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Irony in the Crucible

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Irony in the Crucible
Irony in The Crucible In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible there is a severe amount of irony during the Salem witch trials. The idea of the witch trials was to find peace in Salem but dolefully brought conflict and death to the community. There are numerous events that pertain irony such as Elizabeth lying to the court about her husband committing adultery, how the society was supposed to be moral but is very greedy and cold, and how the court system is not based on justice but merely about gaining power. Elizabeth Proctor has always been candid woman. She speaks only the truth and believes honesty will bring her closer to God. In the play Elizabeth is taken to court to be questioned on her and John Proctors relationship. Elizabeth only wants what’s best for her husband and lies about his affair with Abigail Williams. John quotes “’I have known her, sir. I have known her.’" (115) Unfortunately John had confessed to the court that Abigail and him had a sexual affair. Elizabeth lied to protect her husband and ironically made the situation worse. Since Elizabeth lied, the court then concludes that John is lying to save his wife from the witch accusations.

The Puritan religion is supposed to be based on following God. The people believed that they where chosen by God to live a mannerly and spiritual life. In Salem this was not how the society felt. There wasn’t the vibe of generosity but of selfishness. A society that was expected to be moral failed to do so because of pure greed. Abigail Williams is an example for her bogus witch trials to protect herself she kills innocent people. Also characters such as Reverend Parris, Governor Danforth and Mary Warren show they are very weak and unrighteous. Many people in the play are ironically iniquitous for such a just lifestyle. The court system in Salem was very corrupt. In the Puritan religion it was said that you can’t challenge the word of God. They would use this against people in trials as a way to gain
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