Justice and Injustice within “The Crucible” Justice and injustice Two concepts that have

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Justice and Injustice within “The Crucible” Justice and injustice. Two concepts that have been important to our society for centuries. America was founded on the injustices the colonists were facing by the British government. Even now, justice and injustice have become important points of contention in contemporary history. Many groups have differing opinions on what justice is and isn’t. This also applies to injustice. When dissecting and deconstructing “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the question arises. As an allegory for how Miller was mistreated by HUAC, how does “The Crucible” portray justice and/or injustice? Firstly, by what standard is justice defined and, conversely, injustice? What person can dictate what encompasses the boundaries of justice? Shall it be religion and allow God to define the boundaries by which society should function and punish its wrongdoers? Shall it be economy and allow decisions to be made based on how the markets shall suffer from losses? What decent system of human morality can truly engross all the facets of justice and, therefore, be applied to participants on a global scale? During the time period of “The Crucible”, it was religion that pushed forth the legal system of early Colonial America. The Bible had written down the rules and boundaries as God had commanded of humanity from millenia prior. In conjunction with this, the British legal system also plays a role in the rulings of Salem as America at the time was still under the rule of the British. Primarily, the characters of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams represents justice and injustice. In Act One, injustice is immediately shown with the blame for the girls’ strange behavior being pushed on Tituba, a Bahamian slave owned by Reverend Samuel Parris (described as a Negro). As inferred by the time period that both the story takes place and the time it was written, many problems that white people were placed on black people. In 1692, the year of the play’s setting, slavery was still legal in the colonies. In 1953, the year was the play was written, segregation hadn’t yet been outlawed. In fact, the issues of segregation had continued from the end of the Civil War to about 1965, when Jim Crow laws were repealed. Slavery and the discrimination felt by the black community and other minorities is a great injustice that has stained but shaped America into the country it is today. Another factor to consider is that outrage is seen to alter the scope and direction of injustice in “The Crucible””