The relationship between John Proctor and Abigail is not an appropriate relationship. Their relationship is built on hiding secrets from other people keeping each other hidden from other people. The lies they share are not good ones they are lies that could destroy their lives. But for a brief amount of time none of that matter to them. After an extended period of time Elizabeth Proctor began to suspect that something was going on between the two that should not be going on between them. With every action it has some form of a impact on others (Schroeder).
Her suspicions were right they definitely had something going on that they should not have had going on. Everyone knew that John Proctor was a married man with a family. Move forward in a new destination from the humiliation for renewed assurance (Moss).
John had committed an affair. Abigail was too young to be involved in that type of situation. But her being too young didn’t have anything to do with it because both of them were in the wrong. Both of them should have been punished for their actions there was no excuse for what they had did it was not acceptable at all. It was so unexpected to Elizabeth she was devastated. She was heartbroken she never thought that would happen to her in a million years. John tried to gain her trust back I have been carefully in the house for the past several months since she has left (Lahr).
The respect that Elizabeth had for her husband she lost it all. The trust she had for her husband was not the same after. She felt like everything he said and told her was not the truth. She had trust issues after that. She felt like her family was torn apart that her life would never be the same after. After all the lies and heart break. But that should ...
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Martin, Robert A. "Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Background and Sources." Modern Drama 20.3 (Sept. 1977): 279-292. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible.” http://asbamericanlit.edublogs.org/files/2011/10/21078735-The-Crucible-Arthur-Miller-2hmdzot.pdf
Moss, Leonard. "Four 'Social Plays.'." Arthur Miller. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1967. 59-78. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Schroeder, Patricia R. "Arthur Miller: Illuminating Process." The Presence of the Past in Modern American Drama. Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1989. 76-104. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
At the beginning of the play Abigail’s motive is to save herself and her reputation; at the end of the play she realizes that she only wants to be with John. She even accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft to get rid of her, so she could be with him. According to the text “Why-! The girl is murder! She must be ripped out of this world!” Page 76 Act Two. This quote shows that Elizabeth knows that Abigail wants to get rid of her. Elizabeth changes by how she treats John throughout the play. At the beginning she is cold towards John because of his affair with Abigail. Towards the end when he finally confesses that he committed lechery; she treats him better by loving and caring more for him. At the end she just wants John to be free with in his decision with the confession. According to the text “I am not your judge, I cannot be. Do as you will, do as you will.” Page 138 Act. This quote proves Elizabeth cannot be the judge of John in this decision, but it is his will.
Before the play takes place, Abigail Williams and John Proctor had an affair while Abigail was working as a servant in their home. Eventually, John confessed and apologized to Elizabeth, pledging his faithfulness to her. Nonetheless, at the time the play takes place, Elizabeth still hasn’t fully forgiven him, and gives him a hard time about it. Abigail confessed the pretense of her accusations to him when they were alone, and now he has no way to prove that she’s lying to the court. But because he was alone with her again, Elizabeth becomes angry with him. She still doubts her husband because she feels that if it were any other girl he had to go testify against, he would not hesitate. But, because it’s Abigail, John feels he has to think harder on making a decision. He doesn’t want his name spoiled by a counter-testimony. John feels he is now justified in becoming angry because for the seven months since his confession, he has done nothing but try to please his wife, and she still approaches him with suspicion and accusatio...
During the trial the girls and Abigail pressure Mary into conforming to them by pretending that Mary was bewitching the girls. When she plays along with the girls; Proctor screams at Mary with much rage, “Mary god damns all liars!”(224).Which is ironic because John Proctor has been lying to everyone about his deadly secret. Which he knows will eventually come out and ruin everything for him. Proctor finally comes out and tells the court when there seems to be no way out for Elizabeth he points out, “I have known her sir, I have known her” (220). Proctor finally confesses about his affair in front of Judge
Elizabeth is angry that John was having an affair with Abigail. John feels that he has endured enough. He knows what he did was not right, but he demands to Elizabeth that he needed a passion that she was not giving him. John uses emotional appeal to enforce his claim. She is offended at his suggestion that it was her fault that he was cheating on her. John says that he is only
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
John Proctor is a man with many secrets and fatal flaws. His lust for Abigail Williams led to him having affair, and created Abby’s bitter envy toward his wife Elizabeth Proctor. “Abby I may think of you softly from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched Abby” (Miller 177) John Proctor denied that he had an affair with Abby. Then Abigail utter these words “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge
Miller, Arthur. Why I Wrote The Crucible. New York: The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 1996. Print.
The Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century believed lies to be deadly sin. They were of the opinion that the smallest false-telling could turn a person from a path to Heaven to one straight into the arms of the Devil. However, during the Salem Witch Trials in the spring and summer of 1692; lies, deceit, and false accusations became common currency. The character of Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller’s 1952 play, The Crucible, illustrates this type of behavior. Abigail Williams’s lust for John Proctor and her desire for attention motivate her to falsely accuse innocent women of witchcraft, resulting in the regret and desperation she feels in regard to the choices she made, and subsequently her decision to run away from Salem to escape the pain she has caused for herself and for others.
The night of January 2, 1953 in the heart of New York many have traveled to see the first premiere of the crucible of who they have heard to be the over-slightly liberal Arthur Miller. The play is not reportage of any kind,” Miller said. “Nobody can write a tragedy and make it reportage. What I was doing was writing a fictional story about an important theme." Words such as these were the very ones that began to make people question the truth in his words. Considering the due date of this play “so happened” to be at the peak of the red scare, Miller further on was known, or rather accused, as a communist sympathizer. However, the more sympathetic of
Writers may use literature as a vehicle of social criticism. In which ways does Arthur Miller criticize society?
John Proctor faces many decisions in response to his moral dilemma to try to save his life. One of the difficult decisions John makes is to reveal that he had an affair with Abigail Williams and thereby has committed adultery. If the local court convicts him of this crime, he faces being jailed. Also by admitting this crime, John reveals a weakness in his character. This flaw in his personality will make it harder for him to stand up in the community as an honorable and believable person. In trying to convince others that witchcraft does not exist John’s dishonesty with his wife will make him less convincing to the community.
Miller, Arthur, and Christopher Bigsby. The Crucible: a play in four acts. New York [u.a.: Penguin Books, 2003. Print.
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
The Crucible by Arthur Miller raises many thought provoking issues throughout the play, including the importance of personal integrity, injustice in society and the rights of the community versus the rights of the individual.
Costello, Donald P. “Arthur Miller’s Circles of Responsibility: A View From a Bridgeand Beyond.” Modern Drama. 36 (1993): 443-453.