Judgment as a Theme in Arthur Millers The Crucible free essay sample

The definition of judgment according to Encarta Encyclopedia, is the formation of an opinion. It is a simple definition,clear and direct. Although, there is more to the word judgment than meets the eye. What about the last word in the definition? What is an opinion? An opinion is described as a belief or conclusion that is held without any substantial proof. That word might not seem to have too much significance at this very moment, but it did back in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch scare. Making a judgment on somebody may seem harmless, but it can be very destructive. The citizens of Salem made judgments on their neighbors, forming opinions that they might be witches. Those solitary judgments led to many peoples deaths, their judgment of witchcraft were wrong. Arthur Miller gives people some insight into the Salem witch trials in his play, The Crucible, which shows how the peoples poor judgment led to hysteria and tragedy in the community of Salem. We will write a custom essay sample on Judgment as a Theme in Arthur Millers The Crucible or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It also shows how the people changed because of this witch scare that ran furiously through the town. Take for example John Proctor, proctor is a good man that is married and has three boys and lives a good life as a citizen of Salem. He does his job as a farmer, father, and Christian, but because he didnt go to church often he was depicted as a minion of the devil. Christianity played a huge role in Salem and if one was not religious they were immediately seen as a bad person. As read in The Crucible, 180, â€Å"such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month†, shows that Proctor did and does care about religion but he doesnt show it as much by going to church everyday or week. He believes in it so much that he will not let the town priest, Parris, baptize his youngest son even though hes â€Å"ordained by God†(168). Another role that was judged out of pure jealousy was poor innocent Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth is a normal mom who has to deal with the pain of the memory that her husband cheated on her with Abigail. Elizabeth doing nothing but her job as a wife and citizen is accused of physically attacking Abigail with her â€Å"witchcraft†, as described in page 172. â€Å"Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps,† Cheever explained to Proctor that Elizabeth have had to be the one to harm Abigail. Knowing that the doll was not made by her she was still judged as a witch and sent to jail. It seems unfair that Cheevers opinion changed Elizabeths life and may have caused her her life. A simple Barbados girl hoping to be seen as a normal person despise her culture is shot down when an opinion is thought of as a fact. Abigails accusation once again leads another persons life in the gutter never to be proven wrong. â€Å" I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs † Abigail screams as she tries to save her own life by wasting another without a care (156). Tituba is depicted as a witch even though she was nice enough to keep the secret of dancing and the drinking of chicken blood that the girls did to prevent them from dying. Tears and begging do not help Tituba from saving herself from the hands of true evil, judgment. Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurses case is the real showing of what an opinion is. The â€Å"supernatural murder† that occurred to Mrs. Putmans babies is sad yet not proven as a true murder, as told in page 170. Not a scratch or mark was found on them but even so Rebecca was seen as a murderer and also called a witch, and that title of murderer will stay with her until she is dead or it is forgotten. Mrs. Coreys case was also a very unpredictable one, knowing that because reading books can also mean that one is a witch then most citizens in Salem would be considered witches. Reading books is not in the same category as witchcraft and should not be suspicious at all (171). It shows that people in Salem can be judged and treated differently without proof or an explanation for the cause of their accusation. If one makes a statement of the other and if that statement is not proven wrong, you are immediately defined to be whatever that statement describes you as; innocent people are blamed and mistaken as bad people. We go back to the definition of judgment, which is an opinion, and we can say that during the witch trials many people were judged and falsely accused of something they either did not do or were not proven to have the capability of doing so. Judgment can harm a person and it can be destructive in any way possible, do not judge a person unless you know its a FACT.