Irony Salem Witch Trials free essay sample

The first began back in the 1600s in a little town known as Salem Massachusetts, where people were killed for crimes of witchcraft. The second instance, while not quite as known for bestowing rigor mortis still put ruin on the lives of many. Trials in the 1950s fueled by McCarthyism and the idea that communism was invading the United States led to the blacklisting of many people as supposed socialists. Arthur Miller saw the real story of the trials for supposed unamericans during his time and he set about making it known to the public. However, had miller outright stated his views he would have found himself in the same position as those whos stories he tried to tell. Therefore he devised a creative solution; he wrote a story based on events in the Salem witch trials that is nearly perfectly symbolic of the McCarthyism trials. Millers extensive [use of] irony in the crucible reveals the actual motives behind events carried out during the Salem witch trials, and thereby he exposes the dark truth of what happened during 1950s McCarthyism trials on Unamerican activities. Even in the very beginning Miller wastes no time in describing the abject of his play. Some circumstances surrounding the ritual committed by the girls are near perfect representations of dramatic irony, that bring to light innocent people accused during both sets of trials. Most obvious concerns the girls lies about the nature of their time spent together it the woods. Readers will undoubtedly conclude that they were in fact practicing witchcraft of their own accord when the Reverend Parris found them, as Mary warren exclaims once the adults have departed, â€Å"its a sin to conjure, and we. (20) However, when confronted as to the purpose of their presence in the woods, Abagail and her friends falsely claim they only were in the process of innocent dancing. As they blame all their satanic actions on the slave girl Tituba, the dramatic irony of the situation becomes apparent. They are undoubtedly responsible for crimes of witchcraft, but no other characters in the story are aware of that fact and are willing to put all the blame on the next person in line. Through this irony Miller shows the attitude of these girls in the Salem witch trials; that they in fact lie to save themselves from the conviction of witchcraft, even though they end up putting their blame on a guiltless party. And yet a similar irony reveals itself in the subsequent dialogue of Tituba. She forced nothing whatsoever upon the girls, for at one point her claim reveals that â€Å"she [meaning Abagail] beg me to conjure! (44) Yet when this slave girl is grilled by the Reverend Hale and other men she admits to their accusations and forces herself to start calling out the names of people who also were supposedly affiliated with the devil. Dramatic irony oozes from her confession. Readers can infer that she lies by admitting to her meeting with the devil, but only in an effort to prevent her death. Although the other characters in the story only know to believe the lie she was forced to tell, and take it that all the individuals on her list are unquestionably guilty. Thus, through this dramatic irony Miller shows that the true motive of Tituba, like Abagail and the other girls, reflects her escape from the punishment associated with telling the truth. Miller included these ironies to explain how the names of devil worshipers called out were done out of fear, and were in actuality not true by any stretch of the imagination. Nonetheless, this event to strikes a comparison to the 1950s. Many of the accused communists were promised significantly lower charges should they reveal the names of others who allied with them in socialist shenanigans. ar 43) Through his dramatic Irony Miller remarks that in the McCarthyism trials when faced with the choice of punishment versus placing part of the blame on others, people responded in the same fashion as 300 years previous. He exposes to his readers to the idea that many of the convicted Reds were not guilty of anything, and that the dark and terrible situations where the Government sentenced people on the fal se accusations of others actually occurred. Other peculiar instances of dramatic irony reveal self centered claims made during the trials. Particularly this becomes known when Abagail and the other girls serve as God sent judges of satanic acts. As the story progresses Abagails true desire for Elizabeth Proctors husband becomes apparent. In Act 2 Scene 2, which was removed after the original production, she explains to John, â€Å"i will make you such a wife when the world is white again! † (150) Her lust for him is matched only by her determination to continue her facade of holiness. This explains the true purpose behind the conviction she made upon Elizabeth Proctor. She wanted to eliminate Johns wife in order to take him for herself. Still, Abagails action conveys a significantly different meaning for residents of Salem. They still only think she intends to identify potential devil worshipers in their midst. Readers can understand irony lies in the fact that most citizens have no knowledge of Abagails attempt to take John. Miller reveals that her true intentions are to misuse the power she has been given to separate a man she wants from his legitimate wife. Dramatic Irony also surrounds the willingness of the people to readily accept decisions made by the girls. In the introduction Miller is careful to explain the ideal conditions that exacerbated the witch hunts. Among them is the fact that a â€Å"long-held hatred of neighbors could now be openly expressed. Land-lust could now be elevated to the arena of morality. † (7) He means to say that regardless of the peoples true opinion, more often than not old grudges factored into their reaction about the trials. This is further proven as Giles Coreys deposition â€Å"states that you, [Mr. Putnam], coldly prompted your daughter to cry witchery† so that he could â€Å"kill his neighbors for their land. † (96) Irony exists in that while it may seem the characters only wish to purify their village, they in fact take advantage of the trials in an attempt to eliminate their enemies. And through this Irony Miller shows that real reason as to why the witch trials are so easily accepted by the people of Salem. As with Abagial Williams they see it as a chance to carry out their own selfish desires, be they for land or otherwise. Moreover The crucible yet again draws an important parallel to the 1950s. Namely â€Å"it was not unheard that Americans would take their own political and economic disputes to the courts. A case about communism almost never sided with the defendant. † (jr 53) Miller attempts to show that the McCarthyism trials had their fair share of people involved only for personal gain. This fact hits very hard with the public â€Å"for power lies in the hands of the people and if they are corrupt there may be no hope for democracy itself. (89) Miller shows this tragedy in the Salem witch trials to expose the potentiality of greedy and narcissistic claims made in the 1950s. There exists no doubt that some of the accusations were untrue and forged under selfish notions in both time periods, and a result that the Government unfortunately punished people unfairly. While Miller should be called nothing less than a master of dramatic irony, he manages to use situational irony in the Crucible a s well. Specifically to show how impossible it was to even defend the victims in the two sets of trials. One such case involves the event whereby John Proctor hands Danforth â€Å"a sort of testament† in which â€Å"the people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebbecca, ump; my wife [Elizabeth Proctor], and Martha Corey. † (93) The expectation seems that the governor would take the names and consider it a possible justification for the release or at least the reconsidering of the three well respected women. However Governor Danforths legitimate response to arrest all names who signed the list, appears quite interesting. It feels undoubtedly ironic because it does the complete opposite of the expected action associated with such a letter. However this whole act reveals the truth that John only sought to free his wife from her physical chains but he is painfully unsuccessful. â€Å"Moreover, he is completely rejected and ends up causing more harm than good† (bb 5) The rest of signers to his petition may see him as traitor after their arrest, but he never expected the situation to turn against him as it did. Perhaps the most apparent occurrence of this type of situational irony lies within in the part of Act III when Elizabeth Proctor, upon being asked about her husbands adultery, simply says â€Å"my husbandis a goodly man, sir. † (113) Her and Johns purposes were only in the best interest of each other, but the overall outcome was drastically different. John thought that his wife who always tells the truth would admit knowledge of his lechery, and as a result Abagails persecution of his wife would stop. Elizabeth on the other hand misunderstood the nature of the question, and thought by lying she would protect her husband from the gallows. Both cases lead to the irony, because husband and wife expected to save each other and yet in effect ended up only worsening the situation. However this tragic example of irony does reveal the true intentions of John and Elizabeth proctor, that they only wanted to do what was best for each other and would go to great lengths to accomplish that. The reality of the Salem trials is that people had honorable motives which ultimately were turned against them. Miller is drawing yet another parallel to McCarthyism. He wants his readers to think about how exactly so many socialists were blacklisted or otherwise hurt. Even those who defended them had their words twisted and ideas flipped to the point that they only accomplished the exact opposite of what they intended. (PR 4) The Crucible shows why individuals only hesitantly make claims in favor of the accused, for those that do only end up causing more harm in the end. On that note another classification of situational irony in the crucible exposes corruption in the very law system itself. Abagail and the girls are the source from which all alleged convictions of witchcraft and satanic acts are gathered, and â€Å"the children certainly do testify. † (100) Yet as Hale states while pointing at Abagail â€Å"this Girl has always struck me false. † (114) The people of the town have let themselves get carried away on the rantings of a bunch of teenage girls who claim to see spirits flying around, and theyve let the situation escalate to the point where there is no logic to anything. (RP 32) The irony is that the court system which is supposed to reveal the truth is acting under the guidance of a group of liars. Miller reveals that the actual reasoning behind the courts decisions has no basis in any legal practice whatsoever. On top of that the court officials almost seem as if they want to convict people. Danforth almost proudly exclaims, â€Å"and do you know near to four-hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature? † (87) He would rather people not confess to satanic actions and make an example of them for the future. The irony here seems blatantly obvious, because a law system exists to protect the people from wrongdoing. It is better to let the guilty go free than to convict the innocent. † (Mr. Mac) In this case, the law keepers have seemingly forgotten their purpose, and instead of trying to rid the world of witchcraft, their true movies are instead based around trying to attain as many convictions as possible. A third instance of situational irony that exposes flaws in the court goes back to the confession of John proctor. He finally admits to his sin after months of concealing it and then Danforth and the court bluntly say to him â€Å"she spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied. † (113? This shows that when an actual bit of truth is presented to the lawmen, they reject it and again side with the liars. The situational irony lies in the fact that when Proctor confesses his sin, the court rejects his confession altogether on only the evidence of his wifes claim. These three examples of irony are perhaps the most important of all in relation to McCarthyism. They reveal that the court itself may represent unfairness in its proceedings. (jr 23? ) Miller urges his readers to believe that the judges not only believed liars and rejected the truth, but also that they pushed for the convictions rather than a fair trial.