In
Arthur Miller’s 1953 masterpiece,
The Crucible, we glimpse a world that shadows our own, yet where all the
social interactions and
inter-reactions are magnified, and make the literal difference between life and death. Jaggedly shadowing this harrowing
landscape are several
social,
religous, and
legal institutions. Though these institions-- such as the
Church,
the courts, and
the town council-- were created to help build a sense of
community, they often lead to the splintering of the
town’s identity. Not only do these
institutions destroy the
communal identity, but also the
individuals identity and
ideals as well. The
Crucible explores how the
Church and the
Courts destroy this
identity, and how the
individualists like
John Proctor are actually the ones who retain their
humanity and
freedom.
The
courts and
legal system also steal the
humanity of those who work with them. An example of this is the “bitter, remorsless” (78)
Judge Hawthorne, who so believes in his
authority that often he tries to bait the
defendents in his cases, spewing “
contempt of court” (90) charges at the slightest
provocation.
Reverend Hale also demonstrates how the courts authority
corrupts, because rather then relying on
evidence he instead uses the
baseless “
authority” (34) of his
textbooks. Later, he forsakes the
textbooks in favor of his
instincts, and he is redeemed as a
character through this breaking with the
court.
The
Church’s main goal is to bring together a community in communion with God; however, the
Salem church seems to do the exact opposite. The self-rightous
Parris is often
worldly and
possessive, thinking more of his
pay check and
prestige then on
the good of his flock: “I am paid little enough without I spend six pounds on firewood” (27). His constant
greed for
money has turned away many
parishoners, “who stay away from the
church these days because you
Parris hardly ever mention
God anymore.” (27)
Like
Hale,
Proctor also reaches his
redemption by breaking with the
court and the
Church. For much of the play,
Proctor is troubled because he is a “
sinner … against the
moral fashion of the time…” (18), yet he can neither serve
penance for this
sin or be content with what he sees as
hypocrisy, which
abounds in all around him. Because of this,
Proctor is constantly struggling with himself and the hypocritical
institutions that surround him. In order to remain
true to his beliefs,
Proctor is willing to give up his name by confessing publicly his most secret sin: “I have made a bell of my honor!
I have rung the doom of my good name…” (103). Yet when again his
integrity is challenged, he faces even
death forced upon him by the
courts and the
church,
climactically showing their
ruinous affect on all those who work with or against them.
Miller believed in the
individual's rights over the institutions, which often
trample the individual’s rights.
John Proctor is the embodiment of this freedom while the
Church and Courts represent the
institutions in general. Although in this story the
individual lost out to the institutions, he retained the
moral high ground which in the end is all that matters: a person’s
character.