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Post by maryri116 on Oct 1, 2012 17:11:35 GMT -5
In class we discussed the meaning of Abigail and the girls frolicking in the woods in Act 1 - the woods were the devil's ground and they were pleasuring themselves in something that God had not given to them etc - but I'm curious as to why Reverend Parris was in the woods in the first place. Parris said that he was the one who saw the girls naked in the woods. If they are the "devil's grounds" wouldn't he or all people avoid them? This may just be a petty detail or I may have overlooked the reasoning behind it but does anyone have any ideas?
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Post by audreyba112 on Oct 1, 2012 19:48:59 GMT -5
It is strange and slightly ironic (him being a minister) that he was also in the woods when he found the girls, but I am going to go ahead and assume that there is no intended underlying meaning to this. Had Parris not discovered the girls in the woods then a large portion of the story would be missing so I suspect that the author just had him stumble upon them while they were dancing for the purpose of the story. If that doesn't satisfy you then maybe he was looking for abigail and betty since they were out of the house at night, especially since betty is a young girl. Parris has not proved himself to be the most pious of people in Salem at any rate, so I doubt the fact that the forest is the devil's territory really ever entered his mind or concerned him very much.
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Post by natashape112 on Oct 2, 2012 13:21:09 GMT -5
I politely disagree with Audrey. I really do think that there is some significance to Parris being in the woods. As you said Mary, Parris is a Puritan minister and is supposed to be highly looked up to in the church and community. Although we do know that he is selfish, he shouldn't be in the woods at all, in order to save himself. Like you said, if the woods are the "devils grounds" then I certainly think that Parris would make every point not to enter the woods, however him finding the girls and Abigail in the woods means, in my opinion, that he was there for a particular reason.
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Post by carolineba112 on Oct 2, 2012 19:02:52 GMT -5
I agree with Natasha in the sense that Parris actually was up to something in the woods. As Parris being the lead minister in Salem, he should know that the woods are the "devils grounds". Also, it seems as though he was watching the girls for a while, and didn't make an attempt at stopping the girls. On page 11, he says, "I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I came on you. Why was she doing that? And I heard a screeching and gibberish coming from her mouth. She was swaying like a dumb beast over that fire!" I believe if he was able to see and hear all of that he could have stepped in and stopped it but he waited long enough to observe them.
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Post by maryri116 on Oct 9, 2012 17:00:01 GMT -5
Overall, I agree with what Audrey said about Parris' being in the woods having no underlying meaning to it. Originally I thought that this minor detail would come back to play a part in the rest of the play, but after finishing it I've realized that it is unnecessary. The author intended Parris to be in the woods only to find the girls (thus laying the foundation for the play) and not as an underlying meaning of anything.
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Post by idach116 on Oct 10, 2012 20:52:15 GMT -5
Though everyone made good points, I think the reason behind Parris being in the woods is to further describe his character, which Proctor deems so impure that he cannot bring himself to go to Church anymore or baptize his baby, as a person of disrespect in society.
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