Rev. Samuel Parris is my direct ancestor and it all started in house, with his servant Tituba, practicing vudu with the girls and telling fortunes ! She pleaded guilty and was able to live because she confessed !

He is one of my ancestors it’s on my family tree. Another thing Parris island (a marine training camp) Was named after my ancestor Col. Alexander Parris.

I'm currently playing Reverend Parris in an Equity production, and to play him as a villain with no conscience is pretty one-sided and not very interesting. There are a lot of colors in this character! Yes, he may think he is better than the people of Salem, but he is also doing everything to hang on to his job(I have a feeling he is not very employable, and knows that). As a result he shifts whichever way the political winds blow. BUT he also realizes near the end that he has sent many innocent people to their deaths as evidenced in Act II, Scene 3 when he pleads with Danforth to postpone the hangings(and is described as an emotional wreck by Hathorne), and he is suddenly kind to his nemesis John Proctor: "If you desire a cup of cider, Mister Proctor, I am sure I....." Parris sees the error of his ways and understands that a confession by John Proctor will keep John and many innocent people from the gallows. Without Proctor signing the confession and admitting his "crimes" (Parris knows it will be a lie for he does feel John is innocent), Parris will have further deaths on his conscience. Parris fails at this and Elizabeth's final moment, where she refuses to intervene on her husband's decision to go to the gallows, is an emotional "death blow" for Parris.

We're doing this play for our winter performance, I've sent a link on our groups facebook page to help them analyze their characters. Thank you :)

good review im impressed by the things you pick up on and your elaboration, thanks

@creasonbryan That's a good point and not something I'd previously thought of. I suppose it serves to show his slippery nature. Although I do have a suspicion that Miller might have exaggerated him somewhat. But what do I know?

Siena Heights University in Adrian, MI will be doing The Crucible Feb, 18,19, and 20th, 2010. All in the area, come see it. I play Parris

@endder686 I too am auditioning for those parts, im not normally a very serious person i mean hell just look at my channel. but its always been a fantasy of mine to play either of those ever changing yet timeless characters. when i found out we were doing the show i about squeeled, im willing to do anything for these parts and i was just wondering what knowledge you can share with me. :)

Unfortunately, the 1996 film of "The Crucible" is only minimally faithful to Arthur Miller's play.

oh, lol..I like it tho, its neat. Do people where you live generally have that that mixed-up accent? Its kinda like with me, Massachusetts/Rhode Island in the US.

@azurelikeit1 Thank you, hope you do well with the assignment.

Are you from Scotland, wales, or Ireland? I like the accent. And this vid is rlly helpful, we're studying the book in school right now, i kinda like it.

240p ?

@azurelikeit1 Just to clarify. When I said in my last post that //Witchery wasn't a lame excuse, it was a useful vehicle.// I meant that while witchery was very real to the puritans it was also being used as an excuse to rid the place of those they hated. To put it into modern terms, imagine the BNP using the issue of Islamic extremism to rid the UK of Muslims. The treat is real and becomes a vehicle for carrying people's bigotry.

Ahh man why did I wait til it was too wait to discover these? Well of course he's concerned with himself and his reputation. He's completely full of himself and he tries so hard to be the hero among the madness.

None. I'm from the North East of England, Middlesbrough which is not far from Newcastle but I live in Yorkshire so I have a bit of a mixed up accent.

Interesting to see. But the true story is that Samuel Parris never graduated from Harvard. Although he did attend.

@azurelikeit1 Yes and no. Yes because clearly they were seeking revenge on one another yest no because the threat of witchcraft was very real to these people because many were extremely sincere in their faith. They really believed that witches existed and that the Devil could overrun a town. Just look at Rev. Hale. He wasn't conning people, he was just very proud. He really believed what he was doing. For info about Godly puritans who were towering scholars look at John Bunyan & John Milton.

@azurelikeit1 Not if you lived in the society its not. This was a society built entirely on Biblical law by reformed puritans whose battle cry was Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Deo. The idea that witches should be killed for their practices made perfect sense in the light of the first doctrine. Witchery wasn't a lame excuse, it was a useful vehicle. :)