Who is giles corey why is he introduced in the play

This backfires and he is condemned himself. Corey's incredible strength of character is shown in the end when he neither confesses to, nor denies, the charges of witchcraft.

By doing so, he ensures that his sons can legally inherit his property. Even though he is brutally tortured by having crushingly heavy stones place on his chest, the only thing Giles says is "More weight" IV. Despite tremendous pressure, Miller refused to name names of suspected Communists.

Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. Why did Tituba confess to dancing with the Devil? Was John still in love with Abigail? What causes tension between John and Elizabeth Proctor? Why is Rebecca Nurse accused of witchcraft?

Why is Elizabeth Proctor accused of witchcraft? What happens when Mary Warren tells the court the truth about the girls acting bewitched? Why does Reverend Hale change his mind about the witch trials? According to English law, Giles was ruled as "standing mute" because he would not be tried by "God and my country. Because Giles stood mute, he was given the dreaded sentence of peine forte et dure even though this procedure had been determined to be illegal by the government of Massachusetts.

It was illegal for two reasons: there was no law permitting pressing, and it violated the Puritan provisions of the Body of Liberties regarding the end of barbarous punishment. In the entire history of the United States, Giles Corey is the only person ever to be pressed to death by order of a court. There is a strong local tradition Giles Corey refused trial in order to avoid a conviction that would result in the forfeiture of his property to the government.

Under English and Massachusetts law, however, conviction could not result in the forfeiture of an estate. However, the George Corwin, the Sheriff of Essex Country illegally seized the property of some of those arrested for witchcraft.

Before his arrest, Corey himself was clearly concerned about his extensive estate, and he wrote a will that deeded his land to his sons-in-law William Cleeves and John Moulton. The laws clearly stated that landowners retained the right to give their land to their heirs rather than forfeit it because of a conviction, and apparently Corey knew it.

Thus it does not seem likely that Corey refused to go on trial to save his property. On or before September 18, , Giles Corey was slowly pressed to death in the field next to the jail. In the literature about Giles Corey's tortuous death, there is reference to his famous last words, "more weight. It is even told that the Sheriff took his cane and pressed Giles' tongue back into his mouth just before he died at the end of the two days of being slowly crushed. On September 18, , Giles Corey was ex-communicated from the Village church so that he would not die as a member of the church.

On September 21, , Martha, his wife, was hanged on Gallows Hill. It has been speculated that the publicity surrounding the pressing of Giles may have in fact helped to build public opposition to the witchcraft trials. In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible , Giles Corey is a prominent character in part because of his unique role in the witch trials.