Sacrifice in The Crucible Essay Example

Sacrifice has been around since the beginning of time and plays a key role in human nature. Sacrifice began with an offering to God in the early times, and now humans see sacrifices being made every day. Whether it is leaving one’s home country for the greater good, or sacrificing time to help someone, we sacrifice things every day. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible John Proctor and Giles Corey are characters who present sacrifice and reveal how it can not only lead one to be deceitful but also result in a lack of social justice. To begin, John Proctor is a character who goes through a lot throughout the play in many ways like having to sacrifice his good name to save his wife and the town, secondly having to lie to his wife about him cheating on her, and lastly being accused of witchcraft. John Proctor sacrifices his good name and reputation by admitting his adultery in court to help his wife and the town. John Proctor tells the truth to save his wife from witchcraft. “I have known her, sir. I have known her” (Miller III 110). This quote demonstrates how John sacrificed his good name by telling the truth about him and Abigail. After John said the truth it put everyone in shock because he admitted to being a lecher. This shows how John sacrificed himself just so his wife can be safe. Making your hometown look at you differently because of the sacrifice you made is not something John wanted but he had to make sure that his pregnant wife is safe. Secondly, Proctor firstly cheats on his wife Elizabeth and then hides it from her. When John is asked about why he was alone with Elizabeth he shows deception by saying that other people came right after. “For a moment, I say. The others come in soon after” (Miller II 54). This saying by John proves the point of deception because John Proctor was alone with Abigail but did not want to admit it to his wife Elizabeth because he knew that it would have made her lose all of her trust in him and see him as a liar. Lastly John Proctor's maid Marry Warren accuses John of being a wizard. Lastly John Proctor's maid Marry Warren accuses John of being a wizard. Mary Warren has feared being accused of witchcraft so accused John of influencing her to do the devil's work. “He comes at me by night and every day to sign, to sign, to” (Miller III 118). Ultimately this quote presents how the town of Salem went through a tough time with injustice. Many people in the town including John Proctor were accused of crimes they did commit which was witchcraft. Lastly, Lack of social justice is shown through this quote because it shows how Marry Warren lied about John just so she can get out of her position of being accused of witchcraft by the other girls. In summary, John Proctor is a character who went through a tough time in the town of Salem. He has also committed good deeds and bad which brought him to the position of death. Another character who sacrificed his life for the town is Giles Corey. In addition, Giles Corey sacrificed himself for the sack of his town. Giles went through a very tough time especially after he accused his wife and claimed that her “strange” books interrupted his prayers, and lastly Giles got accused of witchcraft when he was innocent. Giles Corey sacrifices his life by refusing to say the name of the person who has told him about Thomas Putnam’s daughter. At this time in the play, Giles Corey has given proof of Thomas Putnam telling his daughter to accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft. “I will not give you no name, I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute” (Miller III 97). In addition, Giles is asked for the name of the person who has told him about Thomas Putnam telling his daughter to accuse Jacobs. Giles refuses to say the name and says that he already accused his wife. To conclude this statement Giles sacrifices himself by not saying the name so the person doesn't get in danger and that causes him to get locked up in jail. Secondly, Giles Corey lies to Hale about his wife’s books he claims that they interrupt his prayers but the narrator clarified that Giles never remembers his prayers regardless of what is happening. Giles meets Hale and then starts asking him about strange books that he says his wife uses. “It discomfits me! Last night - mark this - I tried and tried and could not say my prayers. And then she closes her book and walks out of the house, and suddenly - mark this - I could pray again!” (Miller I 40). This quote displays how Giles accused his wife of her books and also lied about her to Hale knowing very well that those books weren’t the problem for his prayers. Giles made a big sacrifice lying about his wife thinking nothing would happen to her but that wasn’t the case his wife went to jail because she was accused of witchcraft by her husband. Lastly, Giles gets accused of witchcraft by Abigail and the other girls and then ends up dying for not confessing to witchcraft. Elizabeth tells John that Giles has died because he did not want to confess to something he did not do. “So he stands mute and died Christian under the law” (Miller IIII 135). Giles Corey wanted to keep his good Christian name instead of lying by confessing to being a witch. The whole town respected Giles as a person as he was a respectful man but he ended up dying because of the girls that accused him and lied about him. In summary, Giles stood mute and would not answer any of the questions asked to him until he was murdered. In summary, Giles Corey is a character who is innocent and ended up dying. Giles sacrificed himself for the town and also accuses his wife and later regrets it. In conclusion, he did not deserve his death as he was loved in the town. Sacrifice, Deception, and Lack of social justice were shown and displayed from the 2 characters John Proctor, and Giles Corey. These 2 characters Sacrificed their lives and good name for their town. Many people are always willing to do anything to see others prosper in their lives. Others are willing to sacrifice their life for others because of how much they love them and respect them. Ultimately sacrifice is something people do every day.