigail in The Crucible  in act two she has the power of leadership with that she can send people to jail or sentence them to death based of her accusing people of  witchcraft.Even though most of the story talks about Abigail however,another example from the book is Mary Warren she to has the power to accuse people of witchcraft  even though she’s the daughter of a prince she still is referred to a mouse. Clearly power changes people ,but how it change people is the question in this case it changed the two girls into dangerous liars.All in all power becomes powerful because of how strong people believe in it.  

  In The Crucible manipulation plays a big part in what happens in the Salem village. Most people don't know what Manipulation is ,but manipulation is to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose.For example in act two Abigail manipulated the courts into thinking  that Mary warren was indulged in wickery. In fact Abigail even takes  it a step further and began saying in a loud outrageous tone of voice ”I -I know not.Awind ,a cold wind, has come over me!”(1205).Although the courts decide with Abigail, John  Proctor steps in and helps Marry however , he realizes that in order to help her he has to come clean,so he tells the judge “I have known her ,sir I have known her (1206)”. All in all  The Crucible is about power , and as we know some people use power in a negative way in this case Abigail uses power to manipulate the courts.Power changes Abigail into a manipulative and deceitful person and by having this power she hurts people in an unremitting way. Power itself is not powerful ,but it’s the people that carry the power that  makes it powerful. In this case power in Salem was taken out of context however, it kept the story going because no judge wanted to look bad in the eyes of others.  

                        As a consequence  to the affair between John and Abigail ,John  is fighting the battle of legacy v.s reputation In the book The Crucible . Reputation is  the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Strangely enough John proctor's  reputation goes up and down  for example, his power is dwindling because he shares with the courts “ I have known her,sir I have known her .” speaking on the affair pg(1206). However John's power is  slightly lost due to his confession in court ,but the courts feel that it’s best to have more evidence ,so they bring in his wife Elizabeth to confirm however she tells the court”No,sir.”(1208).Even Though John is losing power based on his confession in court he is starting to regain that power in act four when the courts try to get him to confess  he tells the court”Because it is my name ! Because I cannot have another in my life ! Because I lie and sign myself to lies !Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang ! How many I live without my name?I have given you my soul ; leave me my name !(1232)”.Power can be a good thing or bad this it's all about who holds it ,and in this book we also learn that it can be restored.

The Crucible is a story that contains power which is distributed between John, Abigail and Mary. In The Crucible power brings the worst out of people. It also brings the best out of people ,but what is understood is that  everyone has a chance to bring the best out of the worst.  Power can be a nightmare if it's not tamed.