Reflection blog #5

The third act of this somewhat interesting play tries to teach us many things about human nature. One of these horrific instances where it somewhat succeeds in actually teaching us something is when it comes around to the part where Giles is in the court. They are asking him to reveal the name of one of his associates, and he doesn't want to cooperate, and thus refuses to give out the name. Why does he do this you ask? Well because he made the previous mistake of giving them his wife's name, and that has gone horribly wrong for him.

Giles, pointing at his disposition: The proof is there! I have it from an honest man who heard Putnam say it! The day his daughter cied out on Jacobs, he said she'd given him a fair gift of land. Hathorne: And the name of this man? Giles, taken aback: What name? Hathorne: The man that gave you this information. Giles, hesitates, then: Why, I I cannot give you his name. Hathorne: And why not? Giles, hesitates, then bursts out: You know well why not! He'll lay in jail if I give his name! Hathorne: This is contempt of the court, Mr. Danforth! Danforth, to avoid that: You will surely tell us the name. Giles: I will not give you no name. I mentioned my wife's name once and I'll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute. (Miller 96-97)

And so, my point is that this instance teaches us a lot about human nature. As it shows us that sometimes a human will actually learn from it's mistakes, as most creatures do. For Giles gave out the information that his wife might be a witch, and that went horribly for him, so when he was asked to give another name to them, he decided that it was in his best interest to not give out this name because he didn't want this person to be accused of anything that he is innocent of doing. Another universal theme about human nature that I noticed in this book is the ever present knowing that humans will always try and find a scapegoat in their twisted and misguided attempts to make untimely peace in the world, as they continually run into problem after problem. First it was Abigail and then Tabitha, and then Mary, and finally Proctor and several other people who have done nothing wrong but be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The worst part is most of these accused people were accused by each other, thus showing another point being that humans will never accept responsibility for their actions. Also that the people who thy to help those who are in need of their help will always be stabbed in the back, as can be seen with proctor. As Proctor tried to assist Mary, and was turned on when the chances of success became so dwindled that there was almost no way to break the paranoia. The people in this book are all just horrible people.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: a Play in Four Acts. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1976. Print.