Examples Of Greed In The Crucible

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The Crucible People who claim that principal motivates them may actually have other incentives, such as greed or revenge. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller protests the Salem Witch Trials that happened in the early 1690s. His play parallels this period of hysteria by focusing upon the peculiar acts of the year 1692. Miller attempts to convey “the essential nature of one of the most awful chapters in human history.” – the trials for witchcraft. For example, greed dictates the actions of the character Thomas Putnam throughout the play. Thomas Putnam in act one page 1106 says “there is a murdering witch among us …” Putnam says this to try to get land and respect in the full scheme of things. After that, in act one page 1119 Putnam says…show more content…
In act one page 1110 Abigail says “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman.” In this case, Abigail is talking to Proctor about his wife. Abigail and Proctor once had an affair and Abigail is still in love with him. In this case, Abigail is out for revenge on Goody Proctor because she kicked her out of John’s life. One example to prove this would be Betty saying “You did! You did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife.” (act one page 1107). Abigail’s plan for revenge on Goody Proctor was to conjure spirits to kill her. With Elizabeth dead, Abigail could legally marry John and her plan would be fulfilled. Both of these examples show how Abigail’s greed drove her decision making. She was willing to say or do whatever it took to rid herself of Elizabeth so she could have John. To Miller the events in Salem are a “metaphor of the immortal underlying forces that always rise again.” The Crucible confirms that these forces created both greed and revenge to occur. Lessons learned from both of these events in history have taught humanity that in the long run, greed and/or revenge will get you
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