The Crucible depicts a society in which justice is under attack.
What are the factors working against justice?.
In the play, The Crucible there are many factors working against justice which are as follow. Justice can be defined as the safe- keeping of human rights, dealing with situations fairly and ensuring all are treated equally. The factors include the use of false accusations for the personal benefit of characters, people's self- pride and reputation and their fear of ruining it. Another factor is the circumstantial evidence used as well as the Puritan society and way of life in which they are controlled by. All these factors will be discussed to explain the factors working against justice in Arthur Millers, The Crucible.
The use of false accusations for the personal benefit of certain characters is an imperative factor working against justice. Without this aspect, the issues of The Crucible would not exist or not seem as significant as they do. The character who plays a vital role in this section of the play is Abigail Williams. Without Abigail's longing for vengeance against Elizabeth Proctor, she would not have a motive for accusing innocent Salemites of witchcraft. As it is seen at the commencement of the play, Abigail establishes the foundations of the witch hunt, by accusing Tituba which then lead to a series of following false accusations. These accusations are so easily believed by the authorities which is unfortunate as the truth is hidden away from them. Therefore, false accusations are a factor working against justice in The Crucible.
The people's self- pride and their fear of ruining their reputation is another factor working in opposition to justice. So many lives could have been saved seeing that people were able to give the authorities a lie, which could in turn let them live. However, the issue of self- pride and reputation was so large that they could not force themselves to give such a lie and spoil their good name, as it was seen in the case of John Proctor.