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Character analysis of abigail crucible
Description of abigail in crucible
Witch hunt mysteries of salem witch trials
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When faced with a problem, humans usually try to find the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way out of the issue. In order to overcome problems, motivation is needed. However, motivation comes from different places within a person based on the individual’s desires. When looking back to 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts the problem during this time period was witchcraft, and "to be accused was to be assumed guilty, to accuse was to avoid punishment" (Jimerson 37). Fear of punishment causes people to accuse the innocent, and the innocent has no redemption for they were automatically guilty. No one was safe at this time as the cycle continued on and on. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Mary Warren is motivated by fear that transitions from Abigail …show more content…
In the courtroom Mary Warren is trying to save Elizabeth 's life, but Abigail turns the position around to make it seem like Mary Warren is coming after the girls with "the use of ‘spectral evidence’ as proof of guilt" (Miller, Why... 4). Spectral evidence is where anyone can claim that someone 's spirit was sent out after them, and the person accused is hanged unless they confess to signing with the Devil. Abigail is using this to her advantage, and claiming Mary has sent out her spirit after the girls, further leading to Mary Warren "pleading” at Abby, “you mustn’t” (Miller 107). Mary Warren is pleading for Abigail to stop pointing fingers, and for her to stop acting out. Mary Warren having to plead for Abigail to stop displays a sign of weakness, and this weakness comes from the fear of what Abigail is turning the situation into. Abigail makes Mary Warren seem guilty in the trial, by acting out to the court that Mary Warren 's spirit was after her, "Mary Warren, utterly confounded, and becoming overwhelmed by Abigail 's-and the girls '- utter conviction, starts to whimper, hands half raised, powerless, and all the girls begin whimpering exactly as she does" (108). The girls are mimicking Mary Warren 's actions in order to save themselves from being caught in the hoax. Additionally, the girls try to convince the court that Mary Warren is with the devil, for she is controlling them and that power only comes from Satan himself. This instigation causes Mary Warren to throw her hands up in tears, which represents her loss of hope due to Abigail 's representation of the situation. Mary Warren is afraid of Abigail, and realizes the only way to make Abigail stop accusing her is to side with her. As Proctor tries to calm Mary, she shouts, "I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God" (110). Mary shouting at Proctor that she loves God implies that she is siding with Abigail once again,
hysteria brought about by the witchcraft scare in The Crucible leads to the upheaval in people’s differentiation between right and wrong, fogging their sense of true justice.
For example, as a result of the lie Sarah is put in the position by the court that she may either confess to the crime and save herself or not confess and get hung. The act also affects the town of Salem because the girls notice how much influence they have over the court and begin to accuse of witchcraft anyone they do not like. Although Mary Warren does contribute to the hanging of many people, but when Proctor begs to her to go to the court with him and confess to save Elizabeth, she gets a chance to redeem herself. She tells the court that the whole witchery situation was just the girls pretending. Mary says, “I cannot charge murder on Abigail” and adds, “[s]he’ll kill me for sayin’ that!”
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 statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller uses Mary Warren to show that fear causes people to leave behind all their logic and reason. Hysteria in the story made the town of Salem fearful enough to overwhelm their thoughts. Mary Warrens actions
Power and fear can affect people´s sense of what's wrong and what's right. In “the Crucible” by Miller, we can see how the trials affected every individual in a negative aspect. people suffered because of such power and unfairness the authority had. The witch trials affected a lot of individuals from an emotional aspect to a psychological trauma.
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.
Oppression; an extended treatment of cruelty or injustice towards an individual or a group of people. If looked for, it can be found in every society expressed in a number of different ways. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, puts it in a way that is easy to understand. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." This is evident in his play, The Crucible, demonstrating that within a society, oppression will always be present due to personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs.
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.
Fear also played an important role in The Crucible. The girls were afraid of being accused as witches themselves, so they started accusing other people in the town of being witches. Moreover, many people who were accused of being witches confessed to being witches because they were scared of death. People who confessed to witchcraft and dealing with the devil only stayed in the jail for a short time while others who refused to give in were hanged. Towards the end of the play, Abigail and Mercy ran away with huge amounts of money because they were afraid that if the authorities found out that they were lying they would be punished severely.
“Well, all the plays that I was trying to write were plays that would grab an audience by the throat and not release them, rather than presenting an emotion which you could observe and walk away from.” by Arthur Miller. All great works provide a way to reach in and grab the audience through the reoccurring themes like, greed, jealousy, reputation and hypocrisy. Arthur Miller had one of those great works and it was called “The Crucible”. The play was based off of the witch trials that happened in Salem in the year of 1962. Some of the characters were actual characters involved in the witch trials. Arthur Miller wrote this play during the time of the “Red Scare”. Miller wrote The Crucible because he wanted to turn the The Salem Witch Trials into
The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.
In The Crucible, the mass hysteria surrounding the witch trials caused paranoia amongst the people of Salem. Miller uses the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as a symbol and allegory of the fear surrounding the spread of communism during the 1950s in America. The community’s sense of justice was blinded by the mass hysteria and for some, a desire for vengeance and personal gain. The Putnams
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was written during the early 1950s.It was the time of The rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s.All throughout history, accusations of witchcraft have been used as an excuse for the discrimination of people who cultures, traditions, race, and ideas were not easily accepted nor understood by the society even if it was untrue.In today’s society students are taught this because it show’s how important “The Crucible, and McCarthyism were and what changes they went through because of the human condition.It is extremely important and appropriate because it allows students the opportunity to respond in terms of their own experiences .The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism had many similarities. In The Crucible Abigail
In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Mary Warren started off as a quiet, easily persuaded girl. As the play progressed and more innocent people were accused of witchcraft and were hung, Mary grew a thicker layer of skin and exposed Abby’s true colors. Mary developed into a strong, independent young girl who does not let others tell her what to do or how to act to protect their own