Post #5, February 24, 2009, Power

This week I wrote an essay about a thematic similarity between "The Crucible," the poem "The Hangman," and the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode, "The Drumhead." I realized that one similarity that they all had in common was that they were all based on power. In each situation, a certain character had a greater power and influence on everyone else; in "The Crucible" it was Abigail, in "The Hangman" it was the Hangman himself, and in "The Drumhead" it was Admiral Satie. These people used and controlled the common fear of the public so as to get what they wanted.

In "The Crucible," Abigail falsely accuses women of witchcraft, especially Elizabeth, who is Proctor's wife, for vengeance and in hopes that they would be hanged. Abigail believes that Elizabeth is the only reason why she and Proctor, the man who had committed lechery with her, can't be together. Proctor says, "She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly" (Miller 110). Since Abigail's judgments are held in high regard by the Deputy Governor, who is the presider of the court, Abigail is therefore the one in power over the trials. In "The Hangman," it is obvious that the Hangman himself is the one in power because he executes victim after victim until the whole town is empty and silent. In "The Drumhead," Admiral Satie uses her high position so as to question and arrest all those that she suspects guilty of conspiracy against Starfleet. She says," I will expose you for what you are. I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard!" Therefore, Admiral Satie is the one in power over this "witch-hunt" on the ship.

What other thematic similarities are there between "The Crucible," "The Hangman," and "The Drumhead?"

Click on the link for more memorable quotes from "The Drumhead" episode.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708793/quotes