A Scene of Dialogue in the Crucible Contextual Analysis Essay

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Conflict in the First Scene of Dialogue in Miller's The Crucible

The piece of dialogue at the beginning of The Crucible in which Abigail and Parris reveal their respective characters through snippets and snatches of admissions is an important scene that sets the tone and initial conflict of the drama. The tone is serious but chaotic: a child is in danger; the doctor has no cure; foul play in the form of "possession" is suspected by the community, many members of which are talking in the parlor where the "rumor of witchcraft is all about" (Miller 9). Parris, who is a Reverend in the community, and who himself is at odds with his parish, is afraid because such talk will put him in a very bad light: "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?" Parris cries to Abigail. He is not in control of himself: panicked both by the condition of his daughter Betty and by the fear of being chased out of his parish by individuals who do not want him at the head of the congregation, Parris is in a highly emotional state, unable to grasp the obvious. "Betty's not witched," says Abigail (Miller 10) -- and she, in her apparent innocence, understands the situation much more clearly than anyone else -- yet she will not be heard. Thus, the conflict is born out of a misunderstanding, a failure to empathize, and a set of ulterior motives lurking throughout the community.

Witchcraft and evil spirits are used as a pretext for punishing, ousting or moving against certain individuals (so Parris understands) and yet there is also a belief that having "trafficked with spirits" Betty is now in mortal danger. The irony is that it is not Betty and Abigail who have trafficked with evil spirits but rather Parris and the other elders of the community who harbor a spirit of spite and maliciousness in their Puritanical vision of human nature that would divest humanity of its natural and innocent expressions -- such as dancing.

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The main literary device at work in this scene of dialogue is conflict. Parris cannot see straight because of the conflict in his own life: he wants to appear as pure and good, yet is more concerned with appearances (his daughter and niece dancing) than with trying to understand them. Abigail must also face her own conflict, and though she is willing to confess that she was dancing like a heathen and accept her punishment, a darker conflict exists in her own heart, which is revealed in the next Act when Proctor arrives.

The literary device of conflict helps me to understand this opening scene more because it shows that this is an imperfect situation -- a real situation, in which there are several wills within the community (and indeed within the individuals themselves) conflicting with one another. There is suspicion and fear and willfulness in all of them -- all of them with their own reasons, too. When I think of the passage in the context of conflict, it changes for me only in the sense that it represents the whole of the play in this one, tiny scene between Abigail and Parris: a moment of truth (Abigail's admission to Parris and her assertion that Betty is not witched, followed by a denial by Parris -- he cannot accept the fact that his daughter would dance and feign sickness just to get back at him). It is a poignant exchange and very sad because the conflict could so easily be resolved if Parris would only humbly accept that something is not right in his own heart for his daughter to treat him this way (as her only choice to be heard) and go to the parlor and tell the parish the truth. He has too much human respect and fears their censure. For that reason, the tragedy that follows is allowed to unfold, blooming out of this one folly.

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