The Crucible. Jumbled thoughts.

The Crucible was certainly not my favorite book of summer reading. I didn't enjoy the way it was laid out as a play, rather than a novel. It was, though, fairly well written. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. More than just the 'bewitching' of the girls, the play paints a picture of a time in which legal systems were based on the Bible and people high in religious standing governed towns and cities. Religion was without a doubt the most important thing in the majority of the lives of the citizens of Salem. People were so quickly named as witches because the town believed that anyone who practiced witchcraft was not loyal to God. People who were not loyal to God were a threat to society.

Parris was the character that I focused on most. It seems that he is a father who is genuinely worried for his daughter. The closer you look, though, he seems more worried about his reputation. He is worried less about the danger witchcraft will surround his daughter and the other girls in and far more worried about the trouble the scandal will cause him. A main idea linking all of the events in The Crucible is guilt by association. Being linked to anyone who sins makes you guilty by association. This is why privacy is almost unheard of in this time. Sins committed in privacy are made public by those who know about it so they cannot be said to also be guilty. All wrongdoings must be publicly condemned.