Characterization of Reverend Samuel Parris Throughout The Crucible we are introduced to and follow four or five characters that Arthur Miller elaborated upon. One of those characters is ReverendSamuel Parris, a bitter minister who came to Salem for unclear reasons. That reason mayhave been he was looking for a small town to control, maybe he was trying to escapesomething or someone, or he may have just wanted a fresh, clean start; whatever thatreason was it is for sure he had no idea what he was going to start. If the blame of the Salem Witchcraft Trails were to be traced back to one individual it would certainly beReverend Parris. When we are first introduced to Parris he is at the side of his daughters bedpraying for his recovery. It is Parris who calls in Hale and other experts so that a curemay be found for his daughter. Once word got out that there were witch hunters in Salemall hell broke loose. As three warrants are sent out to arrest the supposed witches the longblood bath that is to follow is set into motion. During the trials Parris is sure to attack thecharacter of every defendant leaving no one pure. When Frances Nurse brings a petitionwith 91 names on it, a petition to set Rebecca, Goody Proctor, and Martha Corey freeParris demands that all those on the list be called in for questioning.pg93Danforth, glancing at the list: How many names are here?Frances: Ninety-one, Your Excellency.Parris, sweating: These people should be summoned. Danforth looks up at him questioningly. For questioning.Parris: This is a clear attack upon the court! Parris also attacks Mary Warren harshly when she changes sides to help JohnProctor clear his wife's name. Once Mary claims she fainted at will he tries to make herprove this, and once he has weakened her whole defensive stand, the other girls move infor the kill forcing her to turn on the man she could have saved. Parris could not let it beproven that the girls were liars for if it was bot...
