Self-interest The Crucible

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The crucible: self-interest
Introduction
The actions of characters in the Crucible show that many of them had self- serving agendas. To begin with, the initiators of the witch hunt trials sought to serve their own interests, and their actions vary depend on what they seek to achieve (Bigsby 162). For instance, Abigail relies on self- interest through relying on hysteria and deflecting attention and get into Proctor’s good books while also placing Elizabeth at a disadvantage. On the other hand, Parris is irritated by talks of witchcraft as this would ruin his reputation, and execution of other people in the society would possibly cause popular uprising. Overall, the pay focuses on Proctor as the tragic hero in the story with Abigail being associated with self-centeredness more than the other characters (Schissel 465). This essay focuses on the theme of self-interest as represented by the characters of Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris and John Proctor in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
Abigail Williams
Abigail and other girls dancing are loyal friends who would rather be seen as victims and not witches in the religious village. Abigail Williams stated that she preferred that the girls would keep a secret about their activities in the forest. (Bigsby 165) This included the killing of Elizabeth Proctor, as the other girls know this secret exposure of the girls’ activities would be devastating. Abigail is afraid of being exposed and seeks to maintain secrecy in the group, her actions show that self-interest and fear of exposure influence friendship (Bloom 45). It is self-preservation that binds the girls together rather than genuine friendships, and hence Abigail’s relationships in the play are based on false pretense.
“I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near! I saw your face when she put me out and you loved me then and you do now! (Miller 6).”
In this dialogue, Abigail dialogue seeks to prove to John Proctor that he truly loved her, it was. It is the belief of Abigail that true love did exist and wants assurance that Proctor was not lying. Abigail was afraid that despite being in a short term relationship with Proctor, nothing more was going to come from the relationship. To Abigail, Proctor characterized Christian values, and the thought that he was gong to leave her was unimaginable in the scene.
In the Crucible, Abigail represents all that is wrong with jealousy and self interest, as they lead to self-preservation where Williams would not stop at nothing to achieve her ambitions. After having an affair with John, Abigail decides to use voodoo as a way of controlling John. In her desperation to win over John Proctor, Abigail uses the magic in the mistaken belief that this would bring good fortunes. However, to avoid being vilified by the community, Abigail results to intimidate those who know her actions. If Williams really loved Proctor then the best option would have been to improve her relations without manipulating the situation in her favor.
Even though, Abigail insisted that she no longer worker for the Proctor’s as she did not want to be slave to anyone, this was not case. In actual sense, Abigail was dismissed by Goody Proctor because of having an affair with her husband. Abigail is jealous of the Proctor’s marriage, and it is jealousy that drives her to make up stories in order to draw closer to Proctor (Holmund 178). Even when Proctor tells Abigail that he longer wished to be in a relationship with Abigail, this did not change Abigail’s mind who could believe that it was merely lust. Abigail is preoccupied with revenge against Elizabeth Proctor because of sexual desires, and lust for power.
Abigail was a young girl fantasizing about her ideal male partner, and John Proctor seems to fit these fantasies. Despite Abigail’s young age, she possesses shrewdness and strategy beyond her maturity and this is beneficial at first but also proves destructive as she does not achieve her objectives. For instance, through declaring witchcraft, Abigail gets the attention of the community in Salem and people are keener to hear what she had to say. In using the power of influence, Abigail intimidated and manipulated the other girls (Marchese). Those who refused to go along with her plans were accused of witchcraft, and this shows that Abigail gained influence and resulted to controlling other people for her own selfish gains.
Abigail relies on the witch hunt trials to eliminate real and imagined rivals ought to stop her from being in a relationship with john Proctor. Besides eliminating Elizabeth, Abigail established credibility in the community and court, by accusing others and deflecting attention. The more people are accused then the more credible Abigail appears while the accused have to defend them in an environment where accusations are equated to guilt. As such, the individuals chosen for elimination are the ones who pose the greatest threat to Abigail’s ambitions (Brater 143). Nonetheless, to build credibility there were usual suspects among them miscreants and vagrants in the society are accused and this lays ground for people to believe her lies.
Reverend Parris
The play begins with Reverend Parris kneeling down besides his daughter. Looking at Parris’s motivations shows that the reverend is preoccupied with self serving interest. Parris seeks to win over people in order to be viewed more favorably by the community. Parris is a widower who is depicted as a villain, and he was easily insulted when people do not do as he desired. Parris wanted to get back at people because he assumed that there were always insulting him. As such, the actions of Parris were meant to win favor with people and if things did not go as intended, then Parris felt justified to revenge against people (Bloom 70). At first, Parris seemed to be interest in children, but in reality merely wanted to control...