At the climax of The Crucible, Arthur Miller inserts Friedrich Nietzsche's famous and controversial statement, "GOD IS DEAD," into John Proctor's mouth. Obviously, someone as well-read as Miller means this as an intentional reference. Literary scholars call the intersection of two different texts (here, Nietzsche's and Miller's) INTERTEXTUALITY, the "shaping" of one text by another that pairs up with it. So my question for you is, what is Miller trying to do by establishing an intertextual connection between his work and Nietzsche's philosophy? How does the Nietzsche reference "shape" our interpretation of Miller's play, of scapegoating, of Proctor's rebellion against conformity, or of the Witch Trials and Red Scare themselves? Is there a message for modern society in there? Post your thoughts here BEFORE we read act III and see how Miller uses the line. Think about how it MIGHT to connect to what we have ALREADY seen in Salem, especially the end of Act II. Nietzsche's Text: The Madman (read first): (http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/friedrich_nietzsche_quotes.html) On Nietzsche's statement (read, with optional links): http://www.philosophy-index.com/nietzsche/god-is-dead/ Philosopher Simon Critchley's Interpretation (brief video): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrI5WQ4u7MY) Interesting Link - controversy based on The Crucible (optional): http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/17/georgia-school-to-keep-display-featuring-god-is-dead-posters/
106 Comments
Luke Heck
10/2/2013 06:43:08 am
Both superficially and in-depth, "God is dead" is quite a powerful phrase. Weighted with both cryptic and insightful implications about a religiously dogmatic society, it ties in well with Millers criticism of the Red Scare. Just as zealots of Puritanism misused the Bible in a frenzy of childish scapegoating, so too did "Patriots" (and I use that term with almost pure sarcasm) misuse American ideals to scapegoat pointlessly accused "Communists". So relevant is the use of this phrase, in fact, that almost every aspect seems to have a corresponding counterpart:
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 09:58:31 am
This is some powerful stuff. Your analogies between the Cold War period and the Witch Trials are astute, especially the connection of the Bible and the Constitution as constantly-cited but never-followed texts. There is certainly a strong link between the death of God and the death of liberty, at least in Salem.
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Quinn Schembor
10/2/2013 07:40:22 am
I found the quote "God is dead" by Nietzsche to be very interesting in the way that he didn't mean literally that god is dead and gone. I think that he meant that how many people rely on god and religion as a reason for living and how people do not truly worship god in the way that they should.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:31:23 am
Quinn, this is a great summary of a timeless question: why does God allow terrible things to happen? Philosophers call this the problem of evil, and it has lead some to believe there must be no God after all. We're going to read a short excerpt from a book called Night by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust memoir in which a young boy loses his faith. His comments remind me a lot of what you're asking here.
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Samantha LaRocca
10/7/2013 10:54:05 am
Quinn I agree very much on how you said that "God is dead" does not literally mean he is dead but is stating the fact that God is letting all of this unholy witchcraft happen. Because He is not stopping the devil from possessing many people in this play (according to the faulty blames) so it is as though He is not a large part of peoples daily lives anymore. Also the fact that Puritans are incredibly religious, yet things so unholy are occurring in their town, lead to the phrase "God is dead" because He is not disturbing the imbalance of worship in their lives that begin to fill with devilish inhabitants.
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Sophia Mazzini
10/2/2013 08:05:23 am
When Miller uses the line "God is Dead" in the crucible, I think he is attempting to show that the characters in the story are slowly losing faith. When I say they are losing faith, I mean in God as well as in each other. The characters are lying to each other, and using religion to back them up. They say these lies because they know that if they include some connection to religion, the other people in the village will automatically justify their lies. I think Miller also included this line to show that the characters are not acting the way they are intended to act. They turn on each other for no reason, and create lies about each other that may end up costing someone else's life.
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Catherine Perry
10/7/2013 08:36:09 am
Sophia, I agree with your points on how the characters are "slowly losing faith." They seem to solely use God as a cover up because they all (at one point or another) sin and need something/ someone higher to turn to. This is also why "God is Dead" because everyone goes against his "rules" so worshiping him and also disrespecting him is very contradictory.
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Devon Barnes
10/7/2013 11:39:09 am
Sophia, I completely agree with you when you say that Miller uses the line "God is Dead" to show that the characters are "slowly losing faith." I also believe this is true when Nietzsche uses the quote "God is Dead" as well. It says that the people he was talking to were making jokes when he asked where God was and that they didn't take him seriously. This definitely shows that people are losing faith in God. They looked at him like he was a madman when he told them that they all killed God and that He was missing as if they had no idea who or what God even was, almost as if God was alien to them. That is why I definitely agree with you when you related the quote "God is Dead" to people "slowly losing faith."
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Sara Murphy
10/7/2013 12:36:48 pm
Sophia I completely agree that when the phrase "God is Dead" is put forth it is not only applying to God but each other as well. People celebrate their faiths together in groups that they consider to be their "spiritual family" because they all believe and want the same things in life. In order for Miller to say "God is Dead" this must also mean that the people who believe in God are dead too. While they were losing faith in God they were also losing faith in each other leaving nothing but feelings of resentment and confusion among the people who needed God.
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Aliyyah Godsey
10/2/2013 09:29:17 am
God has always been somewhat of a moral compass for people. So by saying “God is dead” , it’s saying that we as a people have now lost that guide to good vs. evil. People as a whole are beginning to justify wrong doings. Back then with the Puritans, God was everything, they used God as a threat to keep the people from doing evil. Even though the Puritans were more unjust in their rules, it worked. It kept people from doing anything bad. At first it was all for one simple reason, they didn't what to disobey and be in rebellion to God. Even though it was fear about God, God still existed. Nowadays people are truly ruthless, murder, infidelity, dishonesty, greed, there is so much out there that keeps people doing wrong. Even worse in some aspects people applaud and encourage sin. How many shows are out there were the main protagonist is a bad guy and the antagonist is the police or some sort of justice. We watch movies and shows that encourage murder, infidelity, and lying. My favorite shows Scandal: President cheats on his wife, and has on going affair. Pretty Little Liars: The girls are constantly lying to everyone that is not in their circle. Dexter: The main character is a killer and through the whole series he’s lying, trying not to get caught. There is so many examples, movies and shows are always coming out that portray images that if Puritans were to see they’d have a heart attack.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:35:37 am
God is Dead = Morality is dead. It makes a lot of sense; Abigail is the Puritan equivalent of Scandal, Pretty Little Liar(s) and Dexter combined into one person! You can see this line as Proctor trying to tell everyone that their religion has become a mere "accessory," taking a backset to their greed, lust and egoism. Miller certainly saw the same thing in the U.S. government during the Red Scare; the idea of freedom had become an "accessory" to the real purpose of maintaining control. An interesting question comes out of this: how can we find our way back to the foundational morals you speak of? Is it possible to find a way back to old faith, or do we need to revise faith for a new era? Is John Proctor trying to find a new way to believe in God after the Puritans have "killed" him?
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Michael Hanlon
10/2/2013 09:34:52 am
I really found this interesting, because I feel like it's exactly how our world is. People have God as and accessory to their own beliefs now, and not the center of their beliefs. And this isn't new because as Miller shows in "The Crucible" people started to phase out religion in colonial times, and definitely when Miller wrote the book in the 50's. "God is dead, and we killed him" doesn't just have to do with religion though, our faith in things like rules and "the Man" has become an accessory to faith in what we want, and I believe that Miller was subliminally trying to show that to readers, watchers, and the whole world.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:38:29 am
Indeed. Many people use God (or The Country, in the case of the Red Scare) as a mask for their own desires, to make it seem as if they act for something bigger than themselves. This connects up with Nietzsche's other big point, that the Will to Power is our main motivation as humans. "Whatever interpretation prevails is a function of POWER, not truth," he writes - which makes me think of Abigail, whose interpretation of events becomes dominant due to her power of persuasion, giving her even more power to spread this interpretation and make it law.
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Amy Thomas
10/2/2013 10:42:33 am
I totally agree with you, Mike. God really isn't the center of people's beliefs anymore. It's just a "detachable branch" to people's lives now. It's so easy for people to forget about God when he's not needed and then reconnect Him to their life when he IS needed. It's sad to think, though, that this is how we live and are continuing to live.
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Matt Reardon
10/2/2013 10:11:58 am
The phrase "God is Dead" portrays that God is no longer what he was intended to be. Continuous use of God as an excuse and reason for power has worn down the view we have of God. I believe Neitschze meant that the idea of God has been tainted beyond repair in that the name "God" has more meaning than the ideas behind it. In Puritan lifestyle, God was used as a scapegoat to rule over others. It appears to me that if the ministers just assumed power and asserted themselves over the people, there would be much protest in return. However, if they were to insert the word "God" in there, a whole new scenario is created. The citizens view it as though the ministers are not greedy, they want to serve God. I feel as though religion and one's own thoughts have always been a source of controversy. Arthur Miller shows how Salem transformed into a corrupt and mindless town. Just a few people did not follow the nonsensical legislation put down by the Puritans, and the town flipped completely upside down. Problems always occur when conflicting ideas are put face-to-face. The Red Scare occurred as a result of fear of the ideas of other countries. America was sent through its own Witch Trials of false accusation and panic. Government can be compared very closely to religion in that sense. After all, the Puritans were in America in the first place because of religious persecution and different views of God than the Anglican leaders of England. Arthur Miller used Nietschze's quote to show the disintegration of God's meaning over time; He is not meant to be a scapegoat, he is meant to be an idea to follow as your own heart desires.
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MR. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:41:24 am
This is really interesting because in the Gospels, Jesus becomes the ultimate scapegoat. Since in Christian belief Jesus is God in human form, it is literally a story about humans scapegoating and murdering God! In their own way, the Puritans are scapegoating and destroying God again. It's as if they haven't learned the main lesson that their religion seems to teach.
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Claire Toomey
10/7/2013 10:19:29 am
I completely agree with your comment. By upholding the reputation of being wholesome servants of God, characters like Abigail and Parris are able to obtain their true goals of power and control. They use God as a mask to hide behind, and in doing this kill the morals they pretend to live by; because of the selfishness and greed of the so-called holy citizens of Salem, "God is dead."
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Michael Colao
10/7/2013 10:54:18 am
I really enjoyed reading this Matthew. I would also like to add that God is not the only scapegoat used in the Crucible. Witches, another figure whose existence hasn't been substantiated, is used by many of the characters to hide, or save themselves. For instance, Abigail accuses Tituba of contacting witches to get all of the suspicion off of her. Then Tituba has no choice but to put it on someone else in order to avoid death, and she is seen as a hero because of it. In addition, Abigail also sets up Elizabeth to be depicted as a witch, so she can get the revenge she desires. Therefore, throughout the whole book people use these controversial figures to get what they want.
Samantha Reynolds
10/2/2013 10:14:23 am
When Miller says "God is dead" in the Crucible, I think he's trying to show us how the characters are feeling. As you read you get the sense that the characters don't truly have the faith of God. They're just simply using religion to make it seem as if they would never "break" their trust and relationship with God and go to the Devil. I noticed that once someone in the book was accused of witchcraft they would bring religion and their faith in God to say how much they love him and would never do something such as witchcraft. They all do this to make themselves look better and back up their story. I also, believe Miller wanted us to see how easily people are to turn on one another and say things just to save themselves.
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Yaritza Ortega
10/7/2013 11:44:01 am
Samantha i defiantly agree with what you are saying. I also believe that in the Crucible by Arthur Miller the town pretends to be a very religious town full of "holly wisdom". But when someone in the town is cause of taking and having to do with the devil Lucifer there is a complete cause in the town. All the people talk about is about the people that are involve in this sin full act and about the shame that they bring to there families and to the town that they even bring someone to clean them from the evil and come to a completion of what has happen. When John Proctor says, "God is dead" he means that know a days religion barely existes people even barely remember about religion. They know that is there but they don't really practice it. I believe that this is ties in with what John Proctor saying by , "God is dead" the people in the town say that there are very religious and that they fallow God's word but they really don't . If they really did i don't think that the people will even dare to think about the act of having to impact with the devil. I don't think that it would even cross there main specially coming from the Pastor's house. They only say that God is in thier hearts but it really is not God is death to them and they show it in their actions.
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Brian Chamberlain
10/2/2013 10:20:48 am
When John Proctor says, "God is dead" he is referring to the idea that the spirit of God is not alive in Salem. Salem appears to be a very religious community. In reality, not everyone follows the word of God. John Proctor commits adultery which is breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Reverend Parris is concerned with money. He wants to be paid more, own the title to his house, and replace the candlesticks on his altar with more expensive ones. He is concerned with the material world, not the spiritual. Abigail will lie to get her way. Her goal is to break up John Proctor's marriage. In doing so, she makes his wife Elizabeth the scapegoat. So far she shows no remorse. These are some of the things that I have seen in Salem.
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Sean Provost
10/2/2013 10:20:58 am
When Miller uses the idea that "God is dead," i think he is trying to show that the Puritan beliefs are slowly dying of. When people start questioning the idea of God, predestination, Hell, etc. it quickly spreads and when rumors spread they can change, like the game "telephone." If someone says that the church is wrong about everything, that rumor can spread and change to say that Witchcraft is just a scam to scare people into the Puritan belief. Using the phrase that "God is dead... and we have killed him" is Miller's way to tell the reader that the Puritans are starting to question and disobey everything.
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Felix Pascua
10/5/2013 08:55:30 am
I agree with Mr. Provost. The characters are experiencing an epiphany that they can't depend on God on everything. They begin to see the natural world where logic makes more sense then faith. They see the corruption in the church and their lives, how imperfect the world truly is. They "kill" God by questioning faith and life.
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Pat Monaghan
10/2/2013 10:34:04 am
“Where has God gone? I shall tell you. We have killed him-you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this?”- Friedrich Nietzsche. That’s a pretty heavy line to lie on mankind. We killed god. But I don’t think Nietzsche is accusing us of shooting God when his back was turned, attending his funeral, and dancing on his grave. He’s just saying we killed him. Like it’s a fun fact on the back of a Snapple cap. He’s saying it’s not our fault. We just outgrew him. We believed and relied so hard in God that one day we believed our way through to the other side. In other words, if you were told to lean on the limb of a tree forever the limb would at some point break. Just like the tree limb broke under the weight of your body leaning on it faith in god has also been broken from years and years of mankind depending on him fully.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:49:34 am
So we're always looking for some kind of God to save and protect us. Perhaps we are an inherently religious species. Whether or not that is the case, we certainly seem to wear out our Gods pretty often. That may be one of the main reasons why violence so often occurs within religion - the old beliefs lose their luster and conflict is used to whip up passion and preserve them.
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Sarah Baker
10/6/2013 09:46:57 am
Pat, I totally agree with you. When Nietzsche declared “God is dead” people were appalled; however, the context in which I believe (and Pat believes) Nietzsche used it isn’t appalling at all. The townspeople used God as a way to solve all their problems. They looked to him for guidance and for ways to live their life. Yet, they began to abuse their faith. They use it as a way to get out of poor situations, like Tituba did when her life was at risk. In this case they were overusing God’s power, slowly killing him (like putting pressure on a twig). Something I realized in addition to what Pat said was that people also turned faith and believe in God into a weapon. Abigail used other people’s blind faith in God to accuse innocent people of horrible things. This is another way we killed God- by utilizing the power of faith to do evil things.
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Anna Bongiorno
10/7/2013 08:52:38 am
I also agree with what Pat said and really liked the similes he used to describe how we have treated our God. As society got more modern, people worried less about the true reason religion even exists and instead used it to save themselves when in trouble in court. Like Pat said, Abigail is a huge culprit of relying on religion to save herself and get revenge on those around her. Although God isn't actually "dead", what I think Nietzsche was trying to portray is that if we keep using God as are escape from reality, there may come a time he isn't there to save us.
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Amy Thomas
10/2/2013 10:37:06 am
The quote, "God is dead," that Nietzsche made relates to how the world kind of was back then, and how it is even to this day. People always look toward science or logics to prove facts or even to win an argument. The Bible, for example, is a reference that religious people have used for ages, but as time progresses, it's used less and less because, to us as humans, statements explained by science make more sense, since we cannot fathom God's handiwork. People usually don't turn to God when looking for answers anymore, and is usually shoved to the side or pushed to the back of people's heads when life is good or when things seem to make more sense through our understandings rather than God's reasons. The only time people really turn to God is when they're in severe trouble, when things aren't going as they planned. As it was said by Simon Critchley, "Through the development of science and technology, we've got ourselves to a position where God is an accessory that we can do without." The general attitude in The Crucible, I believe, treats God in this manner. The characters only refer to God when they need religion to back them up. When they're not in a state or form of extreme trouble yet, they kind of "forget" about God. It's sort of a battle between religion and another type of power within this play, and at this point, it seems as if that other power is winning. I think by Miller quoting, "God is dead," he's secretly, or subtly, warning that the world has treated and is treating God as an attachment or accessory that we can put on and take off as we please.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:53:28 am
What would you call that "other power," the one drawing energy away from religion? Whatever it is, Abigail is its center.
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Ava Merz
10/2/2013 10:49:13 am
Miller's connection with Nietzsche's view of society perfectly explains the way of life the people of Salem lived. Nietzsche's quote "God is dead. And we have killed him." corresponds with how the citizens of Salem have abolished human's morality by taking it the far extend. "God is dead in the hearts and minds of his own generation of modern men" Nietzsche said. The outcome and experiences of history convey a disbelief of God and how amazing and perfect he is. God placed cultural beliefs in each person that defines a social/cultural outlook, and the nature of humans took this in a dictatorial perspective. They conceived their values incorrectly. The people of Salem literally defined outlooks on each other by accusing others for their differences. The scapegoating in "The Crucible" comes from the idea of nihilism. The people took literate meanings of their beliefs/religion by reevaluating their values. The question that comes from this evolution of the death of God is, "Is this the end of morality?"
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Giana Apreza
10/6/2013 11:02:40 am
I completely agree with you, Ava. Being that "God is dead" symbolizes the loss of faith/morality- characters in The Crucible are abandoning their beliefs and betraying one another. For example, Abigail is viewed as a "saint" yet she achieved that name by lying, deceiving, and betraying everyone in her town. I do believe that in this context the death of God is the death of morality itself being that God was their role model on how to act along with their standards of living. Therefore they have no knowledge of how to live respectfully without rules to follow.
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Katie Carroll
10/2/2013 10:58:17 am
As of right now, John Proctor is becoming more and more hostile towards the thoughts surrounding the Puritan church. He is becoming mad at the way that they are treating everyone, such as his wife. He has already committed two "sins" at this point, adultery and not remembering the 10 commandments. John Proctor tries to keep calm when the police come to take his wife. The breaking point for John will be when he yells out, "God is dead". Proctor is meaning that since everyone believes that people are worshiping the devil, then god might as well be dead. The way that he is looking at it is that if no one believes that god can keep the devil out of their souls, then he is dead to the world.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:15:48 pm
Maybe when you turn God into a divine mission-giver, you turn religion into something worldly that kills the otherworldiness of God.
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Jack Navitsky
10/7/2013 07:53:12 am
I agree with you Katie. I feel as if it is a breaking point like you said for John proctor that he believes they are worshiping the devil because "God is dead". The phrase can mean many different things but when Proctor says this its almost as if he believes the worship for God is no longer what it used to be, and what I believe Nietzsche means by his quote is that the way people used to worship God is no longer the same and it is said to be different from this quote. I also think that they can no longer worship God because they do believe "God is dead" and the worship isn't the same and from the way he says it, it almost makes it seem as if it might not ever be the same.
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Jessica Auriemma
10/7/2013 09:41:51 am
Katie, I totally agree with what you said about John Proctor meaning that since almost forty people have been accused of devil worship and witchcraft at this point that God might as well be dead to the community. I also thought it was very strange that when asked to recite the Ten Commandments, the only one Proctor left out was adultery and he committed adultery with Abigail. Furthermore I can see what you mean with how John Proctor is becoming increasingly distant from the church. I think that especially with all the trails going on now that he is becoming more resistant than ever to become a practicing Puritan. I think Abigail is part of the reason for this too because he does not want to have to deal with her anymore and he just wished to forget his past with her. I think all the madness surrounding him with Abigail, his wife, and the church is what made him scream out “God is dead.” I don’t feel he literally means that God is buried beneath ground, but that with how everyone is acting and just accusing each other left and right so they can make themselves look better, that all the things God stands for are “dead.”
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10/7/2013 10:30:12 am
I agree with what you said Katie about the reason John Proctor claimed "God is dead" is because everyone appears to be worshipping the Devil but I also feel he believes God is dead because everyone is blaming each other. He feels that no one can take responsibility for their own actions so now they must claim the Devil is doing it. By not taking responsibility they are not trusting that their faith in God is strong enough to get forgiveness from Him. So technically God would be dead to them because of their lack of acknowledgement in Him.
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Georgie Greenwald
10/7/2013 11:15:01 am
I completely agree Katie how God is dead to the world. When John Proctor says "God is Dead" he means god is dead to the community.Like what Jessica said, so many people have been accused of worshiping the devil. John Proctor is realizing how the people of Salem are all going against their religion and following the devil. God seems to have less of a relevant place in peoples lives. If people don't believe and have faith in god then he is in essence dead.
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Mya Alexice
10/2/2013 11:07:59 am
(Two disclaimers before I begin. 1) I'm battling a fever at the moment, and I'm sorry if I sound incoherent or anything. I'm struggling to be lucid here. 2) If I offend anyone, I apologise in advance. I'm desperately trying to comment on this without being biased, and if some of my personal thoughts on the matter seep in, I'm super sorry. Feel free to yell at me.)
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:23:18 pm
Right. It's logically impossible to have faith without doubt. Faith means holding true to something DESPITE a lack of proof and certainty. When we think we know something for sure we begin to act. This makes me think of Socrates, the philosopher who, when called the Wisest Man in Greece, replied, "I am only wise because I know that I know nothing."
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Hannah Sauer
10/7/2013 09:24:31 am
I completely agree Mya! When Abigail began to accuse all these women of witchcraft, the town went into utter chaos. The people kind of started to lose faith in God. Without their belief, if God is dead or not doesn't matter, for who or what is God without people having faith in him? Faith is not knowing all the answers and not having set facts and proof, but still believing despite the doubts and "what if's". In The Crucible, the people didn't have set answers; they started to use spectral evidence to prove points and accuse women of being witches! The unknown caused compact with the Devil to become an option in what was wrong in the town.
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Georgia Stierman
10/2/2013 11:12:12 am
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the quote, “God is dead,” by Friedrick Nietzsche to connect his work to Nietzsche’s philosophy. Miller makes this connection by emphasizing how characters manipulate their beliefs and faith in God to disguise sins such as devil worshipping and adultery. Additionally, in a society such as Salem during that time period, Puritanism is the unquestionable way of life. Constantly expressing, even showing off beliefs in God and faith enables people to assume innocence until proven otherwise. For example, in Act One it becomes clear that Abigail is a maniacal, manipulative character. She repeatedly and frequently sins and seems to always be on the verge of being caught by her uncle, Reverend Parris. She claims her innocence by using God as an excuse. “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus!...I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand.” She declares. With this declaration, she tricks the other citizens into believing she is truly opening herself to God. In reality, true belief in God is dead. The faith of Salem has become tainted and jaded so much that there is an apathetic most attitude about God.
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Alex Gavrilovic
10/7/2013 11:44:17 am
Georgia, I like the points that you made above and how you connected Niezsche's philosophy to the Crucible. I especially like how you pointed out the fact that when Abigail is praying to God for his forgiveness it is all lies. During this part of the play Abigail gives us a prime example of how the quote"God is Dead" relates to this play. By lying and convincing the people of Salem that she is opening her self up to god, she manipulates them and their trust in God. The people of Salem are changing there views from only living by Gods word, to trusting everything that Abigail says. I think this example was a great way of portraying how the theme that "God is Dead" is present in the Crucible.
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Morgan Grant
10/7/2013 11:53:18 am
Georgia, I completely agree with what you were saying about Abigail, and how she basically "faked" her love for god. This quote i found shows how Abigail truly is a fake and how she doesn't mean what she says about god. "And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
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God
1/4/2014 11:38:25 pm
I slept with Abigail. I apologize for the actions that have stained my now restless soul.
Ricky Wild
10/2/2013 11:22:03 am
When philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche said the quote "God is dead," and playwright, Arthur Miller used this quote in his play; both had a few intentions on why they used it. Originally, Friedrich said this because he believed religion was no longer a guide to live life and a lie or misuse of power to the uneducated populace. I can only assume John Proctor said such a powerful quote because metaphorically he felt as if power was being misused or because everyone was lying. And obviously if everyone is lying, Gods work is being ignored, or as some see is killing him. Maybe we will see Abigail exploit her hierarchy status more, townspeople lie more, and possibly see innocents die. As important as The Crucible seems, Arthur Miller had bigger intentions on using such a powerful quote. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Your god is dead and only the ignorant weep!" Only the ignorant weep because intellects, the minority, see whats happening. Intellects such as Nietzsche see humans kill there own religion, Proctor watch his society crumble, and finally Miller saw America brainwashed through the Red Scare. The Red Scare literally scared ignorant people into believing that communist spies were invading the USA. Intellects, such as Miller, that spoke out were seen as those 'communists' and were ignored or seen as an unreliable source. I could only imagine that Miller wanted to scream "I'm not who they say I am!" Knowing he wouldn't be heard, he wrote "The Crucible" instead and most importantly used this quote to show how America thought. Relevantly, I find that Nietzsche quote and the Red Scare are oddly similar to current America. If anyone has anything negative to say about the machine, they are looked down upon and called a conspirator! Our country, the USA, is turning into a scary mix of Orwell's book "1984" and Huxley's "A Brave New World". I encourage you leave your programmed mind and ask yourself "Is this really America?"
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:27:24 pm
So, we can only escape from ignorance by seeing that WE are the cause of the very things that cause us to suffer? Nietzsche's most famous concept, even more so than the Will to Power and Death of God, is the "Overman." He felt that humans had evolved from pure animal status but still had another state to reach, a more creative stage of our evolution where we could shed the ignorance and conformity that characterize our species despite its intelligence. Maybe Miller is saying we need to EVOLVE beyond the kind of false religion that humans seem to always fall into...
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Cat Ishimasa
10/2/2013 11:22:51 am
The quote "God is dead, and we killed him" ,is so interesting to me. After watching the video and reading the resources, I believe that the idea that God has died is truly Nietzsche's way of saying that we have killed him when we left our overly religious views behind us and moved on into a more realistic way of thinking. God has not physically been murdered and put into a grave, but even that image amazes and angers people. Dying is a very human thing, so saying that God is dead in a literal sense makes people question his power and ability to judge, so people begin to question how much judgement he can truly have over you if he is just as human and can die. God's "death" the way Nietzsche sees it is the spread of atheism and with no high power to fear, he thinks that people will run free and cause a chaotic mess of the world. He does not say that religion is useless, but rather, that it should not be used as a safety blanket to cower under.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:35:59 pm
This is an interesting point. Nietzsche definitely felt religion was losing authority, and we see a rise of atheism today. More religiously-inclined individuals see this as a terrible thing, believing humans only act morally when we at least believe there is a God watching. Atheists and agnostics usually argue the opposite, saying we can create new morals. Nietzsche believed it could go other way - we could end up in a state of Nihilism, meaning a belief that everything is just meaningless; or, we could progress toward a state he called the Overman or Superman (yes, the superhero is named after this concept), meaning a new state of being based on a new kind of morality and values. This would make a GREAT essay topic related to the Crucible!
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Jane Breslin
10/6/2013 06:56:32 am
Religion can also be a scapegoat in general. For example, Tituba tells the people what they want to hear and blames her accused evil Barbados customs on the devil. People love to hear what they want and sometimes will not take no as an answer.
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Alexa McTernan
10/7/2013 08:00:08 am
I agree with what you're saying about the people not taking no for an answer. It seems like the people in The Crucible worry about getting their witchcraft situation under control but aren't so concerned about the safety of the innocent women being accused for something they aren't involved with. All they want are solid answers and the women they are questioning about witchcraft are lying so that they could attempt to save themselves. Sometimes, people do crazy things to prove how much power they have over others.
Shannon Burke
10/2/2013 11:26:15 am
People portray God to be the "be all and end all" in the world; no one has more mortal power then he does, especially in the Puritan faith. But, when Miller uses the line, "God is dead", he is speaking to the fact that there is a change in the atmosphere of Salem. Slowly, innocence is losing its grip on Salem. Neighbors and friends start to turn on each other just to save themselves from the charges of witchcraft. People are lying constantly to shift the blame off themselves and to people they wish ill upon. Innocent people are being jailed for crimes of witchcraft they did not commit.
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Casey Judge
10/7/2013 08:21:43 am
Shannon, I really like your point of view on this topic. I totally agree that the society of Salem is proving how people act when being blamed for things, everyone starts pointing fingers and becoming desperate to save themselves. With God's help, they could be guided to the truth.. But God is dead and they are not being guided. Instead of being guided, they are being misguided Abby's plotted revenge and false accusations leaving 39 people in jail. The innocence in this society is gone and all that is left is schemes, revenge, and misconceptions.
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Jose Montealegre
10/2/2013 11:37:42 am
I think the message that both Miller and Nietzsche are trying to imply, not just on their time period, but also in modern society, is that today we replace God with other things. These can range from technology or even knowledge. The meaning of “God is dead” is not literal, but it can be interpreted as the loss of faith in God. Just think about it, we have relied on God for so many centuries because it gave meaning to life. The Bible set rules and boundaries for other people, but over time, we have crossed those lines and got over them. We started believing that God doesn't act or do anything, and peculiar things just started making sense when science came in (knowledge). We've lost faith in God over the years because when something bad happens and we rely on him, nothing ever comes in to cure. I bet you that you hear every day, when something bad happens, the phrase “Oh my God”, and we say this to protest on God on why he let that happen. We've grown to be so impatient that some have started to believe that he is not even there. And so when that happens, we start to rely on another light to guide us.
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Anthony Jimenez
10/2/2013 11:41:16 am
Arthur Miller's intention of adding Nietzshe's "God is dead", was to show the character's in the story were forgetting how to live. All their lives, they were dependent on God's rule of life, not there's. In Nietzshe's words, he didn't literally mean god is dead, he meant everyone lived more healthy and joyful without limits set by faith. Nietzshe believed in death and God, himself. He thought religion as as a moral compass because people in the western world depended on God to partially safe their lives. So by putting, "God is dead", it's telling us the play seems to be heading in the direction, that the character's will eventually forget God. They'll forget the good and moral life because they will feel what they are doing is right, they feel freedom at the tip of their fingertips. An interesting point Simon Critchley pointed out was, they wore God as an accessory. Nietzshe was afraid they would forget the decline of religion and absence of a higher authority would bring the world to chaos. Regarding this, Abigail scapegoated John Proctor's wife and many others to get to the top so she would be a higher than the other women. As a matter of fact, most of the characters are forgetting religion and breaking bad. Paris is acquainted with the idea of money, the truth is out that John Proctor committed adultery and Abigail was still trying to be innocent meanwhile trying to ruin a marriage. By quoting, "God is dead", shapes the idea that characters will realize they have done wrong, but notice too late when the world they created is crumbling down around them.
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Michael Maier
10/7/2013 03:46:31 pm
I agree with your idea that the quote, "God is dead" is a symbol for how people do wrong. We keep committing bad actions when we pretend that we follow God and the good that he stands for. Because we say that God stands for truth and justice. But when we do commit those actions, we are contradicting ourselves. And as Nietzsche tried to prove, we killed God. We killed God with our actions that went against everything that we made God stand for.
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Jazmin Graham
10/2/2013 11:56:15 am
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:42:30 pm
I might have mentioned this before, but "to sin" literally means "to miss the mark," like an arrow shot at a target that it flies right over. So, are Nietzsche and Miller saying Puritan society, like our society, has fallen short of our own moral beliefs and ideals? Sinning - falling short - has become the new normal. If so, we are wasting potential in favor of getting power.
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Lauren O'Brien
10/2/2013 12:21:55 pm
Often times in literature, authors will leave allegorical messages in the text, hoping their readers will connect what they read to a real, current life meaning. The play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's famous quote "God is dead" are two entirely related texts, Nietzsche's quote the spark for a large portion of "The Crucible". While writing, Miller incorporated Nietzsche's quote Proctor, a wealthy, high class society member whose wife is arrested after accusal of witchcraft.
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Abby Westgate
10/7/2013 07:07:44 am
Lauren, I thought it was interesting how you said "The Crucible" is Arthur Miller's way of showing us he thinks history repeats itself. I agree with you that Arthur Miller is indeed telling us that history repeats itself though "The Crucible", but I don't think he used the Nietzsche quote as a way to express that.
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Anya Carney
10/2/2013 12:32:58 pm
Arthur Miller really used "The Crucible" to symbolize issues he was very intrigued by--Senator Joe McCarthy's Black List harassment and scapegoating, and Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy of "God is Dead". From the reading by Nietzsche, the quote, "God is dead in the hearts and minds of his own generation of modern men" really intrigued me and sort of summed up everything that Nietzsche was trying to say. I think that by using Nietzsche's "GOD IS DEAD" line, Miller was trying to explain that the people of Salem are no longer living by God. They are focused on ruining and turning on one another so that no one else turns on them. They associate eachother with the devil, and assume no one good is left. Frankly, I find the whole idea of scapegoating childish, and the idea of spectral evidence ridiculous.They were all so caught up in the idea of it, and now it sounds unreal. Nietzsche's reference "shapes" our interpretation of Miller's play because really, I believe "God is Dead" is almost part of the base of the play! Again, everyone is blaming each other for not "loving God" and associating each other with Satan. I think in the modern standpoint, Miller is using McCarthyism and Nietzsche to show how horrible scapegoating is and how God may really be dead in the minds of modern men. Not that we are associating ourselves with the devil, although some may, but that some people just don't believe in a God, or our atheist. Can you imagine being an atheist during the time "The Crucible" takes place?
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:46:21 pm
God is dead in our MINDS. Cool interpretation. I guess the atheist embraces that and says it's opportunity for us to become something new, while the Christian or Muslim says we are losing the true way of living and the morality that goes with it. Being an atheist at the time of The Crucible is a scary thought, but sometimes I think Abigail might be one - remember how she was supposedly laughing during Church? I'm not sure she believes in anything but herself, which maybe makes it EASIER for her to replace God with herself in everyone's mind...
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Samantha Quinn
10/2/2013 12:36:43 pm
"God is dead", first said by the philosopher Nietzsche then repeated by Proctor, from The Crucible, are exclaiming it slightly similar meanings. Proctor witnesses numerous members in his Puritan community pointing fingers, blaming each other for something that had never happened. This town that once was pure has gone against the teachings from the Bible, but continues to say they are good Puritans. Proctor suddenly realizes that he has gone against their beliefs in committing adultery, as well as observing the teenage girls telling immense, harmful lies. He has the option to go with the flow or be deemed an outcast for saying the truth. Both in which prove the quote; if he lies, he would not be listening to God, and if he told the truth, the man would receive satisfaction that he spoke the truth with all the liars surrounding him even though he would have confessed to going against their religion. Arthur Miller used those words to make an important point; the Puritans were worshiping a corrupt religion where as today we are living in a corrupt state of mind. We think lying and doing things in which we know is wrong and continue doing it very often. I believe Nietzsche was getting at our actions in todays society. Everyday we are forced to make decisions, some basic and some much bigger. With our bad choices we often feel guilt wishing we could have done something to fix it but don't say anything or not have done it at all, exactly how Proctor feels. Occasionally making the right choice can be difficult especially if it goes against your beliefs. Proctor knows "God is dead" yet it is necessary for him to widen the eyes of the Puritans living in an illusion of their "city upon a hill".
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Lizsete Santamaria
10/7/2013 10:25:18 am
I agree with what you say about Nietzsche getting at our actions in today's society. It seems he's almost foreseeing, hinting, at what society has become. It seems that even society back then(as well as now) was trying to hide the fact that the only thing we're really pure or "good" at is lying and going against the beliefs we should actually be following.
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Hannah Wallis
10/2/2013 02:02:22 pm
Okay so I may be completely off and be totally missing the message, but while I was reading Nietzsche's "God is Dead", I couldn't help but notice symbolism. A madman runs into a town square full of men and he is carrying a lantern. He's shouting over and over again "Where is God?" "Where is He?" And instead of the men stopping to actually talk to the man, they laugh and mock his questions. What I saw was Nietzsche symbolizing that "madman" as God. (Again I could be completely wrong just let me explain) The man was carrying a lantern, and this isn't a big deal but usually when we talk about God or spirits they are associated with light. Nietzsche never mentioned it was dark out or it was night time, so why was the man carrying a lantern? Secondly, I believe Nietzsche was trying to show how people just laughed at God's work, and treated him as though he were no better then they were. The man was looking for God, and the rest of the men just laughed and scoffed at him. I think this symbolizes the lack of faith that everyone was beginning to express. Lastly, Nietzsche writes "Gods too decompose." For some reason this line was just all too real for me. It really hit me hard saying that, just like people, Gods have not only died, but have been so disintegrated and eaten up by worms, that they will too be forgotten. That all the faith and religion and guidence that was once there will soon be forgotten.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:48:45 pm
I love this! I never thought to see the madman as a Holy Man or an embodiment of Spirit. (My theory is that it is a reference to a philosopher named Diogenes, a 'madman' who lived in the streets and would wander around during daylight hours with a lantern, claiming he was "looking for an honest man" and finding only liars! A cool Crucible connection there...) If we see religion as the "body" of God, it is certainly "decomposing" in Salem. Will Proctor play the role of this madman, the prophet who shows them the dying of the light?
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Alexa DeAnna
10/5/2013 07:49:25 am
I really like your use of symbols to further explain Nietzsche's "God is Dead". I totally agree with you, by the way. Like the fact that Nietzsche says "Gods too decompose". It made me realize that we kind of treat Gods like celebrities. Everyone wants to meet them and we "worship" actual celebrities like Gods. And also the fact that when Gods die, all their hard work and guidance will go along with them. Nietzsche is sort of saying that Gods are just people like all of us.
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Gabby Amorelli
10/6/2013 10:10:54 am
Hannah, I never realized these symbols until you mentioned this. The citizens are probably questioning god through this whole process especially the women being accused of witchcraft. They're wondering why God had them convicted or accused. The women know they aren't witches and most likely thinking that they never did anything to get God this mad, to have them killed. This leads to mistaken reverse phycology. People had intentions that they're disobeying God by being a "witch". However, "God" is disobeying the citizens by "killing" them without reason at all.
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Emma Craven
10/7/2013 10:00:19 am
Hannah, I like how you said how worms were disintegrating God when he died. It really put a strong image into my mind. I also never thought of the madman as God but now I totally agree with you about the symbolism. I'm excited to see if Proctor will bring back God in Salem as we keep reading and how we will do it. I also want to see how Parris will change, like if he will start to help to "resuscitate" God back into the town.
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Mr. Biggs
10/8/2013 02:36:29 am
I love the different interpretations on this little thread, and the theme of decomposition linking gods to humans. It's easy for us to say that Zeus or some other Greek god is dead and buried, but the people of Salem have come to rely on religion. If we see the madman AS god, we can suggest that everyone is IGNORING god, too...
Jose
10/2/2013 03:17:12 pm
Friedrich Nietzsche quote "God is dead." is both a strong and controversial phase. What Nietzsche tries saying in "god is dead" is a more profound meaning than just interpreting it as we killing him by stabbing him or shooting him. What Nietzsche tries saying is that we have killed him psychologically within ourselves. We no longer believe in him as the mighty person people believed he was for centuries. We have killed him from our morals in today's society. We have "replaced" him with logic and science and have relied less with the assurances of religion.
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Gabby Recalde
10/2/2013 04:00:58 pm
When Miller uses the famous quote, "God is dead.", in the Crucible, it automatically catches one's attention. This is not only because it is so powerful and controversial, but because we've heard it before. When writing this line, Nietzsche does not believe this in a literal sense. He is referring to the increase of atheism and the decline of religion in the world. This is similar to the context of quote in the play, but I find that they are also quite different. When Miller has John Proctor say this, he is talking of the misuse of God in Puritan society. Instead of using logic and evidence in the Salem witch trials, they used religion, or lack of religion, to explain everything. This leads to many innocent people being killed for a crime that they did not commit. I think that this relates to the Red Scare because instead of God being killed by the Puritans, freedom is being killed by McCarthy. Just like how religion is being used as evidence in the witch trials, paranoia is being used to jump to conclusions during the Red Scare.
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Mya Alexice
10/6/2013 01:12:47 am
I love when you said freedom is being killed by McCarthy. Both God in the puritan society and freedom in a more modern sense are being misused and used for certain people's gain.
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Mikey Brewer
10/2/2013 05:06:10 pm
If somebody has a friend that works at a store they might ask for something from the store here and there, but after a while they might start to abuse the friend into getting something for a discount or for free because he/she feels they are friends and they should do that kind of stuff for each other. But, if the other friend isn’t doing anything in return, then the friend that’s doing everything is going to start to not like him/her because he/she is taking him/her for granted. That is exactly what some people are doing with God, except they all believe that God will forgive them for everything no matter what they’ve done. Nietzsche believes that God is only taking so much from each person and that once God has had enough, that’s when God “dies”. It’s not his actual death that’s most horrifying, but the thought of his death that he uses to frighten everyone. When the public first knew about the government possibly shutting down, we all got scared inside, but when it actually happened, we barely even saw a change in society.
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Mr. Biggs
10/2/2013 10:55:24 pm
The Death of God = The Death of Society, as people come to care about only themselves...
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Claudio LoBraico
10/7/2013 12:22:32 pm
Mikey, I like the analogy you made comparing God to a friend who has been taken advantage of. It seems like everyone in Salem is becoming so wrapped up in all of their sins that they are using God and religion as a way to support their case or argument. Ironically, they are using their faith just about the opposite of what God and religion is intended for. They should be following God's leadership and avoiding these sins and false accusations altogether instead of using God to justify them. God is dead, and the characters in The Crucible killed him.
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Jon Nielsen
10/2/2013 09:24:37 pm
What Nietzsche was talking about int his quote might have been a foreshadowing to the future. It all makes sense if you think of it this way. Imagine the man running into the plaza shouting God is dead, but it is 1000 years into the future. Science and Technology has taken over mankind and everything about the world has finaly been explained. Imagine the universe's history and everything relating to it has finaly been revealed at long last by scientists (42). There is no need for religeon. It has been this way for more than 100 years and believing in any kind of God is considered the pinnical of taboo. Now imagine the man coming out in public maniacly screaming "God is dead and we've killed him!"; would it make more sense considering we now know that we have created god and yet we have also killed him. Nietzsche is trying to warn us that if we continue in this spiraling treck towards ultimate technology and development, there will be no need for religeon becasue everything about the universe and its creation would be explained.
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Mr. Biggs
10/8/2013 02:25:21 am
Whoa ... I think this is pretty interesting. Did we kill religion and spirituality by "explaining" everything with science and "fixing" everything with technology? It's interesting because some would argue we need religion. If we lose it, or are already losing it, what will WE become?
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Pat Monaghan
10/5/2013 10:28:19 am
Proctor exclaims God is Dead in The Crucible in a fit of rage and confusion but he knows exactly what he’s saying. Going into the court Proctor had nothing but good intentions and was self sacrificing to put an end to the insanity going on in Salem. However the session in court did not at all go the way he wanted it to. It turned on him faster than he could say “Your Honor”. He exclaimed, “God is dead” because if there were a God he would’ve helped John make the others see what was right and what was wrong. If there were a God he would have made Mary Warren tell the truth. This whole third act reminds me of two completely different things. Looney Tunes, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
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Mya Alexice
10/6/2013 01:19:55 am
Wow, I love this comparison. Alot of people take Wile E. Coyote chasing the road runner as humanity seeking explanations for the unknown, and how it's all useless- that we'll never catch him in the end.
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Cat Ishimasa
10/6/2013 09:59:06 am
I find it interesting that we both related our posts and ideas back to the actual bible, even though we used different examples. I would have never thought to compare it to the road runner but that's such an awesome comparison because that and the bible comparison both work really well to explain how crazy and dramatic everything that's happening really is.
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Brian Chamberlain
10/6/2013 11:36:59 am
Pat, I found your comments very interesting. I liked your comparison to the Bible. The number 3 is a very significant number in the Bible. It is interesting that you were able to connect it to the three pieces of evidence in the courtroom.
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Matt Reardon
10/6/2013 05:02:46 am
Amidst all of that confusion and chaos, I probably would have yelled, "God is dead", as well. Just reading about that court session irritates me and makes me want to tell Danforth that not a single word of truth had been spoken. The whole act reveals every ounce of the corruption and lying that led to the whole epidemic. At one point, Danforth states that witchcraft is an invisible act of evil and that only the witch and the bewitched can prove its existence. This made me think of how God is the same way. We cannot necessarily see him, but we either believe he's there or do not. In a sense, the ministers are the real witches. They claim to have access to the ultimate power of the universe that is God. puritan culture is the only thing that allows them to do so. It is astonishing to believe that so much conflict can occur from things that we cannot see, but maybe it is because the things we don't see have the most power. It comes down to the fact that our beliefs are what control our actions. Who you are all begins with what you believe. In the Crucible, the people of Salem had been dragged into a series of pointing fingers and accusation. They were baffled by the idea that someone could turn completely against God and Puritan beliefs. This is what caused them to believe the constant lies. God truly was dead in that court room. Proctor, angered and furious, believed that if God was alive at that point, he would have stopped the madness.
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Quinn Schembor
10/6/2013 06:18:43 am
During act three, when they are in court it really irked me because what most of the people are saying are just plain lies. There is no such thing as witchcraft or anything like it. Such as when Abigail and the rest of the girls start screaming in terror about how Mary is “sending” her spirits out at them. When Proctor screamed “God is dead” during the court, it made me wonder about our modern society. Now in the current, it is innocent until proven guilty and during the Salem Witch Trials it was guilty until proven innocent. But in some cases, some people would not be proven innocent and would remain “guilty” until they finally were proven innocent or even hanged. If I was Proctor, I may have thought the same thing but not have said that because saying something like that could easily get you executed back then. I am very interested to see what will happen to Proctor because saying something like that in front of a court full of people could be just as bad or even worse as witchcraft. Another thing that caught my eye in act three was when Proctor says “You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!” that quote really caught my eye because to me he is saying that at this point in the book he has lost most of faith in god to stop all of these hangings that are happening and believing a girl (Abigail) who in actuality is making everything up about witchcraft. Proctor is saying that if god was “alive” none of this would be happening and they would continue to live on their “City upon a hill.”
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sophie conti
10/7/2013 08:25:53 am
I agree with what you said about how if God didn't exist and wasn't such an influential part in Puritan lives during the 1600s, half of their problems would cease to exist, such as believing a 16 year old girl that witchcraft exists. However, I think that when John Proctor screamed "God is Dead" he didn't mean that people were being accused for witchcraft for no specific reason and that since no one was stopping Abigail God must not exist, but he was rather angry at the fact that his secrets might be exposed. John Proctor and Abigail had an affair after all, which is a sin, and goes against the Ten Commandments (adultery). When Elizabeth was thrown into jail by Abigail for witchcraft as revenge, Mary Warren and John Proctor figured that the only way to save his wife was to expose the real reason why Abby was accusing random people of witchcraft, and therefore revealing their affair. "God is dead" was really saying that even though the people of Salem viewed Abby as a saint and thought she making the right decisions through God of accusing who was guilty and who was scheming with the Devil, she was really doing it for a different reason, to be with John Proctor. She didn't know who was guilty or who was innocent; therefore, she is really not a saint and is making her judgements through a "dead" God.
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Mikey Brewer
10/6/2013 09:40:16 am
Reading Act 3 really fascinated me because of how deceiving and corrupt that courtroom was. I was actually scoffing at what I was reading because of how demented each person can make themselves appear. Its almost like they all had a meeting and told each other, “All right we are going to make no sense about anything that goes on in there, and whatever you’re accused of, deny it.” The girls did this, the judge did it, and then Mary Warren did it, and as they did it, John Proctor’s balloon grew more and more until it popped. It was then that he shouted, “God is dead.” I find it ironic that as soon as anyone walks into a courtroom they put their hand on a bible and make an oath to only tell the truth, but in this courtroom, where everyone is more religious, no one is telling the truth. Also, Danforth says that God damns all liars (speaking to Mary Warren to get the “truth” out of her) and when Proctor says, “God is dead,” he also says that, “God damns our kind especially, and we will burn,” which is saying that everyone is lying which is precise. (Miller 120) Giles tells the court he can’t mention his witness for the court for his/her safety, and he is immediately threatened with hanging. No one can get through a sentence or 2 without being interrupted. It was the chaos occurring in the courtroom, how each of his explanations that there are no witches backfires on him. It was when Mary Warren couldn’t handle Abigail and the girls’ plan that John Proctor believed God had died because if he were alive there would’ve been justification in the court.
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Cat Ishimasa
10/6/2013 09:47:23 am
Act 3 was, for me, definitely the most interesting part of the book so far. In this act, we see everything begin to get broken down. The entire court scene really began to drive me crazy because Danforth has the most backwards and ridiculous comebacks of anyone in the entire book. He rationalizes the crazy he sees surrounding him by adding to it and egging it on.
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Mya Alexice
10/6/2013 10:15:56 am
I can't tell if Miller is trying to say all organised religion is corrupt or just extreme examples like the Puritans. Perhaps he was making a statement about the separation of church and state? Being so strict about their beliefs is what led them into insanity. Miller might be telling us that if we let church and state intertwine, the outcome might be similar. When he uses the "God is dead" quote, it fuels my thinking further, that Miller knew organised religion tends to be a petri dish for persecution and similar things, and that he was warning us against it connecting with the government that controls our freedoms.
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Gabby Amorelli
10/6/2013 10:35:25 am
God is basically the ultimate superhero in all religions. Superheros is generally are just good people with incredible capabilities. When the ultimate superhero dies ("God is Dead") al chaos is released. People start doing things they wouldn't normally do.
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Gabby Recalde
10/6/2013 11:07:02 am
During Act III of The Crucible, there are too many lies to count. To Judge Danforth, there is no room in court for reason that isn’t coupled with religion. This makes for a very unfair trial. I believe that double standards are the crux of this courtroom’s problems. When Abigail and the other girls say something, Danforth automatically finds it to be true because these girls claim to be “turning to God”. On the other hand, when Proctor, his friends, or the accused witches say something, it is quickly considered false because they are denying what is said by the people who are “turning to God”. When the courtroom turns into total chaos, John Proctor yells the famous quote, “God is dead!” (Miller, 119). What Proctor means by this is that, since everyone is using God for their own self- interest, God has lost all of His original meaning and is therefore dead. I predict that this comment will be used against Proctor in Act IV of the play. I am very excited to see how far Abigail can take her intricate plan.
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Ricky Wild
10/6/2013 11:24:22 am
Reading Act III, my predictions were surprisingly close to John Proctor's reasoning for saying "God is dead." In this post instead of looking at Nietzsche's or Miller's purpose, I will only focus on Proctor's view. Many if not everyone in Salem had someone to blame for intentions. Scapegoats were given if you were an enemy, possessed land, or simply if you were not liked. During the trials the finger is being pointed in a million different directions instead of staying quite. John Proctor's patience eventually erupts and Proctor screams "God is dead." He didn't truly believe that God was dead, but instead that God's teachings were being ignored. Hate and blame was being appointed, something that killed or bothered God. With God's work being ignored one could only see God as dead. Everyone's will to power made them forget there love of God. Act III is definitely the most fascinating and important chapter to me. It makes you wonder where moralities go, when personal gain is seen.
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Jose Montealegre
10/6/2013 11:55:06 am
I agree with what your saying Ricky. Sometimes people just get obssesed or maybe even desperate of getting power that you forget the real meaning of things. It is just like in Salem. People are so desperate to get power so they don't get accused, that they start accusing others with the guilt of God to the point where they start forgetting the real meaning of God.
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Brian Chamberlain
10/6/2013 11:25:46 am
The Act 3 of the Crucible, John Proctor's life is turned upside down. He is one of the few sane people left in Salem. Most are gullible, not thinking for themselves or are flat out lying. In a moment of desperation he says, "God is dead". Earlier, before I read this Act, I thought the quote "God is Dead" meant that he was no longer needed to the people of Salem. Now I believe that Proctor is saying to Danforth, Parris, and Abigail that their actions have put the Devil in charge of Salem. He is saying that these people should be in hell and and not with God in Heaven, basically that God is dead to them. They are no longer followers of God's word. God condemns people who know the truth but fail to act. Bearing false witness breaks one of the Ten Commandments. These 3 people may know the Commandments but fail to follow them. Interestingly Proctor confessed his sin in this Act. His wife failed to tell the truth about it which got him in more trouble. To Proctor right now, life must seem crazy. The word of a mean, lying girl is more respected than the word of good women like his wife Elizabeth.
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Ava Merz
10/6/2013 11:29:24 am
In Act III of "The Crucible", John Proctor's statement "God is Dead" defines the effect of the chaotic society that formed from the absence of pure morality and God himself. If there is no God, there is no high authority, which becomes chaos. God's rule gave order to the society to keep them sane and live a life of the values of God. You cant contain values without moral order, either. Salem broke their rule of society by lying and accusing others. The people of Salem had their own individual determination of values. They thought it was ok to lie and accuse, because they are saving their lives and thats all that matters. This realization of Salem, has Proctor looking for God, but he cant find him- he is dead. His assumption is openly expressed to everyone, because now he has given up on God, just like his own community.Proctor's community thought that morality doesnt need to come from men preaching, but by our own defintion of morality. They didnt need preachers, ministers, or even God. Shared cultural beliefs united the characteristics of the people of Salem. First, they all believed and praised God; which united them with prayer, Church and the same outlooks in life. Then, they became united in the disbelief of God and order. They came together by leaving the organized, stressed society of pure religious values. They gave up on their values, which ultimately gave up on God. Now that God was gone the question was, "Who will replace God?", and "Who has the high authority?" I think the new God is and has been Abigal. She has authority of not only her community but the court as well!
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Jazmin Graham
10/6/2013 11:32:11 am
Act 3 was actually really confusing for me, considering all of the new characters, and all of the lies and betrayal. It was just all kind of too much to keep up with. But besides the confusion, it was really entertaining to see how all of the girls followed Abigail in pretending to be possessed. It was also really interesting to see Proctor freak out in the court. I think that all of the pressure got the hold of him and caused him to show his "true colors", as well as confess to lechery. Act 3 was just complete chaos.
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Georgia Stierman
10/6/2013 11:36:21 am
In the midst of all the madness and turmoil occurring in act three, John Proctor declares "God is Dead", catching everybody in the courtroom's attention. Throughout the entirety of act three, it seems as though everybody is against Proctor. Every time he attempts to defend himself or his wife, somebody brings up some sort of evidence to use against him. Danforth asks Proctor if he has ever wished to undermine the court, and Proctor denies this, but Cheever is quick to contradict his answer by stating, "I think it be my duty. sir...When we come to take his wife, he damned the court and ripped your warrant." The part of the act that irritated me the most was when Abigail and the girls were brought into the courtroom for questioning. It is clear that Abigail is dishonest and manipulative, and Proctor is continuously trying to prove that to everybody in the courtroom. Nobody will believe him though because popular opinion is cutting against him; fueled primarily by Abigail's manipulative ways. This makes me think of our society today and how people tend to side with a popular or winning argument only because they see others doing so, and they don't want to be criticized for having a different opinion. Danforth, in my opinion, has taken Abigail's side because not only has he been manipulated by Abigail (as has the majority of the town), but also because he wants to make the crowd-pleasing decision.
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Jose Montealegre
10/6/2013 11:44:31 am
After reading Act III and thinking about the quote "God is dead", it made me realize another meaning of this quote. During act three, everything goes insane and everyone just starts going crazy. They start using God as the base for their reason that the other is a witch. So, when Proctor uses the quote, he means that the literal meaning of there being a God is gone. They are just using God to strengthen their accusement, which isn't right and also very ironic because they are supposed to be the most religious people.
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Anya Carney
10/6/2013 11:49:38 am
Before reading Act III, I had a lot of expectations of tension leading up to Proctor's "GOD IS DEAD" line. And, there were. The tension in the court room was just what I expected it to be. Everyone was frustrated with one another, interrupting each other, blaming each other. Scapegoating each other. Abigail scapegoating Mary Warren stood out to me the most. Beginning on page 114, Abby told the court that Mary was a yellow bird up on the ceiling, trying to fly down to get her. And Abby and the other girls in the court room kept repeating Mary Warren's every word; as if Mary Warren were making them. Also, another thing I noticed was how as soon as anyone confessed anything, they expected God to just forgive them for admitting it. I mean, that is how a lot of religion in present day work. But, I would think that a religion so many years ago and so strict would just ruin them. Do something to them even worse than what they are doing to the so-called witches. At least they have an actual confession compared to the ridiculous "spectral evidence". The biggest example that stood out in my eye was John Proctor confessing and then TELLING his wife, Elizabeth, to confess also. Act III was so exciting and eventful, I can't wait to see what happens in Act IV!
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Samantha Quinn
10/6/2013 12:32:41 pm
Act three brings " God is dead" to a whole other level. Before reading this section I thought that people were not listening to God anymore. They were listening to the powerful Abigail instead. This wise girl was able to keep every person consumed in her lies no matter how absurd they were. When Mary Warren attempted to tell the truth about her, Abigail claimed her spirit was trying to hurt her. It took only a moment for the other girls to follow, eventually reeling Mary Warren back into the lies. Proctor tried to confront her for adultery, but the people listened to the liar. Every person, except for a few, listened to, believed in and worshiped the teenager just as they had done with God. Abigail in a sense killed God, as others believed every word she said rather than His truthful teachings.
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Amy Thomas
10/6/2013 01:13:18 pm
The other half of Act III brought a whole other view of the phrase Proctor made, "God is dead". Everyone was shouting and annoyed with each other in the first half, desperately searching and finding evidence to prove others innocent. It was terrible though how Abigail was so manipulative, finding ways to make people believe her. She did this especially when she and the other girls of the court mimicked everything Mary Warren said, as if they were hypnotized, when the really weren't just to make people believe them. From them doing this, it almost forces her to go back to lying, which she does. She and the other girls use God as an excuse that they "love him" and take his name in vain. They killed God with this method since any other way would be immediately accused as witchcraft.
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Katie Carroll
10/6/2013 01:49:53 pm
In the chaos of the fighting in the Salem courthouse John Proctor screams out, "God is dead"(Miller 111). I believe that John Proctor is just extremely fed up with all of the hypocrisy in this Puritan society. His aggravation is built up by many events through out the day of the trials. He find out that Elizabeth, who is sentenced to be hung, has said that she is pregnant, so she will live another year. Then, Abigail begins to challenge Mary Warren's new story of the day in the wood. John becomes so livid that he tells the court that he and Abigail had sex, therefore making her a whore and him a lecher. When Mary Warren accuses John of being the devil's man, he begins to breakdown from the lies of all the people. All of these events in the short period of time made John very unsure of the way the they are running their legal system. He does not understand why everyone is lying to make themselves less guilty of all the crimes. All of the events throughout the day with the lying and sins, makes John believe that God is dead, or the morals of God are dead. The way that the Puritans were supposed to follow god was pure and without sin. This group of people are not living the Puritan life the way they are expected to, so therefore, god is dead among these people. Because, if you aren't living by the morals of god is he still alive?
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Jose
10/6/2013 09:29:17 pm
I was surpised how things ended up being after act III. John Proctor ends up getting arrested for "working" for the devil, while Abigail manages to scapegoat. At this point in the story, the climax and the intensisty rises in the court room where 2 sides will be decided for every person. Also the defintion of "god is dead" has a more significant meaning as well after act III because it seems like all hope is dead after this act because these accusations on witchcraft have lead to many arrest and persecuted. It shows how savage they become with killing so many people for other people accusing others. They no long mention god as their topic anymore, it seems like they've forgotten the real reason why witchcraft is so wrong. The girls at this point in the story don't care what happens to anyone else because they know that if they confess they'll be persecuted. They no longer consider god anymore and it seems like everyone else has forgotten about him too.
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Jon Nielsen
10/6/2013 09:30:08 pm
In my opinion, Miller wanted to add a kick that really defines the climax and intesity of the play. Almost all of act 3, in his eyes, was a build up consiting of ridiculous scapegoating and betrayal all for the moment when proctor snaps. I think Arthur really wanted Proctor to snap and say "God is dead" because at this point in the play, the girls could care less about god. All they care about is using him and the devil to get away scott free from the terrible situation they are in. Now, Proctor was telling Danforth all along that he knew the children were faking, so now when the moment came when HE was acused of sponsoring the devil, he finaly lost it. He wanted to let everyone in the court room know that god might as well be dead because he is basicaly a tool at this point for social succes and a ticket out of prison or death. Miller probably based his entire play around this one quote from Proctor, and for a good cause if i do say so myself.
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Sean Provost
10/6/2013 09:38:23 pm
After reading act III, the meaning of the quote "God is dead" changed. I think that Proctor uses the quote to accuse the "witches" of killing God. If the "witches have killed God everybody in the jury or court would be in shock for such a sin, therefore nobody in the court or jury will no longer accuse anyone, they will focus on the accused. Proctor used this quote to escape being accused of and being killed.
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Lauren O'Brien
10/7/2013 09:59:37 am
At the end of Act III in "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, Miller incorporates the famous quote, "God is dead" into the character John Proctor, who at the time is being ignored and betrayed by those whom he thinks he can trust. He incorporates the quote here, as Proctor believes he has nothing more to lose at the time of this declaration; his wife is already sentenced to jail and possibly the gallows and he will soon follow in that path because he is betrayed by many, including his housemaid Mary Warren. He says this also to scapegoat himself, as the only way to stop the circle of accusations occurring in Salem is to sacrifice oneself so no one else can be blamed. I find this all a bit ironic, for the entire means of the town's feuding and mass hysteria is lost at this point: people are no longer worried about witches roaming Salem, rather their own death. Society is also forgetting how their main purpose in life should be to serve God, as they are killing innocent people merely for sport at this point. God's meaning as a whole is lost, as now society is in a full out battle for power, Abigail the current victor. Thus, John Proctor declares "God is dead" in order to end the turmoil overtaking Salem and become the ultimate sacrifice- he cannot continue to watch this madness overtake the home he loves.
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Mr. Biggs
10/8/2013 02:26:25 am
Awesome post!! Makes a lot of sense w. the ending too...
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Sophia Mazzini
10/8/2013 07:21:20 am
When Miller wrote "God is dead" as one of the most dramatic sayings from John Proctor, he was clearly quoting Nietzsche. When Nietzsche said this, he did not mean it as the literal death of God but instead that as one destroys the faith and belief in God, they also destroy the values that go along with God and religion (ten commandments). When Miller quoted Nietzsche, I think he wanted this meaning to be expressed in his writing as well. When John Proctor yells this in the court house, he feels that all hope is lost. His wife was accused of witchcraft and will be hanged, he may have the same fate as him, and Mary Warren completely turned on him. At this point, he is probably questioning if God even exists, considering the community is accusing random people of witch craft, without any support. The whole town becomes a society of murders, "in the name of God". I think Miller also wanted his character, Proctor, to try to show the court of how animalistic they are acting. They are throwing community and fellow church-members "under the bus" simply because they do not want to be the focus of the scapegoating. Proctor lost all faith in his current situation and community overall.
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