“And being what she is, a lump of vanity, sir-… She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for | thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it:” (Miller 102). The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows greed and vengeance of the Salem townspeople in 1692. Miller is trying to show the government what they are doing with the communism trials and why they are so unfair. The witch trials closely mimic the communist trials in that the root of it was selfishness and greediness.
Most of these characters actually lived and some of these events actually happened. Arthur Miller wrote this play to show the people what was going on was wrong. Protagonist, John Proctor, antagonist, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam and many others hold grudges, are immature, and selfish because of their long-term burning desire for revenge. Events happening in their life now are adding fuel to the fire. Grudges have been fuming inside Salem for a long time. Thomas Putnam, a wealthy landowner, is tenacious in his want for revenge.
He undoubtedly felt it poor payment that the village should so blatantly disregard his candidate for one of its more important offices, … “(Miller 13). Putnam is mad when his candidate does not get chosen to be preacher. He thinks the town owes him “payment” because of all the wonderful things he has or has not done. This greed leads to his want for revenge on the townspeople. Another young woman, Abigail Williams, has an affair with John Proctor. Abigail is the Proctor’s seventeen year old servant and not mature enough for this type of relationship.
After she gets kicked out of their house, Abigail want Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife, to die so she can have him all to herself. This grudge is held against Elizabeth spurred only by Abigail’s greed. Thomas Putnam’s wife, Ann Putnam, has trouble with childbirth. Only one of her children has survived, and she blames it all on the midwife. Ann then charges her with the murder of her dead babies. All three of these grudges show the immaturity of that Salem people. Greed and want for revenge comes from their immaturity. Elizabeth struggles to forgive John for his adultery. She is too immature to let go which causes her to want revenge on Abigail.
Abigail, on the other hand, wants revenge on Elizabeth. “Oh John, I will make you such a wife when the world is white again! ” (Miller 141). She is absolutely in love with him, but she can not control herself because she is too immature to handle a sexual relationship, especially with a thirty-five year old man. Her greed for him overpowers her ability to think and reason successfully. Abigail’s friend, Mary Warren, knows the truth about the relationship with John and is to testify about it to the court. After peer pressure from Abigail and a couple other girls. she continues to tell the same lies as Abigail.
The only reason she gives in is if she does not Abigail will get revenge on her. This immaturity mixed with selfishness makes for a revenge seeking, greedy person. At the root of all greed is selfishness. Abigail wishes to have John all to herself. For this to happen, Elizabeth has to be out of the picture. So, she has Elizabeth jailed for witchcraft. Witchery is punishable by hanging. All because of Abigail’s greed does she get revenge on Elizabeth. Thomas Putnam always wants more: more land, more money, more children. He take land from other people or as them jailed for witchcraft; by doing this he can buy up their land for cheap price.
This is his version of revenge. No one is safe from being jailed, especially if you have a lot of land. If you confess to witchcraft they will let you go, but your land will be taken. If you do not confess you will be hung. Either way, someone will get your land. Reverend Parris is greedy just like Putnam. He wants more of everything. He even wants to own the house he lives in. “PROCTOR: Mr. Parris, you are the first minister ever did demand the deed to this housePARRIS: Man! Don’t a minister deserve a house to live in? ” (Miller 28). Parris thinks he deserves to own his house.
The reason he does not own it is because it is the church’s house, given to the minister at the current time. He only wants the deed because he knows he may not be preacher for much longer, and he wants to have a place to live if he gets fired. Selfishness and greed go hand in hand; they both lead to selfishness. The greediness is burning inside the people because they hold grudges, are immature, and selfish. Holding grudges is a greedy thing to do. Thomas Putnam only wants more, and Abigail wants John all to herself. The long burning grudges inside lead to for revenge on everyone.
Immaturity shown in Elizabeth, Abigail, and Mary only helps grudges grow. Selfishness and greed are partners with revenge. At the root of all revenge is a selfish desire or a greedy motive. So, if the witch trials are similar to the communist trial, it is very possible that another corrupt government case will happen in the future. If that is the case, greed and revenge will be at the heart of it. To prevent another case of this everyone needs to live each other, not to be greedy and not to seek revenge. Instead people need to seek the Lord, because only in Him can they have true humility and true selflessness.
