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Characters and characterisation in the crucible
The crucible character analysis essay
The crucible character analysis essay
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The characters in The Crucible are often viewed as callous and ignorant to their surroundings but such quick judgements can lead a reader to overlook each character's importance and what message they try to convey. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible chaos ensues as accusations of witchcraft fly about turning neighbor upon neighbor and exposing the seedy underbelly of a Puritan New England town. The accusations are lead by a young girl and her devoted followers whose vengeance damns anyone that opposes them. Whether virtuous or wicked the women in The Crucible are strong influences within the community of Salem and the overall effect of the play.
Abigail Williams’ vindictive nature is fueled by her newly found influence over prominent members
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When one of the girls turns against the group and tries to expose their false accusations Abigail is quick to accuse her of witchcraft in the court and says this :
Abigail Williams. I - I know not. A wind, a cold wind has come. (1147)
Subsequently the group of girls led by Abigail all start shivering and say that the girl is sending her spirit upon them. The girl fearing for her life pleads with the court and rejoins the group of accusing girls. This group of girls not only show the mass hysteria in the town but are direct victims of Abigail’s manipulation and power. The group including Abigail go on to condemn 19 people to death. The girls are conflicting on how a reader may view them on one hand they are victims of manipulation and hysteria but on the other their sins may outweigh any sympathy a reader may have.
Elizabeth Proctor a completely innocent victim is cold and unlikeable but is the character who warrants the most compassion out of any of the other major characters. As her husband is about to hang, Reverend Hale pleads with her to save her husband :
Hale. Woman, plead with him! … Go to him, take his shame away!
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Upon further inspection characters can become more real and humanlike than with a brief skim of The Crucible. Most of the women in less direct ways the males show a great deal of strength and power over Salem. Though the protagonist is male and most influential town members are also male the power of women rivals the power of any man in The
Abigail asks Tituba to help her cast a love spell on John Proctor. Abigail tells the girls who were also involved to keep quiet. Mary Warren begins to feel guilty and tries to persuade the girls to tell the truth. Abigail disagrees with Mary and browbeats the girls “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things… I will bring a pointy reckoning and shutter you”. (Miller 1137) Abigail is threatening the girls that if they say anything about her drinking blood she will harm them. Abigail threatens the girls for her own selfish reasons, Abigail Williams is a villain because she would rather lie and hurt people than tell the truth.
Abigail and her friends start to accuse people in the town of witchcraft; by saying a person’s spirit attacked them. The people who were accused were usually the outcast of the town or someone Abigail and her friends
At that instant, Abigail was able to abuse her new found authority and use it as power against the people of Salem. This new found power led to 91 citizens of Salem to be accused of witchcraft. To begin with, Abigail had her own amount of authority that she had used as power in order to keep the other girls quiet about what had happened in the woods. “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you (20).” Abigail Williams had her own personal conflict of confusing authority for power. Abigail and the other girls thrived on this chance to take control of the situation. It was an opportunity for Abigail to not have to follow rules, speak hesitantly, or be precautious of her actions. At the time of the Salem witch trials, everyone had their own duty to preform. The woman would cook and clean and the men would work to provide. Having an opportunity where the tables were turned and the young women had the possibility to have an input was overpowering. It was easier for Abigail to have power over others rather than having the power to control herself.
Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches. From these three human flaws, the town of Salem falls into chaos with many innocent people paying the price.
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
Abigail Williams the main character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller draws the interest of the reader as she is a wicked, confident girl who lies to get what she wants and defends her name and her life.
In response to questions, Abigail plays the victim while accusing everyone else of which craft or consorting with witches. Abigail’s ability to avoid answering questions displays an abnormal amount of power for her age and position in society. In response to one of Danforth’s questions regarding whether or not Abigail and John Proctor had an affair, she replies, “If I must answer that, I will leave and not come back again ” (111). By this response, Abigail avoids having to answer the actual question, and displays the immense amount of power she holds in the court.
The Crucible illustrates many things about people in any society built on fear and hysteria. Through our characters we experience what it is like to live in Salem, Massachusetts 1692. Paranoid townsfolk reside amongst each other ,and fight for their lives. There is little love or compassion in the beginning, but it grows as the hearts of loved ones fade. Each character is perfectly matched to destroy another. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller the author creates characters such as John, Abigail, and Elizabeth to illustrate the eternal struggle between good and evil.
During the Puritan era, the colonists were very religious. They worship God and despise the Devil. They believe that they are God’s follower and witches are Devil’s follower. On 1692, they started accusing people of witchcraft and because of the fear of witches they started executing them. In the book “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller is set in the Puritan Era, during the Salem Witch Trials. It is the time where people started accusing others of witchcraft. The accused usually confessed or refused to confess. Women are usually the one being accused. Many critics criticize Arthur Miller in his portrayal of women in “The Crucible.” They think he is making denigrating women in the play, but what he is really doing is putting a variety of different female characters in his play. Each female character is different.
During the Salem witch trials, Puritan girls, like Abigail, used their platform as pure and all knowing to harm people who had wronged them in the past by saying they were with the devil or some other moral misdeed. Abigail uses such a platform to not only get out of trouble she caused herself but save an important part of herself. She tries to save her reputation. Abigail’s motivation is her reputation, so she decides to lie in front of the court causing her to take extreme acts to make her innocent by the end of the play.
In the play Crucible, mayhem and chaos is brought upon Salem. The puritan society, women were thought to be less competent than men. They play a large part in the husband’s lives, yet they are shown as menial characters in the play. They are given less respect than they earn. The author of the play expands the concept throughout the play. Women were portrayed as frivolous during that point in time. Women were thought to be flowery and weak. The Crucible was thought was thought a distraught play.
Although it is saddening to think of how people used to interact back in the old times, it is very interesting to really analyze their thought process. The Crucible occurs in the town of Salem during the Puritan time period. Most of the people are dull and bland, but in the shadows lurks scandal and mischief. The reason that all of the immoral behavior is kept under wraps is the society’s importance of dignity. Citizens of Salem value their names more than anything else in this world.
In conclusion I ask this again: how can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she slept with on more than one occasion, be the victim? Abigail is truly a victim just as much as one of those she condemned to death, because of Salem’s judgemental, self-concerned and oppressive views and beliefs led her to it.
“Never question the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has inspired the movement of change “ Steve Maraboli. Abigail williams is a young resident of Salem who lives with her Uncle the Reverend of the town. Abigail is one of the 10 girls who accused many of Salem’s residents of wichary just by saying the words “She’s a witch” in order to save their secret of dancing in the woods. Abigail has the power of one because of her past situations, her young, “innocent” age and her ability to manipulate situations and people.
Throughout time one of society’s weaknesses had been it willing to follow and be affected by one individual. This is seen in Arthur Miller's play the crucible. Miller's play is set in salem during the infamous witch trials. The crucible critiques society being able to follow and believe in on person. Abigail sets an example of this when gains control over and initiates the hysteria in salem through her selfishness and manipulative qualities.