Greed can be a very destructive part of everyone’s life. It can control our
every action at times. Some people let their greed get out of control, which was
exactlywhat happened in Salem during the witch trials. Three people’s greed
brought up this whole tragedy of the trials, convictions and hangings. These
three people are Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams. Thomas
Putnam was a “well-to-do, hard-handed, landowner.” He valued his land probably
more than his marriage, his other possessions or his anything else that he had.
He used his land as a power source to get anything that he wanted. He also used
this power to get his neighbors accused and/or convicted of being witches. Once
these people were convicted, he would be able to purchase the deceased’s land,
just giving him more land and power. This man alone got others to start
believing that some people among them were witches. He also used his daughter as
a witness to some of his neighbors crimes. Thomas Putnam used the witch trials
as an excuse to get even with his neighbors and get their land. He allowed his
greed to rule his mind and other decisions during this tragic time in the
history of Salem. Another person who was affected by greed during this time was
Reverend Parris. He felt that he was underpaid for his services. At one time he
said to Giles Corey, “I regard that six pound as part of my salary...You will
look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year!” Also, Parris preached for
twenty weeks about having golden candlesticks on the altar until he got them. As
the story progressed, he became greedy for his life and the life of his friends.
When Proctor was about to be hanged, he begged and pleaded for Proctor’s life so
that Parris would not be blamed for killing one of Salem’s “upper class”.
I feel that Parris was not a good man to be the minister in such a town
because he helped the whole witch hunt get going. He made sure that everyone
knew about what was going on and got them to help dig up dirt on the accused.
One final person whom I believe let her greed for attention and power control
the outcome of that small town was Abigail Williams. She was the first person
who was caught dancing in the woods to realize that if she turned on the others,
her own life would be spared. She started making things up so that she would be
in the center of the life in the town. She accused many innocent people of being
witches for her own personal good. The best example of this would be when she
accused Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch. Abigail and John Proctor had an
affair and Abigail perceived this to mean that John wanted to be with her
instead of his wife. Then, she realized that the only way to make this happen
would be to kill Elizabeth in some way. The only legal way to do this would be
to accuse Elizabeth of being a witch and making sure that she was convicted of
this crime. Abigail knew that the punishment for the crime of witchcraft was
hanging and carried out her accusation so that she and John could “dance upon
her grave together.” I strongly feel that Abigail’s greed was the most
destructive to the outcome of this story. She single-handedly destroyed most of
the people of this town’s reputations. If a person had something that she
wanted, she accused them and got exactly what she wanted. At times, she used her
acting talents to make it seem like she was being attacked by a certain person’s
spirit. While she was trying to convince Danforth and Hathorne that Elizabeth
was a witch, she went as far as stabbing herself in the stomach to make it look
like Elizabeth was sending out her spirit upon others. I believe that if Abigail
had been stopped sooner, the innocent people who died would have lived and been
able to look back on this terrible time to mourn the losses of their friends.
Many people’s greed brought on these atrocities in Salem, but especially the
greed of Thomas Putnam, Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams. If people such as
these let greed rule their lives, turmoil is brought about. If only everyone
could control their greed, this world would be a happier and more civil place.
Bibliography
The Crucible by Arthur Miller Published by The Penguin Group copyright 1982
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