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The literary work of crucible by arthur miller
Crucible and the puritan society
Analyse crucible by arthur miller
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It seems unbelievable that Abigail Williams could have caused so much
horror in Salem. How does Millar present the situation as believable
to an audience?
The horror in Millar's novel 'The Crucible' is based on the
accusations of witchcraft in Salem in 1692. A woman called Betty
Parris is caught dancing naked in the woods and goes into a coma like
state. This affects the reader by making them think that Abigail is so
scared about getting caught, she goes into a coma. The reader may feel
sorry for Betty and even shocked by the effect on her.
The story is set in the times of Puritans. Puritans are very
religious, very superstitious people. They basically go to church
every Sunday, do not sin and lead perfect lives. I feel that because
the story is set in times when these people were like a 'cult', at one
mention of witchcraft, the superstition got the better of them and
they were willing to kill whoever was necessary to drive the devil out
of their village. This adds to the horror that Millar was trying to
achieve when writing the story.
The book was set in 1692, and America had just been discovered. As a
new colony had just arrived to America, times were hard and everyone
expected everyone to work to earn their keep and keep their village
running. As people were just discovering this new land, I feel that
the village would have been very religious because people had moved
away from their families and friends, and the only person they could
turn to for help was God. People would also be very weary of anything
out of the ordinary, and the 'satanic ritual' witnessed in the forest
would have definitely got alarm bells ringing.
The first turn of events was a group of girls dancing around a fire,
in the forest, naked. The girls get spotted by Betty's father,
Reverend Parris. After this, Betty falls into a coma, which I feel is
out of fear of being caught. The dancing is next speculated to be a
satanic ritual and a Black nurse named Tituba is blamed as she is
black and stands out (people believe that there is a connection with
voodoo involved).
Soon the neighbours hear rumours of what happened and the first
mentions of Witchcraft are bought up. I think that this scared Betty
even more and this is why she stayed in her 'trance' longer than
necessary. She would have to face the court and the sentence would be
some kind of cruel death. One character in question is Abigail
Williams, she plays on the idea of witchcraft, telling everyone how
pg. 31. -. In the beginning of Act 1 Betty was laying down in bed supposedly sick, she can't get up and her dad Parris starts to lose hope. In the play Rebecca nurse is represented as a strong figure.
Miller Edwards,Hawthorne and korning each show how religion was a sin in puritan cultures and affected many people’s lives that punishment will come when you have disgraced your religion that good is against the devil there is a strict form of puritan. Puritans were dedicated to work to save themselves from the sins in the world. Guilt was a great force in the puritans belief. The people in the story are Puritans a religion often depicted because of its rules and severe punishments to those who sin. The puritans left england to avoid religious persecution they established a society in America founded upon religion intolerance, Up surprising result the church dominates the Puritan culture.
In act two of The Crucible, a poppet with a needle in it’s stomach is how Elizabeth is accused of stabbing Abigail. Abigail cannot let the affair she had with John Proctor seven months ago. She will do anything she can to get John Proctor for herself, even accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. While Abigail Williams isn’t physically in act two, her dark shadow is noticed throughout the act causing trouble for the characters, especially Elizabeth Proctor.
to dancing round a fire in the woods but she says that it was not
... life and goes back to these girls who turned on her in an instant. Others even confess to witchcraft because, once accused, it is the only way to get out of being hanged. The confessions and the hangings actually promote the trials because they assure townsfolk that God?s work is being done. Fear for their own lives and for the lives of their loved ones drives the townspeople to say and do anything.
Lydia Velishek Mr. Stensrud Honors: US Literature & Composition 10 October 2017 Title Here It is clear that Abigail Williams is portrayed as the antagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, taking place in the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts and based on the witch-trials therein. She serves as a catalyst for the witch trials by falsely accusing innocent townspeople with the intent of maintaining the position of power she gains from them. Due to the transparency of her actions, Abigail’s ulterior motives are also distinguishable.
Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband. Later on Abigail begins to accuse innocent people of doing witchcraft which causes them to die. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone.
A motivation can be described as a character having a reason to behave or act in a particular way. Someone or something can be someone's motivation. A child obeys its parents to avoid punishment or a clerk works overtime so that he can afford a better car are examples of motivation. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, characters illustrate several types of motivations. Throughout the play, Abigail is motivated by jealousy, power, and attention.
Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe.
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 play begins at Reverend Parris' home, whose daughter Betty is ill. Parris is living with his daughter and his seventeen-year old niece Abigail. Parris believes that is daughters illness is from supernatural causes, so he sends for Reverend Hale. Betty first start to look ill after her father discovered her dancing in the woods with Abigail and his Negro slave, Tituba along with several other local girls. There are rumors going around that Betty's sickness is due to witchcraft. Parris doesn't want to admit to seeing his daughter and niece dancing in the woods, but Abigail says that she will admit to dancing and accept the punishment.
...ty men and women had been accused of being witches. Of those, nineteen of them plead innocent and were hung. One man refused to acknowledge the accusation and refused to enter a plea. He was legally crushed to death. Of the ones who plead guilty and were sent to jail, many contracted illnesses and later died. The outbreak of hysteria caused many to suffer and die, families to break apart, and a society to succumb to the whims of children. In the Puritans quest to create a perfect society based on pure beliefs only created a society ripped apart by tension, anxiety and fear.
Cults can be dangerous as manipulative strategies are used to control large groups of people into behaviour they may not usually be comfortable with. A cult is a counterculture that is an extremist group usually lead by religion and a charismatic leader (Winner 2011:417). Counterculture is the rejection of popular norms and values and replaces them with extreme views on violence, family and loyalty (Winner 2011:417). Cult leaders often preach about religious history as they take it very seriously. Usually, these religious views guide the bizarre behaviour and conformity within the cult. Anthropologists see cults as a way for people to find self-identity and belonging within a group which they are not receiving from outside of the group.
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.
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 has slept with on more than one occasion be the victim? It’s possible when the town she lives in is worse than her. Although Abigail Williams is typically thought of as the antagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she is in fact a victim as much as any other tragic character in the play.