Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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. Vengeance plays a key role in causing the mass hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams, who?s probably most to blame for the trials, acts out of revenge. She and John Proctor have had an affair and when Elizabeth Proctor finds out, she throws Abigail out of their house.

Second, names of people were mentioned and other events made the town think that the Devil was taking over. In the beginning of the story some of the town girls quietly left out of their house and ran into the woods without anyone noticing them. In the forest the girls were laughing and screaming while dancing around the fire. Tituba was the slave from Reverend Parris’s home, she was chanting around the

Abigail eventually admits that they were only dancing in the woods. Abigail reveals that there are rumours in the village that witchcraft is the cause of Betty’s sickness, and Parris becomes nervous. Parris calls upon Reverend Hale, an expert on witchcraftery, to figure out what is wrong with Betty. Later, Parris asks Abigail if they were conjuring spirits in the woods and she denies it. He says that he saw Tituba chanting and that he saw someone naked.

Then Abigail confessed that she have seen the devil communicating with other town folks and then Betty start naming people that may be involve in witchcraft, which really made the whole town go crazy. While the witch trails and accusations were happening, Eliza... ... middle of paper ... ... as Mrs. Proctor. It got to the point to where Abigail turn into witchcraft to get what she want. So therefore, John’s first downfall is his lust and having an affair with Abigail that fueled Abigail’s motivation to destroy his marriage and make John marry her. The second downfall of John is pride, toward to the end when Mary, his servant, for being a witch, falsely accused him.

The Crucible is based on a true story so the setting is real. Act 1 The Crucible starts out in the bedroom of Betty Parris, the sick daughter of the towns preacher Samuel Parris. The village people began to spread the rumor that witchcraft is the cause of Betty‘s illness. The Reverend John Hale is sent for by Mr. Parris to find out what is happening, because Hale is a investigator on strange events involving witchcraft. Samuel accuses and questions Abigail Williams, his niece, of dancing and chanting around a fire in the woods with Betty and his slave, Tituba to conjure up evil sprits.

Reverend Hale in The Crucible Reverend Hale's attitude has changed completely throughout his stay in Salem. After Reverend Parris saw some girls including Abigail, Tituba, and Betty dancing and conjuring spirits in the woods, he called Hale to Salem. These woods are forbidden; the dancing and conjuring are signs of the devil in the puritan society. Called from Beverly, a special reverend, Hale's job is to search a town for any signs of Lucifer. Reverend Parris has obviously seen some work of the devil in his niece Abigail, slave Tituba, and daughter Betty.

Proctor was a local farmer who had an affair with Abigail. Abigail and the girls worried to be punished for practicing witchcraft, so they started lying and accusing other people of being witches, including Elizabeth. John Proctor tried to get his wife out of jail by confessing his affair with Abigail, but when they asked Elizabeth if Proctor have been unfaithful, she said that it wasn’t true to protect her husband. Proctor got arrested as a liar and a witch. Elizabeth and John talked and agreed in confessing everything John knows, he denied it and went to the gallows for his death.

Miller begins the action early in the year of 1692 when a collection of girls from the colony fall victim to supposed hallucinations and seizures after dancing in the forest with a black female slave named Tituba. Suspicion surrounds Tituba and soon accusations and fears of witchcraft fill the staunchly religious colony. Abigail Williams, 17 years old and beautiful, appears to be the girls’ ringleader, and when Tituba and Abigail begin accusing various townsfolk of conspiring with the devil, the other girls join in. Soon, Salem is beset with jealousies, bitter quarrellings, and deeply held hatreds rise to the surface. Local farmer, John Proctor, is a deeply honest man and he suspects Abigail of being a fraud.

The girls are seen by Parris dancing and conjuring evil spirits in the woods. “Witches” are what the girls are called by the people of the town. After they were caught, Parris goes upstairs to call Betty, his daughter, and Abagail, his niece, but Betty will not wake. This is when the Christie 2 townspeople cry witch against her (Betty). Abagail says to her Uncle Parris, “The rumor of witchcraft is all about.” They think the devil has taken over the mind and soul of Betty and that is the reason she sleeps so soundly.

Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. 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.