In 1971, a psychologist named Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment that would show how humans reacted when divided into two groups, one group of guards and the second a group of prisoners. In the experiment he conducted, he noticed that the groups took their assigned roles very seriously within a few minutes; the two groups took the experiment to an extreme level by having the groups consider themselves prisoners and guards. The experiment was canceled after a few days because people's reactions were so extreme that they got out of control. A villain and a prisoner have similar traits because a prisoner did something illegal in the past that would only benefit him. A villain has the characteristic of being very selfish and it can be inferred that villains may commit illegal acts to satisfy themselves. “The Crucible” has many evil characters, but the one that stands out the most is Parris. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller Parris is the most evil character because he considers himself superior and is very self-centered for this reason, he fails to give good advice to his people, which leads to the destruction of his society. characteristics that can make him a villain, but a common trait in a villain is being very self-centered. Like most villains, Parris is very selfish and shows this throughout the play. The first time he shows that he is self-centered is when he talks to his niece Abigail and blames her for conducting witchcraft, he says “Now look, child, your punishment will come in due time. But if I am a victim of spirit trafficking in the forest, I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and ruin me with it." (Miller 10) In this quote Parris, repeats "I/ mine" which... . middle of paper...the village is more inferior and he is more pure and superior. Parris in the play does not stop there; he continues to denigrate others, another incident that shows his nature of making others feel inferior is when he says “You could see it, why couldn't you see it?” (Miller 46). In this quote Parris speaks to Tituba in a tense voice making her feel guilty for not seeing the witches her to the act of witchcraft, concluding that Abigail and her daughter are not guilty To summarize, Parris makes others feel inferior to him and see themselves as superior to others, as any villain would. Works Cited “Influence of Social Roles : The Stanford Prison Experiment". Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment. Np, nd Web. November 10, 2013.Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.