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Sabrina Butler

Mr. Pace

C Block

2 May 2023

Civil Disobedience and Man vs. Society

To be civil means to follow societal and cultural rules, norms, and expectations that a society

has. To disobey means to obstruct or protest these societal, cultural, or civil norms. In every

society, there is the fundamental question: “When should one rebel against the norm?” One

should rebel against the norm when they feel they are being oppressed. In the excerpt from

“Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau highlights how it is crucial for citizens to challenge the

government when they deem it appropriate in order to maintain a democracy; however, Miller

reveals in his play, The Crucible, that fear, and hysteria can often give positions of authority the

power to oppress.

According to Thoreau, the laws of a society are that of a living tissue, it grows with the

constantly changing ways of society. On page 2, Thoreau said, “Action from principle, the

perception and the performance of right, changes things and relations; it is essentially

revolutionary, and does not consist wholly with anything which was”. This statement highlights

how society is ever-changing and the rules and principles of old ways do not necessarily align or

fit with the new ways in society. Therefore, society “does not consist wholly with anything which

was” meaning that society never stays the same compared to how it was in the past. The

“perception and performance of right” will not always be synonymous, the perception of right

might mean to follow the laws and societal expectations but to perform, or act, in the right way

can mean to challenge and protest certain unjust systems in a society. Real change is made
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through action, not principle. Nothing changes if nothing changes. It is only when a person dares

to speak up about what seems unjust that society develops and changes to satisfy and include all

members it consists of. On the other hand, in Miller’s play The Crucible, the antagonist, Abigail,

uses fear and hysteria to corrupt society rather than improve it. In an attempt to get John

Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, out of the picture, she staged her for evidence of witchcraft. In Act 2,

Elizabeth forces the Proctors’ servant, Mary Warren, to ‘gift’ Elizabeth a doll that had a needle in

its stomach. She then stabbed herself in the stomach to make it appear as an act of voodoo

witchery. Hale came to Elizabeth Proctor to confront her about the doll, “Abigail were stabbed

tonight, a needle were found stuck into her belly-” [Elizabeth]: “And she charges me?” [Hale]:

“Aye” (Miller 72). Abigail’s wicked actions highlight how sometimes society can be controlled

by fear and hysteria, and that fair systems are not always the default in a government. Hundreds

of lives and reputations were ruined because of the magnitude of power Abigail and the other

girls had with their witch allegations. Abigail did not have consideration for anyone but herself.

In the context of The Crucible witch hunt, those who tried to resist and speak up against the

corruption put themselves in jeopardy because they would then become vulnerable to getting

accused of witchcraft. There was no way to win against injustice because fear, hysteria, and

corruption overpowered any attempts to expose the truth and achieve justice. While Thoreau

emphasizes that citizens need to speak up against corruption, Miller stresses the idea that

challenging the government is unwise. However, the ideas highlighted in these two writing

pieces are based on very different circumstances. In the context of The Crucible, gender roles of

the time were prominent, leaving young girls like Abigail at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

This circumstance played a significant role in the motives of Abigail and the girls accusing

others of witchcraft. They became the center of attention, the court looked to them for answers -
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their voices were heard and respected for once. While this doesn't excuse the fact that they ruined

many lives, it helps explain the reason behind their wicked actions. On the other hand, in the

context of “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau was speaking on racial inequities in society, which

required active resistance in order to be changed. To speak up against racism wouldn’t result in a

sentence of being hung, as citizens have freedom of speech. Nonetheless, there was still major

violence that could threaten one’s life, but it was necessary and effective to achieve justice and

change society.

Furthermore, Thoreau stresses the idea that one should break the law in order to fight

against injustice, “Let your life If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank,

exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than

the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another,

then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine” (Thoreau 2). As

stated by Thoreau, one can create change by rebelling against societal norms that they want to

change. When one decides to speak up and go against the path of least resistance, eventually

others will join in on their fight for justice. Oftentimes, many people just follow what is expected

of them, they would rather be miserable and not stand out than fight for a better life. Many

people are scared to challenge authority, so they sit and suffer, missing out on opportunities and

watching injustice play before them. It is critical for citizens to disobey societal norms and speak

up if they want to be represented and recognized in society, even if it may lead to punishment.

However, in The Crucible, John Proctor’s fate of being hung shows that his efforts to resist and

achieve justice ultimately failed. Up until the end of the play, Proctor held strong to his beliefs

and actively challenged the court on corruption. He even went as far as to confess his crime of

adultery to try to expose the truth that the witch allegations were all lies. Unfortunately, despite
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confessing to his sin, the court did not accept it because Elizabeth said he did not commit

adultery. He was then left with a sentence to be hung for witchcraft. At this point, he was left

with no choice but to play by the game of court and falsely admit to partaking in witchery.

However, in Proctor’s case, Judge Danforth demanded he sign his name on a document of

confession. Proctor refused to sign because he didn’t want his confession to be pinned on the

church doors. Danforth said, “Then explain to me, Mr. Proctor, why you will not let-” [Proctor]:

“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself

to lies! … [Danforth]: “Is that document a lie? If it is a lie I will not accept it!” (Miller 133).

Because of this confession, he was then sentenced to be hanged. Proctor’s story shows that

despite fighting against corruption, no progress was made. Even when he surrendered to the

authorities and confessed to witchcraft, he still had to sacrifice his life. His fate highlights how

resistance doesn’t always achieve justice, and oftentimes, sticking up for the right thing leads to

major consequences, in this case, death, regardless if it is fair or not. The excerpt “Civil

Disobedience” and the play The Crucible bring forth two very different perspectives on

disobedience. Thoreau stresses the importance of breaking the law in order to create change,

while Miller illustrates that breaking the law can only lead to doom. Thoreau believes that

nothing will change if nothing changes, and that citizens voice their needs in order for the

government to recognize them. Miller emphasizes that fear and hysteria can facilitate corruption

and the only way to stay safe is by abiding by the rules and playing the “game” along with

everyone else. Both of these works illuminate different perspectives on civil disobedience and its

consequences, however, there is no doubt that civil disobedience is what ultimately makes

history and causes change, even if you’re not there to see it.