Character Analysis of Reverend Parris free essay sample

Character Analysis of Reverend Parris If it were not because of the self-preserving and greedy nature, also the paranoia of the people in Salem, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 would most likely not have occurred. One of those people is Reverend Parris, who is the minister of the church in The Crucible. All Reverend Parris cares about is his reputation/good name and the amount of wealth he has. He is paranoid that there is a faction of townspeople that are trying to get him thrown out of his position.Because of his need to preserve his good name he goes along with the false proceedings of the witch trials. In the end he starts to doubt the trials for the same reason. He also suppresses evidence that would have discredited the court, but instead the court becomes stronger and make is impossible to stop. Reverend Parris One of Parris’s only concerns is the preservation of his good name in the town of Salem. We will write a custom essay sample on Character Analysis of Reverend Parris or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When he discovers Betty, his daughter, and his niece, Abigail Williams, dancing in the woods, he knows that it will make him look bad in the eyes of his congregation and they will lose respect for him. As he says to Abigail,† I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff necked people to me, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character. (pg. 11) He does not want the actions of his foolish daughter and niece to destroy the work that he has put in for years to be ruined because his daughter and niece’s foolish action. Parris is also a self-centered, greedy man who only looks out for numero uno, himself. For example, he gets into a quarrel with John Proctor about having to pay six pounds on fire wood when he gets paid a yearly salary of sixty six pounds, â€Å"I regard that six pound as part of my salary. I am paid little enough without I spend six pound on fire wood. † In addition, He also claims that someone of his esteemed credentials (graduating from Harvard College) would get paid much more than he is.He always wants more; he demands the deed to the house he lives in, which goes against years of time-honored tradition. Finally, he demands to have gratuitous golden candlesticks on his pulpit when he preaches instead of cheap pewter candlesticks that were given to him by a church member. In the end of the Crucible when Abigail plunders his safe where he keeps his thirty two pounds he is racked with depression and sorrow. Taking into account all these things Reverend Parris does not seem like much of a god faring man to me.Finally, Parris is a paranoid and fearful man. He thinks that everyone is out to get him and relieve him of his position as minister. He thinks that there is a faction within his church that wishes to overthrow him and would do anything to get him removed. He knows that if this faction discovers what his niece and daughter did it could lead him to be fired from his job, as he says to Thomas Putnam, â€Å"In my house? In my house, Thomas? They will topple me with this. (pg. 6) Because of his fear that he will be thrown out he suppresses evidence that evidence that could have prevented the witch trials, consequently his actions lead to the death of nineteen innocent people. In conclusion, because of the greedy, self-preserving, and paranoid nature of the community nineteen innocent people were killed. Parris could have stopped this needless murder, but he is a selfish man that only cares about preserving his good name within in the community.Also, he is a greedy, self-centered man who always wants more. Instead of pewter candle sticks he wants gold candlestick and he also wants the deed to the house he lives in even though it goes against tradition. Finally, he is a paranoid man who is always worried about being fired from his job. This is also one of the reasons why he suppresses the evidence about the witch trials. All in all even though Reverend Parris is supposed to be a holy man, but he just seems like a crooked man who is only in it for himself.