Reverend Parris is a character who cares much more about his own reputation and his own well-being than anyone else in the play, possibly even that of his own daughter. In the very first act, the audience can tell just how self-centered he is and how fearful he becomes of the possiblity that once word gets out that witchcraft has been found in his house that he will be ousted from his position as reverend in Salem village. When, in Act 1, Susanna Walcott returns to Parris with news from Dr. Briggs that he can not find anything wrong with Betty and that her affliction must be blamed on "unnatural causes" he is quick to tell her to tell the doctor that there is no witchcraft in his house and basically tells everyone else at that point not to spread around this information. Rev. Parris reacts similarly throughout the play as he constantly tries to "help" the judges by egging on the accusations. Even in Act 4 we can see how paranoid Parris is when he finds a dagger stabbed into his door. At this point in the play he tries to almost befriend his enemy John Proctor in order to get him to confess, therefore hopefully saving his own life from people who might riot against him.
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