Virtue versus Hypocrisy a Moral Struggle in Salem
What is virtue? Virtue is goodness or kindness. ... If a person is pious, he or she lives a high-minded and moral driven life. ... Everyone who lived in Salem Massachusetts in 1692 lived a very religious life. This was the time that the Salem Witch Trials occurred and because there was no true evidence of witches, almost anyone could be accused of dealing with the devil and practicing witchcraft. The citizens of Salem definitely claimed to be a virtuous people, living pious lives, but readers of the play find that the characters ended up being very hypocritical. This hypocritical nature of the people of Salem doesn’t really shine through until Act three. ... He knew all the things that the girls were saying were lies; he was just trying to save himself and his own image so he didn’t look like he had brought up bad children and so that the people of Salem didn’t look at him as a liar. ... This proved once and for all the Parris was yet another great example of hypocrisy. ... Salem in 1692 was definitely full of hypocrites.