Examples Of Friendship In The Crucible

Submitted By aaronmadritsch
Words: 315
Pages: 2

Belonging Essay

Fellowship & unity are key values which develop the human condition within an individual. Possessing these qualities allows people to become a part of the wider community. Through positive interactions, an individual is able to evolve into a valued, respected member in their world. Through the study of Arthur Miller’s text, “The Crucible”, juxtaposition between McCarthyism & the Salem Witch Trials is introduced. A man in a position of great respect, John Proctor, is used to symbolise the transition from inclusion to displacement within his community.

An individual’s sense of belonging is influenced by the way their personal values collide with their communal values, therefore their need to belong to their self or to their community is endangered. The characters in Miller’s “The Crucible” face the choice between personal integrity and social allegiance. An “even tempered & not easily led” heroic figure, John Proctor is torn between his position as a “Respected and feared” man in Salem and “one single error in his life”. He is faced with the choice between inclusion or displacement in his world. While Proctor pities Abigail, he denies his sexual interaction with her to distract the society from the truth. “Wipe it out of Mind” along with the stage directions “gently pressing her from him” symbolises the way in which rejects his personal integrity for social acceptance. Proctor believes that he is not “worth the dust of the feet of them that