A crucible is a metal container that melts substances with its high temperature, while The Crucible is a playwright by Arthur Miller that demonstrates humanity with its severe trial.
Double Sided.
Mary Warren, a servant in Proctor’s house, a weak girl, is a hypocrite. A hypocrite that says justice and cover the truth at the same time. When Proctor banned her from going to the court, she answered:
“I must tell you, sir, I will go every day now. I am amazed you do not see the weighty work we do” (Miller, 56).
She is a weak girl, but she stands up this time, for her “justice”. She believed that she can help the village by going to court. However, what encouraged her was not justice, but the power she gets.
She was an inferior servant and obeys whatever wants her to. When she gets the power that she never had thought of in the court, she decided to protect this power. So when Proctor asked her to tell the truth, she said:
“I cannot, I cannot, I cannot……” (76).
Why can’t she? If she is trying to be fair and be justice, she should be able to stand up for the truth too. But she did not, and this shows that she’s a hypocrite.
Being a hypocrite is not Mary Warren’s own will though, it’s humanity. When a person without power suddenly gets control of something, they will want to keep it. Mary Warren actually tried to fix her problem later in the play, but in the end, she still shrank back.
Power has a powerful attraction.
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell is a good example of hypocrites and power. It is portraying a farm that is controlled by the pigs. The pigs lie to other animals, that everyone will be equal, but secretly save the goods for himself. The pigs say that:
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”
In this case, he is using his power to be a hypocrite.
In conclusion, Power leads to hypocrisy, and hypocrisy leads to power.
Citation:
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin Classics, 2003.