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How does Arthur Miller portray figures of authority and/or power in The Crucible? What are the main concerns of those figures, and what impact does th...
Arthur Miller connections with the crucible
The theme of authority in the crucible
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Liars, Deceit, and Deaths; OH MY! “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… and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (Miller 1097) The Crucible was written in 1952 by Aurthur Miller. The play is known to be a reflection of the Puritan witch hunts of its time. The Crucible was an act of desperation. While reading this play, many have argued who is to blame for all the deaths during the trials. Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials because, she danced in the woods and conjured spirits, had an affair with John Proctor, and was leader of all the girls during the trials. …show more content…
No one knows who is really to blame for the deaths.The cause of the Salem Witch trials began with the girls dancing in the woods and Abigail drinking blood. If that had not of happened, Betty would not have gone into shock and Reverend Parris would not have called Reverend Hale. There would have been no word of witchcraft. Abigail having an affair with John Proctor tells us that she has no boundaries when it comes to getting what she wants. Accusing a woman of witchcraft to get hanged, whose husband she had an affair with, just to be able to get him to herself is insane. Lastly, Abigail threatening all the girls to not say a word about them in the woods, and leading them in the trials is messed up. Sending innocent people to die because you don’t like them, heck Abigail should have been tried for being a witch as well. Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials. “Aye, Sir. She swears how that she never saw Satan; nor any spirit, vague, or clear that Satan may have sent to hurt her. And she declares her friends are lying now,” announced by John Proctor during Mary Warren's confession. (Miller
However, she was not able to do this on her own; the community helped to hang nineteen innocent people. Her place in society, having an uncle for a reverend, placed her in good light. She would be able to escape most suspicion because of her position in the society. Furthermore, the Puritan people were easy to scare, and Abigail was well aware of the matter. If she could scare a few people into believing in witches, when rumors were already flowing, she would be able to divert attention from herself, while seeking revenge for Elizabeth as well. After the incident with Reverend Parris, she needed to find people to blame. Although, some people may say she should be pardoned for her past; she was an orphan from the beginning so she did not know better. “ABIGAIL: I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night (Miller 19, act 1).” Her claimed true motives were because of her terrible start to life. Although she had an uncle, who was a villain himself, she was without parents and a true guide for the important lessons of proper humanities. She was also raised without love or nurturing, leading to the reason why she had an affair with an older man. Abigail was neither a victim nor did she act entirely on her own. Abigail found herself backed into a corner, use the societal Puritan
Because of Abigail’s deleterious behavior, many innocent victims were brutally murdered. All of her actions were selfish and pretentious. Abigail may not have intended to cause the witch trials, but she certainly did nothing to end them once they began. Abigail’s lustful behavior, her unhealthy habit of lying, and her obsessive desire for power makes her responsible for the Salem witch trials.
The Crucible How does an individual gain so much power through trials? In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays Abigail Williams as a powerful individual by revealing her control over the younger girls and the continuous accusations she makes until the end of the play. Throughout the entire play, it is made clear that Abigail has control over the younger girls in the village. In Act 1, it is right away noticed that her way of controlling them is through causing fear by making threats.
In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
A person must be accountable for his/her actions. In the play “The Crucible” Abigail Williams is a victim of her society. She is a vindictive person who always had to have her way, and also lead the girls in the accusations. However, can she be excused or pardoned because of the influence of outside forces upon her?
the town. Abigail doesn't want anyone to find out that she was in the forest so
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.
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in 1952 and has remained such a renowned play in American literature because the play pays close attention to the importance of reputation, which continues to be as much of a priority in 1692 as in modern times. The play opens with girls getting caught dancing in the woods by Rev. Parris, which escalates to the assumption of them practicing witchcraft. The girls, lead by Abigail Williams, pledge their love for God and undertake the responsibility of accusing whoever they please of witchcraft, usually under false assumptions. An accuser, Mary Warren, does whatever it takes to stay on Abigail’s good side, even if that means going against the principles of her religion. Reverend Parris prioritizes reputation over religion when he pledges to not lie in court, but convinces his daughter, Betty, to fabricate a story to justify her fainting in the woods after he caught them. Lastly, when Mary Warren betrays John Proctor and claims, “You are the Devil’s man!” he refuses to confess of witchcraft to
During Act I you'll see how one decision brings people to mass hysteria. The one who I find most responsible for the cause of the uproar in Salem is Abigail Williams, Her denying being a part of the conjuring of spirits in the forest and accusing other people on accounts of witchcraft is what spread the issue and made it stem further than it needed to. If Abigail was apprehended by the court sooner Abigail wouldn't have been able to spread her lies and accusations. I choose Abigail because she was the antagonist in this play. In the Crucible Abigail Williams is the sole reason on why salem has gone through mass hysteria. Since Abigails way of protecting herself from being caught by the court was to threaten any witnesses that were apart of
The play erupted near the beginning with many people getting ill and the accusations of people being witches beginning. Though many may not see this, I personally view Abigail Williams being the one mainly at fault. She is responsible for the young girls getting together with Tituba to conjure up spirits. To put her further at fault, though not quite so much as being a witch, she had an affair with the respected citizen John Proctor. This affair however causes her to make many brash decisions which condemn many people. She feels that Proctor loves her and wants to be with her, but can’t do so because of Elizabeth, so Abigail plots to get rid of Elizabeth in an attempt to get Proctor to marry her so she can fulfill her crazy hallucinations. When she talks to Proctor, she tries to make him see that his wife is an evil woman. “That jab your wife gave me’s not healed yet, y’know… I think sometimes she pricks it open again while I sleep” (P...
In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller. This play centers around the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. In Act II, Abigail and her friends accuse several innocent people of witchcraft. Once they leave the court, Reverend Hale goes to John Proctor’s house to inform Elizabeth Proctor that people in the court have mentioned her name. Then officials of the court, Herrick and Cheever, arrive at the Proctor’s house. They claim to have a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest because the court declares she practices witchcraft. After, Herrick and Cheever take Elizabeth to jail. Injustice in Act II prevails because of the inability to see the truth. Reverend Hale and John Proctor illuminate the theme that closed-mindedness
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
“What 's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Goodreads). William Shakespeare writes this quote in the play Romeo and Juliet. The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller many of the characters disagree with this quote about a name not impacting the character of a person. The setting of The Crucible is 1692 Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials. Abigail Williams is a feisty teenager, and starts accusing people of witchcraft as a scapegoat for participating in activities that could be seen a witchcraft. Abigail ends up accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, and Elizabeth’s husband John Proctor must try to clear her name. The court does not want to hear his deposition though, because then they might