In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, He talks a lot about how sacrifices have to be made to restore the social order. What is does sacrifice mean? To me sacrifice means to give something up no matter the value for the greater good. You can sacrifice anything not matter the value of it.
Many characters made sacrifices like Giles Corey. Giles Corey died an honorable man. He died for the sake of his family. Giles Corey not knowing the repercussions had just mistakenly accused his wife of witchcraft. He says to reverend hale “ It discomforts me! Last night mark this I tried and tried and could not say my prayers.” he said about his wife then he goes “And then she close her book and walks out of the house, and suddenly mark this I could pray again.” But because of all the suspicion the court had tried his wife on the account of witchcraft. Being that is his wife was accused he was livid because he found the accusations unbelievable.
So of course he goes to her trail and tries to convince the court that they are wrong and the girls are liars. Giles attempts to give evidence about a man named Putman wrongfully accused a man of witchcraft because he wanted his land. But the court wanted the name of the man and Giles wouldn’t tell him. He didn’t tell him the name because he already felt guilty when he said his wife’s name. So he protected the man’s identity and Giles was punish for it.
Instead of giving the court a name he sacrifices himself and had a suffering death because they piled stone on top of stone and laid it upon his chest and the heavier it got the more he suffocates and he soon died because they crushed his airway. This goes to show you that Giles Corey having the reputation of not being so smart he sacrificed his life so another wouldn’t have to.
Another sacrifice a character has made in the movie was John Proctor. John Proctor sacrifice himself for the sake of his name and pride and for the town of Salem. In the court will John decides to tell the truth about his infidelity with Abigail and the court brings his wife in to see if he was telling the truth but in order to protect her husband she decides to lie for him. And because she lied about the affair John was thrown in jail. After Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth had discovered Abigail ran away they wanted to protect their reputation so they went to John and tried to convince him to confess to witchcraft.
After John had a conversation with his wife and knew that she would stay by his side regardless of his decision he chose to confess to witchcraft. The court wanted John to sign a false confession that accuses others of witchcraft like Rebecca Nurse and she is disappointed that he would ever but he refuses to bring anyone else down with him so he signed it but he ripped it after he found out that the court wanted to be hung on the church door in the town for everyone to see.
But his integrity had got in the way and didn’t want his name to be tarnished and dragged through the dirt because he knew that it would affect his wife and his children. So he stuck to the truth and sacrificed himself for his family and was to be hung , with other who kept their integrity despite their lives for it. And while John was about to be hung Reverend Hale wanted Elizabeth to stop him but regained his goodness said Elizabeth. He dies with Rebecca Nurse and two others and as they are to be hung they recite a bible verse to show that their belief and love for God never changed during the horrible times they’ve encounter during the process of the witch trials.
These two characters Giles Corey and John Proctor are two men that rather died instead of falsely admitting to witchcraft because they have too much pride and rather sacrifice themselves for integrity then stay alive in prison. There was a time in the film while Giles Corey was being pressed by stone he said “more weight” .
This shows that he didn’t have any regrets and he is willing to die. Like I said before with John Proctor and him not willing to put shame on his name he rips the statement up and wants to be hung instead. They fought to get both of their wives free and find proof that neither of them are witches and they show incredible courage and they show their true colors. And the sacrifices they made both have great value. It’s true that in the beginning both men weren’t so great in the film John committed adultery with Abigail and Giles accused his wife . They are both complicated men but then towards the end they became honorable men.
Arthur Miller spoke about how certain sacrifices like the ones I chose were necessary to restore order. And i agree that certain things have to occur like the deaths and the chaos of Salem. These particular sacrifices were the most important not saying the other were insignificant but these had the most affect and realization on how chaotic the town has really gotten. And if it wasn’t for all these deaths by these people they wouldn’t have had to deal with the grief and the embarrassment that they killed 20 people off of false accusations and people cold-heartedly using this confusing time for their self gain to hurt or get back at someone who did something to them.
Giles Corey and John Proctor were two men who were unexpectedly standing their ground and keeping their integrity strong and in the end becoming memorable men and sadly used as a example on what happens when things go too far. And the 20 people who died choose to die with their integrity instead living in a lie.
In conclusion, this story has made me look back on a certain sacrifice i have made. I choose to get a job and start saving money for my future and because of that decision i have decided to stop playing sports. I really enjoyed playing but i feel that I’m almost done with high school and college is definitely a plan for me and i have to secure my future. I don’t want to have to rely on anyone.
