Peer pressure is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to escape and overcome. Even more so when one is in a small, remote community. People are more prone to submit to a situation when peer pressure is applied by those you know and respect, as could be seen in the infamous witch-trials that took place in Salem. In the book “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, Miller shows tjrough his characters three main reactions that take place when peer pressure is inflicted upon others. Miller uses the characters Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and John Proctor to show the effects of peer pressure, and how one would react in pressuring circumstances.
Abigail Williams uses the element of peer pressure upon other people within Salem to get what she wants,
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This is shown during the court scene when Proctor pressured Mary into confession of faking being bewitched in court, and trying to get her to help him save other people 's lives, "I 'll murder you," he says, "if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court, he says!...Mary, God damns all liars,...She only pretended to faint, Your Excellency.” Throughout this scene, Proctor is constantly pressuring Mary to say what he wants her to say by telling her multiple times of the consequences for lying, as well as trying to speak for her in hopes that she will admit to faking. All the pressure from Proctor starts to cause Mary to freeze up and hesitate, making her nervous, which is why she is not able to fake fainting. Moreover, even more pressure is on Mary by the court: “You will confess yourself or you will hang! (He turns her roughly to face him.) Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!”(III.483-487). Danforth starts pressuring Mary into confessing, and even threatening her to hang in order to intimidate her into confession. Constantly Proctor and Danforth are battling to gain pressure over Mary, resulting in her breaking down and submitting to Abigail - turning against Proctor “ He come at me by night and every day to sign, to sign, to—….My name, he want …show more content…
For example, Elizabeth Proctor pressures him into admitting his infidelity, and right the wrong he has done, “ Then go and tell her she 's a whore. Whatever promise she may sense—break it, John, break it.” Elizabeth tries to pressure John into going to talk to Abigail in hopes that she would stop targeting her. Elizabeth also pressures John into telling the court about his infidelity with Abigail, which he hesitates and does not do, until act 3 when he goes to court. Even more pressure is inflicted upon John in court when Danforth tries to get John to sign his name in act 4, “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!” John refuses to give up his own name, standing up to their manipulating ways of pressuring him so that he may possibly rescue his friends that were accused. This act makes John heroic within the book, showing that he does not cower under pressure like Abigail and Mary. In conclusion, although John hesitates at first when peer pressure is against him, he will eventually stand up for what 's right, making him a hero within the
In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller explores the topic of fear and how it can be used to silence people or force them into false testimony. In this play we can see the fear of witchcraft and becoming condemned, or having a family member condemned, can take over a person and get them to act unusually. Mary Warren makes the decision to switch between siding with the girls and with Proctor out of fear for her life, yet only some of her decisions are justified as only sometimes she was trying to make the right decision and others were to save herself.
Abigail Williams forms a continuous string of deceitful lies about the presence of witchcraft in Salem and her involvement with it, triggering the beginning of the trials and causing mayhem to permeate the town. Playwright Arthur Miller characterizes Abigail as "a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling"(8). Her fabrications induce calamity in Salem, and entangles many innocent people in her slanderous web of stories. In most cases, Abigail lies to evade discomfort or punishment. This pattern is first displayed when Reverend Hale interrogates Abigail:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how authority is a characteristic that can easily become a problem throughout a society. Many subjects were addressed in The Crucible such as guilt, hypocrisy, justice, hysteria, and courage. However, the most important subject throughout the play would be the nature of authority. There is a fine line between the concept of having authority and having power. In the book, the authority weakened and led to the antagonist Abigail Williams leading the law as opposed to the law leading Abigail Williams. At the instant that Abigail was granted authority over the townspeople she acted on it in order to have power. Not only is there power that comes with authority, but there is also responsibility which was demonstrated
For John Proctor one of his most notable flaws is his over heightened sense of pride. It hinders him in almost every aspect. Proctor being a man held in high regard to the town he cares deeply about his ‘name’ and reputation. While in court Proctor attempts to defend and free his wife through Mary Warren’s confession. Claiming that the girls and specifically Abigail to be frauds and merely faking their symptoms of witchcraft. He does so without giving up information that would soil his ‘good name’ leaving him without a strong claim on why Abigail is untrustworthy. As a dynamic character in the story however he will change and react to the situations around him. That taken into account John Proctor then reaches a realization that the only way to protect and
Crucible- a severe test, a hard trial or also could be define as a pot for melting metals. A severe trail could be as other then a physical it also could be mentally a severe trial like person verses self. In The Crucible, Miller reflects the theme that pressure can force people from there can force their morals. The characters in The Crucible have morals that they must up hold to be accepted into the town and church. It is a struggle to keep these values when there are moral hazards like desires, greed, hate, and obsession.
Through out the ages the inevitable dilemma of the balance of power is always seen where the governing super power wants to fullycontrol an individual through every aspect of their life. This description nodoubt, fully describes the Puritan belief system in Salem, where the church/court has the authority over everything or else itâˆ(tm)s of the devil. The conceptof individuality is highly resented making everyone follow the leader withoutthought. However there are those who question the authority when situation seemto surpass reason. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Proctor, astrong steadfast farmer resides in the small town of Salem, which is engulfedin hysteria due to the accusations of children that many of the townâˆ(tm)s peoplehad partaken in witchcraft. Among the accused is he (Proctor). Proctor is theonly individual willing to question the puritan belief system. He believes thatno man (church/court) should have control over the life of the other. Only Godhas the power to judge and condemn. Therefore, choosing the more tragic outcome by not allowing himself to lose his individuality and sense of self;conflict of ethics between what is right from wrong as well as sheer lack ofcommon sense. Through Proctor, miller shows how an individual should notallow society to divest their sense of self, Instead, hold unto onesindividuality as well as integrity and not let society have the upper hand,leading one to lose their sense of right and wrong.
John Proctor is guilty of both spoken lies and lies conveyed from his actions. John Proctor has to deal with the decision to stay true to himself and not let his frustration condemn him to falsify the truth. Accused of conjuring with the devil among many other innocent Puritans in the town, John has to face making the right decision to either be hanged and keep his soul pure or lie to save his life and oblige to the magistrates that he did indeed conjure with devil. The tendency to want to keep your life is within any human being on this Earth, however John is faced with the decision of saving his life or faulting his already remorseful heart by lying. As John Proctor makes the decision to lie and keep his life, he begins to doubt how others will now think of him knowing he conjured with the devil. When asked to sign his name on paper for the entire town to see he refuses and exclaims, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies…” (143) While John passionately speaks this, his immense frustration is finally released and shows his desire to stay true to himself and others in the town. Refusing to sign the paper conveys the lie he initially told and the truth he sought for once realizing the guilt and remorse he would have for the rest of his life. John Proctor’s feeling of frustration
Both the struggles of young women to conform to standards set by their societies and the struggles of all people to uphold their reputations—in the Puritan culture and today’s world—are prominent issues displayed in The Crucible and Conversion. These societal standards put unjust pressure on women to appear “perfect.” Whether it is as an ideal Puritan, a loyal friend, or a prepared college girl, everyone wants to have a pristine reputation. Conformity is often seen as a way to be perfect and obtain a perfect reputation, when in reality, it is not. Seen mostly in young women in The Crucible, conformity plays a role in causing the problems which eventually result in multiple deaths. In the Puritan society, everyone knew everything about the
Abigail Williams is motivated to lie about her affair with John Proctor. What motivates her to lie is the thought of getting hung. Another big reason that she could be lying is for vengeance. Abigail loves John Proctor and one night they had an affair and touched. Since then, Abigail has been jealous towards John’s wife, Elizabeth. Abigail goes into the forest with some other young girls and Tituba, who makes a potion to have boys fall in love with them. This is a great example, “ABIGAIL, pulling her away from the window: I told him everything; he knows now, he knows everything we—BETTY: You drank blood, Abby! You didn't tell him that! ABIGAIL: Betty, you never say that
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
In 1692 many people died during the Salem witch trials; which were in effected greatly by peer pressure. It started off when the girls of Salem ran off into the night and went dancing in the forest. Then when the girls were caught some of the older girls threatened others and some just had great influence on others. For instance, Abigail started accusing random women of witchcraft and the other girls did it to, just for the excitement. Peer pressure can lead to all sorts of behavior.
After Elizabeth, his wife, finds out about his affair with Abigail he tries his hardest to prevent anyone from finding out because he doesn’t want to go to prison and doesn’t want his good name ruined. Again, that isn’t the best thing to do but it proves that Proctor has immense pride in himself and what he has accomplished in his lifetime that he doesn’t want to be looked down on after years of being a role model to all the civilians of Salem. At the end of the play, the only way to save himself from hanging is by confessing to the act of witchcraft. He almost does it, but he says, “I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!”(pg.538, lines 879-82) He doesn’t confess because can’t handle ruining his name anymore than it has been and because he is a man of truth.
Elizabeth Proctor has many moments which show how she is changing throughout the play. When she is trying to persuade Proctor to tell the court that Abigail said the girls were not practicing witchcraft, Elizabeth blurts out, "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not." Elizabeth is confessing that she believes Proctor had an affair with Abigail. She is giving him no mercy by showing that she will never forget what happened. When Elizabeth is being accused of stabbing Abigail, she instructs Proctor to go to court, and tells him "Oh, John, bring me soon!" Elizabeth is gaining trust in John. She is forgetting his act of adultery and now has faith that he will defend her. At the end of the play, when Proctor is sentenced to death, Elizabeth says that "he [has] his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Elizabeth is admitting that John was righteous to confess his sin of lechery, and she should have pardoned him. She considers herself impure for not showing mercy, and does not want to take away from his glory. Elizabeth has transformed from an ignorant victim of adultery, to a forgiving, loving wife.
The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.
Firstly, Abigail is one figure that blatantly abuses her newfound power in the play. " 'You are charging Abigail Williams with a marvelous cool plot to murder,